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Donna, Donna, Donna

“I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal.” — John 12:24-25

Victim Number 16

We are in the midst of our worship service last Thursday, July 20, when we received a text message saying that one of our former seminary students, Madonna Castillo, was shot by motorcycle-riding men in Echague, Isabela, while waiting for a ride between 6:00-7:00 A.M. I was shocked and speechless for a while. I tried to control my emotions, but still tears began to roll down my cheeks even as I murmured a word of prayer to God.

I know Donna quite well because she studied under my class, although she left the seminary without finishing her course. Several hours after she was rushed to the hospital, she passed away. She is now victim number sixteen of the growing list of UCCP (United Church of Christ in the Philippines) members and church workers killed in cold blood under the Arroyo Administration. Perhaps, she is now considered a “collateral damage” in this senseless all-out war against those who are perceived to be critical of the status quo.

I was reminded of a protest song in the sixties whose lyrics speak so much of Donna’s life: Donna, Donna, Donna. It is worth reflecting this song.

On a wagon bound for market, there’s a calf with a mournful eye
High above him there’s a swallow, winging swiftly through the sky
Refrain: How the wind are laughing; they laugh with all their might
Laugh and laugh the whole day through and half the summer’s night.
{Donna (4x), Donna (3x), Do} (2x).
Stop complaining said the farmer, who told you a calf to be
Why don’t you have wings to fly with, like a swallow so proud and free.
Calves are easily bound for slaughter, never knowing the reason why
But whoever treasures freedom, like the swallow must learn to fly.

Transformation

Donna was already a young lady pastor trained in a conservative Pentecostal Bible school when she entered our seminary. She projected herself to be a very conservative woman so concerned about personal ethics and with great aversion to vices, like smoking and drinking liquor. Whenever there was an opportunity for her to speak up her mind on these matters, she would always do it. Some of her classmates would sometimes make fun of her conservatism. At first, she wanted to quit after seeing some pastors studying in the seminary with this kind of vices. However, she was prevailed upon to stay for the whole school year. 

Politically, Donna is also very conservative. She had great dislike for Christians, especially church workers, joining protest rallies in the streets.  

However, in her stay in the seminary, I saw how Donna had been transformed into a new person. She began to open up her mind to new ideas, her eyes to new perception of things, her heart to new understanding of realities around her. Her judgmental attitudes towards other people began to change. She became more and more considerate and sensitive to the needs and concerns of other people, especially the marginalized. 

The turning point of Donna’s life was when she decided to have an exposure among the Mangyans in Mindoro. Our seminary has a summer exposure program, wherein we expose our students to the lives of people in various communities. We would like them to see and to experience how people live their lives and how God is working in people’s lives.  

Apparently, Donna was very much affected by the experiences she had among the indigenous peoples that she wanted to go back immediately after the summer program to serve in the Mangyan communities. We advised her to return to the seminary and finish her course first before going back to serve. But then she decided to quit her seminary training instead, and she went back to serve the people who helped her see who God is and the reality of the world in which we live.

Incarnation and Death

I had no more news about Donna since she left our seminary. Not until two years ago when we sent our seminary students for exposure to the rural communities of Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela. I was very much surprised to learn that she was now the Executive Secretary of a non-government institution called the Sentro ng Tunay na Repormang Agrariyo (Center for Genuine Land Reform) or SENTRA. SENTRA has been helping peasants in Cagayan Valley in their struggles for genuine land reform.

I really don’t know what happened in those intervening years - how Donna, like a calf, was able to learn to fly, like a swallow, proud and free, as the song goes. How Donna was able to learn to treasure freedom and to commit herself in the struggles of people for genuine freedom from the bondage of the soil.

What I remember is that in her last report after her exposure among the Mangyans, she claimed that she discovered God working among the people and that God called her to work with Him among the marginalized. I never thought that she would really take such divine calling seriously even to the point of death.

Christian Hope

We deeply mourn Donna’s death. But we are comforted by the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when he said, “I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal” (John 12:24-25).

Donna’s life is like a grain of wheat that is dropped in the ground and dies in order to produce more grains. Surely, more Donnas who treasure freedom will learn to fly like a swallow and rise up to life. Well, Donna could have stayed in the safe confines of the seminary and later on serve in the comfortable confines of the local churches. But that was not her choice. Like Jesus Christ our Lord, she decided to freely give her life so that others may live (John 10:10). Donna, Donna, Donna! We are truly proud of you! #

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