Janet wrote this letter during her third year in high school

in St Catherine’s College, Carcar, Cebu.

Dear Father Seán,

Greetings in Jesus, Mary and Joseph! First, I would like to introduce myself. I’m Janet Escoba, a third year student of St Catherine’s College in Carcar, Cebu, Philippines. I have two volumes of your Misyonmagazine. Whenever I receive your magazine I am amazed by the articles especially the youth page, ‘Our Hideaway.’ This page reflects me. I too had many problems even in my younger years. One was when I had an accident when I was in Grade 5.

Before the accident I was with friends practicing badminton in preparation for an upcoming tournament. I was a good player. The day before the tournament, I went out with my friends. Unfortunately the car we were riding in had a faulty break and we hit another car.

The next thing I knew, I woke up lying in the hospital, my whole body aching. The first thought I had was the tournament. I forced myself to try to stand up but found I couldn’t. I couldn’t even move my legs. I cried and cried. I couldn’t accept the fact that my leg was broken and would take four months or longer to recover. I felt hopeless, pitying myself and blaming myself for what had happened. I felt one of my dreams shatter, the dream of being a famous badminton player. As the days progressed, I felt even more hopeless. I didn’t talk to people and was ‘hard-hearted.’ I didn’t want to see my therapist anymore. All I could think of was that God was unfair.

One day I decided to go out of our house to go for a stroll in my wheelchair. I found myself going towards a place so familiar to me, the badminton court where I used to play. There I saw my coach and my co-players practicing. I watched them seriously with envy then I started to cry. They saw me crying and approached me. They let me play even while I was in my wheelchair. At that moment, my life changed. It seemed as if a new light shone.

I went again to my therapist and now I am fully recovered from that accident, and I’m again capable of playing badminton.

I guess it’s one of God’s plans for me. That event brought me closer to God and to know Him more. Thank you for the time in reading my letter. More power and God bless!

Sincerely,

Janet Escoba