No Ordinary Bomber Offers A Hand

Suicide Bomber.

This is what you can see when you search for him online via FB.  But this young man’s real identity reveals the opposite.  As to his purpose of writing so, nobody knows except him.

Lawrence Recto, 19 years old, from St. James GKK is the Archdiocese of Davao’s youngest volunteer who tagged along the Oplan Tacloban Medical Mission team in Leyte, January this year.

As that wild fire turned hundreds of houses into ashes that broke out at around 8:15 p.m. Friday April 4, in Barangay 23-C, Isla Verde Boulevard, this city, the blaze from Lawrence’s heart escalated as he again helped in packing relief goods for distribution for the fire victims.

While firefighters contained the fire that relocated a thousand to a temporary shelter, Lawrence’s passion to help his suffering brothers and sisters has been challenged by a striking principle: “Better to help than to be helped.”

As a volunteer of San Pablo Parish Quick Response Team (SPP-QRT), his age and innocence never defeated his will to rescue families from starvation and loss of dignity.

With a smiley, he replied further to this writer’s inquiry:

“Pareha kay Jesus nga ginatabangan niya ang mga tao nga nanginahanglan ug tabang…so ako kabalo nga naa koy matabang.  Sa akong kaya nga paraan, mutabang jud ko kay para makabangon sila bisag dugay pa.  Sa akong tabang, magsilbi sa ila nga inspirasyon nga naa pay ugma.  Sa pag pray pa lang daku na nga tabang sa ilaha ug  sa akong gusto nga mahitabo.” 

A charity in action through a bag full of goods can make every fire victim remember Jesus as the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church reminds each of us to give from our ‘abundance’ and sometimes even out of one’s needs, in order to provide what is essential for the life of the poor person.

As an ultimate lifelong promise, with his preferential love for the poor, Lawrence’s  burning passion to be a ‘Jesus’ to others will continue to burst like a ‘bomb’ for goodness sake, and not otherwise.