Notes

My artifact is a mini prayer booklet that was given by my grandmother to my mom. It was given

to my mom before her university entrance exam as a good luck charm. My grandmother was a

devoted catholic and she believes that there will always be divine intervention that the praver

booklet and the prayers inside it will guide and help mom through challenging times My mom

kept the prayer booklet in her purse for 30 years. Even when she gave birth to me and my brother

she had the booklet beside her. The tape in the booklet is the tape used by the gynecologist to

stick the prayer booklet to her hospital gown during labor. Which I did not know until I

interviewed her about the booklet. My mom said she would use the booklet a lot, especially in the darkest times,

to bring her comfort that everything would be okay. Also, when the time when me

and my family still lived in the Philippines and my mom left and worked in Hongkong for 2

vears. She said that it was the toughest decision she made but it is for the better and for out future. She said that she

Would always pray for us back home and the time will come that we will be together again. After

2 years in Hong kong, my mom moved here in Canada in 2010. And in 2011, my grandma died but my mom was not able to go back home and attend her funeral as her permanent resident papers was still in the process. It was really hard for my mom to not see her mother for the last time. And my mom still remembered that night, she pulled out the booklet and her purse and pray for my grandma. She would do that months straight. Finally in 2014 we lived

together again here in Canada. My mom has been by her own overseas for 6 years and she believes that the booklet and the prayers helped her connect to the man above, to be strong, and have hope that we will be reunited again here in Canada. My mom told me that this booklet would forever be a reminder of our grandma and to always pray, and when the time comes, she would be giving the booklet to me and my brother. After interviewing my mom, I came into realization that once this booklet come into me and my brother’s possession, not only it would be a reminder for us to pray and a reminder of my grandma that took care of us when my mom was away, but it would also be reminder of the hardships and challenges my mom faced for us to have bigger opportunities.