Back to Basics

After three years of squinting, trying to recognize faces in little squares on screen during our clan reunion, we finally met cheek-to-cheek right on original schedule! 

This annual get-together came back with a vengeance in the last two days of 2023 and on the first day of 2024, our 79th year. The three-year hiccup caused by the pandemic did not stop us from meeting, albeit on cyberspace. 

I call our 79th back to basics because it was like those reunions of old where the program concentrated on strengthening “The Tie  that Binds,” our clan’s slogan since the very first one in 1945. 

Our chairman (my cousin Lorna, whom I call my twin because we were born only hours apart) chose the theme, “Honoring Lolo Berto and Lola Cionang," the couple who started it all. Unmindful of the distance (she lives in the US), twin Lorna, together with the Execom based here, worked on the details and had a streamer/backdrop done to honor their memory. 

These photos are poignant and powerful reminders of our 79-year history:    

Our grandparents . . .   

had nine children . . . 

who birthed a big clan, now 600+ scattered all over the world and counting. These are those who attended the back-to-basics gathering.   

Exactly like how our forbears planned past reunions, the highlight was the worship service, where we thank and praise our faithful God of grace for daily blessings through the year. It is also to thank Him for the legacy of those who showed us the way—clan members now reunionited with our forbears. 

There are different opinions about clan reunions. Some opt out for varied reasons, but those who choose to always stay faithful and opt in (even in absence they participate through messages and love gifts) will continue this community of faith, singing in our hearts this old hymn: 

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me“

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)