Workshop with the Carmelite Sisters

Sunday morning (May 18), Candy, Nita and I went to Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac, to fulfill a promise to the Carmelites that we were going to teach them the rudiments of scrapbooking and cardmaking. Unfortunately, the other members of the volunteer team couldn't be with us due to prior commitments. We were worried about the weather at first because of the storms but when I texted Sister Teresa in the morning, she said there was no trace of the storm in their area. It was clear skies and promised to be a beautiful day.

And a beautiful day it was. While it was rainy in Manila, as soon as we were on the expressway going to the north, we were met with blue skies. It was a pleasant trip with Candy driving and Nita and I giving her (mis)directions. Wink-wink.

When Candy opened the back of her van to unload the scrapbooking materials that were donated by very generous scrapbookers from Manila, I was speechless. The van was filled with boxes and bags of materials. Even the sisters were amazed. They couldn't believe that all these stuff came from a group of people who met online and share a common passion for scrapbooking. Again, many thanks to everyone who gave their time, money, books, magazines and materials for this cause. I will not mention names anymore lest I forget anyone. There are so many of you and may your tribe increase a hundred-fold.

Anyway, we used their small chapel as our scrap area. When we opened some of the bags, we saw unassembled kits (perhaps from previous scrap activities) that were perfect for giving the ten sisters a hands-on workshop. Nita conducted an impromptu workshop using these kits. She really is a good teacher because she selflessly shares everything she knows about scrapbooking. The sisters, on the other hand, listened intently to her every word, and followed her instructions with excitement.

While Nita was busy with her session, Candy and I put some semblance of order into the many materials we received. We tried to sort everything out, and with each unpacking of a bag or a box, we would exclaim, "ang ganda nito!" Good thing I just recently had much practice organizing my scrap stuff so I was still in organizing mode. In the end, we had at least two boxes of patterned paper and cardstock, several envelopes of scraps, dozens of scissors, regular and decorative, acrylic and rubber stamps that would make you drool, inkpads, embellishments, stickers, brads, flowers... I must confess, I never had this much stuff when I was starting out.

We had a simple but delicious lunch of fried chicken, pasta, salad and bagoong with two of the lay persons. I don't think the nuns are allowed to share a meal with us. After their chores and their prayers, we continued with our workshop, this time with Candy showing them how to make a simple layout. We would all have wanted to stay longer, but the nuns had to have their Sunday mass, and we also have a long trip back to Manila. So bitin! The sisters invited us to come again, and hopefully next time, there will be more of us who will share the art and love of scrapbooking and cardmaking with the Carmelites.

And oh, of course, coming home, we had to stop and have dinner at my favorite restaurant in Angeles City. Just scrumptious - the perfect ending to a perfect day.

P.S. - If you have 12x12 albums that you can spare, the sisters will certainly appreciate such donations, for the community history as well as for their own personal scrapbooks. Please contact any of us in Pinoy Scrapbookers. Thank you.