MY JOURNAL About

Activities We Did In Bacas

River. (FAMILY DAY)

Located in Baranggay Matictic in the municipality of Norzagaray, Bakas river is one

among Bulacan’s underrated tourist attraction. Bakas is a Filipino word which literally
means a trace or a mark. Brief history about Bakas river according to locals, The story
behind Bakas river is that the legendary Bernardio Carpio set foot in Matictic leaving
a huge foot print/trace on one of the limestone rock formation. The other footprint is
said to be in Biak na Bato in San Miguel, Bulacan. The markings are best viewed on
top of the boulders but getting there is hard, first you must know how to swim. At
noon time the water level starts to go up, The current is strong making it hard swim n
near the huge stones. Bakas river has giant limestone rock formations with 3 huge
statues of Jesus Christ and a statue of Holy Trinity-Virgin Mary.  This makes Bakas
river a unique and perfect getaway for  travelers, adventurers and religious pilgrims.
We spotted several rock formation jumping in the clear and fast flowing waters of
Bakas. Apart from these kids, also spotted are the vandals in the rocks. I hope visitors
and locals alike should stop scribbling on these naturally beautiful rocks.
 When we visit bakas river, We had a
urgent meeting with our pastor for
avoiding tragedy of swimming in the
bakas river. He noticed the strong
current of water nearby the rock
formations. He told each of us to be
careful and be responsible. Our
pastor told us not to got in the deep
part of the river. Especially for those
who didn't know how to swim to
avoid accident. If possible avoid to
swim or diving in the areas not
covered by our cottage. He reminds from parents to take care their children and do not
let them to swim alone in the river. He said if they can afford to rent a salbabida they
should to pursue pay has for rent so they can for the safeness of their children. Our
pastor and other leaders to remind us to put all bags that contains of gadgets
clothes/short and money and also the foods to put in the proper place to avoid mixing
or getting lose and steal.We put all discarded items in the proper trash can that will no
longer be needed to avoid being scolded by the guards. Also we meeting all the
activities that will makes us all day long on our family day. Then  pastor started to
explaining the beginning of our water baptism service and what we should do. After
the explaining what is water baptism and to our program we worshiped God and we
started to singing praise him. We pray and asking for a guidance in everything will do
we request for no aberration will happen our activities will be victorious and give
thanks for his gratefulness and also for blessing that he given for us in that day.

To start at our water baptism  pastor choose  a spot  where  the water is only moderate
deep and also the current of water is not too strong for safeness. At the beginning of
our water baptism our pastor request to worship God again for inviting his presence
and to flowed upon us. Each of us sing
sincerely and gave our praise to the Lord.
We prayed his forgiveness for our sin
and give opportunity to gratitude him for
the unconditional love that we give for
us on that day. After we sing, our pastor
approached us one by one to start the
water baptism. Each one of us promised to forsake all the wrong decisions or actions
we made before and accept Jesus as Lord and savior. One by submerged in the water
as sign of purification of  God from us.For the last time and to end the program we
sing again Christ is enough for Jesus. We said with all our heart that will no turning
back. Even through time we are in different struggles and we feel in pain.We keep in
our mind and knows that each of them has a beautiful purpose we are always with the
Lord in all our battles that we have. We all applauded and shouted for joy and after
that the children and
parent started to
swim to experience
coldness of the
running water in
bakas everyone was
happy and enjoy to
swim in the river. 

Our leader told again to

avoid in the deep part of
the river to avoid
accident. They said enjoy our day and spend time to our love ones and after that will
announce the next activity in our family day. Of course, we went there not only for
water baptism but also for physical activities that would bring everyone together.
Playing games was one of the most amusing things we did in Bacas River, and I can
honestly tell that everyone enjoyed it. We started with the Garter Game. We were split
into three groups, each with the same number of people. The game's mechanics must
be to slip the garter from foot to head or vice versa. Then pass it on to the next
member, repeating the process. Until the last member is reached. The first team to
finish wins. We played the Hulahoop Relay as our second game. Two teams of ten
people were present. We sat side by side, hands clasped. Before presenting them to
the first team member, the game facilitator holds two hulahoops. The hulahoop must
be passed through the body from one person to the next until it reaches the finish
without breaking or letting go of our hands, similar to the Garter Game. I'll confess
that it's difficult since the games require a lot of flexibility, but it's so much fun that
you feel both the strain and the exhilaration.
"Head, Shoulder, Knee, Cup!" was the next game we played. A cup was placed
between the two opponents by the game's facilitator. Players must adhere to the
facilitator's instructions in this game. The players will hold their heads up when the
Head facilitator yells. "Head!" Hands should be
on both shoulders when the facilitator calls out
"Shoulder!" When the facilitator says "Knee!",
hands should be on the knees. The players must
go forward and fetch the cup when the facilitator
shouts "Cup!" The loser is eliminated while the
winner moves on to the next round. The game
went on till the end. I ended up winning the game.
It was a wonderful experience. We would have
had more games to play if we hadn't run out of
time, and some people decided to seize this
opportunity to swim because it only comes
around once. The games we played were
demanding and challenging, but they were also a
lot of fun and exciting. It necessitated
adaptability, flexibility, alertness and
attentiveness, speed, and innovative tactics,
among other things. It was one of those
memorable experiences I will never forget.