Mama Mary's Bread is the story my sister Vida's continuing life journey and a tribute to our sister Marissa who passed away in early 2011. Two significant events occurred in my life, in June 2008 my sister Marissa was diagnosed with inoperable Stage IV breast cancer; and in October 2009 I lost my job after nineteen years and three months of dedicated service. Both events changed the course of my l
ife. But God works in mysterious ways. Having no job, I decided to fly to Manila in February 2010 with my Mom and my sister Anna to visit Marissa who returned to the Philippines for good. Our trip was supposed to end in five weeks, but Marissa asked Mom not to leave. So Mom and I stayed in Manila. Anna had to leave because of work but came back to visit a few more times. The third time Anna returned to Manila, she brought ingredients to make fruitcakes so Marissa could savor the fragrance of cinnamon while baking. It was nearing Christmas, Marissa’s favorite time of the year. By this time, Marissa was not doing well. We were hoping she would make it past Christmas. We decorated Marissa’s home in October. Making fruitcakes and Christmas goodies have been a family tradition that was started by our Mom some 40 years ago. While preparing the fruitcakes, my brother Juan said, “…why not sell these, we’ve been doing this for ages”. I was hesitant because I don’t do retail. I buy but do not sell. But Anna and Marissa got all excited. They encouraged me to try, we set a modest goal of about 200 fruitcakes… and so the baking began. We started with no equipment, no tools and a very small refrigerator. Juan loaned us two small ovens. With very modest funding and lots of hope, we were fired up. Orders kept on coming! Soon we received five hundred plus orders of fruitcakes! Baking is a family endeavor. Mom and Anna owned the original Mary’s Bread, a wholesale bakery. During the holiday season, thousands of fruitcakes and fruit bars (Mom’s special and unique recipe) would be baked and sold. With this experience in mind, one day Anna said, “Why not revive Mary’s Bread?” She said, “I’ll handle marketing and finance and Vida can handle operations”. I meditated and prayed on the idea as Marissa and Anna kept saying we can do it. Why not? At times, Marissa would sit on the couch, observe, and occasionally share an opinion. “… Don’t put rum in one so I can taste the fruitcake.” When she got weaker, I would take the goodies in her room and wrap them while she watched. I wanted her to feel that she was part of the process, that she didn’t miss a thing… One day, she said, “You know, Vida, you will do well here. You have the aptitude for this… and you are comfortable here in Manila.” Unknown to Marissa, Anna and I had started to discuss a plan. Marissa died on January 4, 2011. With hope, lots of prayers and fear over the future of this venture, Anna and I decided to establish Mama Mary’s Bread in honor of our sister Marissa. We pledge to our Blessed Mother, 10% of all gross proceeds to help build and operate Bahay San Jose, a refuge for indigent sick children. Bahay San Jose is the main beneficiary of The Marissa Project a fundraising endeavor we initially set up in part to help our ailing sister.
