By Jun Balanon as told to Evelyn Damian
Jun Balanon has worked as a production engineer for Asia Pacific Media Ministries for 23 years. His officemates like to confide in him and seek his advice. He is soft spoken, patient and treats people with respect. Next month, he and his family will be taking up an exciting new ministry assignment in Hong Kong.
My son is now a teenager. Some friends told me this is a difficult stage and they had problems with their teenage children. I sometimes worry that I will also experience some hardships with my son.
When I was growing up, we lived on the school campus where my parents worked and taught. We were not rich. Other people who lived on campus and all the students knew who we were and somehow we were expected to set a good example.
I am the eldest of four children. Although we were very young at that time, my parents talked to us like adults. They gave us responsibilities in the house. I had a special role as kuya to my siblings but each of us had to do household chores.
My father was the ultimate authority in our home. Every night at 7 o’clock, until I was in high school, my father gathered our whole family and led devotions. During this time, we shared our prayer requests and plans and prayed about them. Growing up, my siblings and I made a lot of mistakes and we were reprimanded, but my parents didn’t raise their voice when they scolded us.
I remember when I was six years old, I saw my father fixing the lawn mower. As I approached him, he warned me, “Don’t touch anything here,” but I did. I burnt my hand and learned my lesson. One time, I saw a lighted cigarette thrown on the sidewalk. I was curious and I wanted to know why people liked to smoke. I picked it up and tried a puff. It made me cough, and I threw the cigarette away, still wondering why people spent money for stuff like that.
One of the scariest moments I experienced growing up was when someone offered my father a job abroad. I still can’t forget how fearful I was when he considered the offer and we started praying about it. It wasn’t easy for my parents to send the four of us to school. If my father would work overseas, it would mean security, a good education and material things. But, still I prayed against it. I didn’t want my father to go overseas and be separated from us. I was worked until my father finally decided that he wouldn’t leave us. I was relieved and thankful. For me, it meant dad thought his family was more important than material things. We continued to depend on God for our resources.
I tried to follow my parents’ example and treat other people with respect. As I matured, I adopted the ways of my parents. This lifestyle guided me in my choices in life. When I went to college, I chose my barkada carefully. I hung out with people that didn’t pressure me to do what I didn’t like to do. I treated girls with respect and stayed away from temptation. I strove to finish my studies and got a job right after graduation so I could help my parents. Later, my siblings also finished their studies and took jobs.
Now, I have been married for more than 17 years. I have a teenage son and a 6-year old daughter. Whenever I wonder whether my son will bring me troubles, I carefully reflect on how my wife and I have been trying to model a lifestyle that would be one that our children will want to copy. With prayer and God’s help, I know that there’s hope for my son to make the right choices.
