City Harvest’s Filipino service organizes a time of fun and fellowship with traditional Filipino street games.
CN PHOTOS: Kristoffer Rodriguez.
Being away from your home country can be hard and can make one homesick.
With that in mind, City Harvest’s Filipino Church members brought a piece of their home country to Tampines on Apr 7—good old games that they used to play back home.
“This was just after the Easter weekend, and we wanted to welcome our new friends into the Filipino City Harvest family,” said administrative supervisor Judy Sy, 33, who was also the main organizer for the event.
The group of 110 adults, including 23 friends and 12 children, traveled down to Tampines Ecopark after the Sunday service at Singapore Expo. Over lunch, fellow members mingled with one another before a round of games.
The games included patintero, where two teams stand on opposite ends and guard their turf; any player who succeeds in crossing over the line on the opposing team’s side without being caught scores a point for his team.
For 27-year-old Kristoffer Rodriguez, it was a nostalgic time. The market researcher, who was also the event photographer, cheerfully remarked that he was very happy to know that within the City Harvest family, there were many fellow Filipino countrymen.
“Just being with my fellow Filipinos, I feel very much at home. It is something familiar and very fun. I miss the funny ‘noises’ that Filipinos make when they get together. This is something not usual in the Singapore society,” said Rodriguez.
Enjoying the event too was 35-year-old Adora Dela Cruz, a logistics executive, who has been a Filipino church member for four years. The event reminded her of the “good old fun of childhood games” and gave her the opportunity to make new friends.
The event ended with a prize presentation for all four teams, which consisted of Filipino snacks and a Filipino-made trophy. The kids were given goodie bags to bring home. It was definitely a memorable and enjoyable Sunday afternoon for all.
City Harvest’s Filipino Church service happens every Sunday 10 a.m. at Singapore Expo, Max Atria L2: Garnet 214 & 215.
