MY FAREWELL SPEECH FOR BOBBY ACHAN AND GEORGE ACHAN

A hearty Good Afternoon Fr Thomas, Fr George, Sisters and to all my dear uncle, aunties and my dear friends.;…I Issac thomas president of Bhopal mcym is here before you all to speak on behalf of Pithruvedi, mathruvvedi, Sunday school and mcym……..

I remember last Sunday when the committee members handed me this responsibility of giving a farewell speech, Once the meeting was over Tency aunty came to me and said…in your speech do say that Fr Thomas is an encourager, a promoter who promotes talent…if he had been not there…the church would not have known that I can sing so well……This small incident itself speaks volumes about Fr Thomas. He Is an enthusiast…someone who promotes new ideas, good work and fresh talent.

Fr you were an hardworker who worked hard for the betterment of this church. It was under your leadership that the verandah of our church was developed. The calvary was made.The church was renovated and paneling was done. There were  so many other things that made our church look more better and beautiful. You laid the foundation of Mar baselios college of nursing, you  nurtured it, developed it and made it the no. 1 nursing college of Madhya Pradesh. This itself speaks volumes about such a great leader you were, a leader who always lead from the front. We all are really proud of you father and we will always be.

I remember during the etri youth convention 2012 that was held in Bhopal, Bhopal MCYM had planned to organize a camp fire for all the youths but it all went wrong and the program went all wrong because of some mistakes we did. You were really angry with us but then when everyone was off to bed, you made us sit down on the ground in the night and had a talk with all of us. that was the most wonderful session we had with you in these 8 years. Jesus Christ gave sermon on the mount to his disciples and you gave sermon on the ground to all of us.

Well George achan what do I say about you…you are one those handsome achans I ever met….tall, handsome and someone who can charm anyone with his smile. I just love your voice…cool, calm and clear…..

If I talk about both them Thomas achan and George achan are like two poles far apart…the exact opposite of each other….Like the Jodi of Jai and Veeru from the epic movie Sholay….Thomas achen the hot headed Dharmendra and George achan..the calm n composed Amitabh bachchan….If George achan is ice…Thomas Achan is burning coal….

In all this years….Together you both  chanellised the actions of pitruvedi, you tapped the hidden skills of our mothers and encouraged them to come forward through mathruvedi and you promoted the youth of this church in every possible way thirough mcym and channelizing the  abundant energy of our kids into meaningful acts through Sunday school.

It seems like just the other day when we were all talking about Thomas achan and George Achan  and how we thought they would stay with us permanently…but here they are going away from us to their new destinations.

I remember thinking that it would be hard to say goodbye ... and I was right - it is hard.

Yet I consider myself fortunate to have met both of them ...to have attended the holy mass for all this years in their able guidance….. they are so wonderful human beings who care about us….there are so many memories with them….so many years spent with them… that it makes saying goodbye very hard….

But then what begins has to end one day…a hello ends up in  a bye someday and we all have to be prepared for it….

As we say goodbye, we remind ourselves that farewells are not forever, nor are they the end. They are simply words to say that we will miss you dearly and that we will remember you fondly.

Although we may be separated by time and distance in the interim, nothing will diminish the important role that you have and always will play in our lives.

We wish you happy adventures, fantastic new friendships, amazing experiences and the journey of a lifetime. God bless you both in abundance……-