Short hiatus ... Back soon!

Dear Readers,

It's been a while since I've blogged ... 2009 has been quite the year and Operation Triumph has basically been on hiatus since the passing of my beloved mother, Mei Ling, on April 24. She'd fought valiantly for years and showed me what true courage was ... I miss her dearly.

We did hold a small but successful fundraiser "Laughter with Sprinkles on Top" on May 27 in honour of my mother, originally to be held on April 29, but postponed due to obvious reasons. Now I need to be quiet for a while to heal but my team and I, Operation Triumph, will be back soon to again push forward with our efforts to help vanquish cancer!

Much love to you all for your continued support and encouragement ... Thank you.

Bonnie Mak
Captain, Operation Triumph

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Originally published in www.irongoddess.ca :

When it FINALLY hit me that I would lose my mother to an incurable cancer, my heart and soul cried out in anguish and that "little girl" inside of me, with insecure, selfish, little girl needs of love and affection, awakened and wailed.

I realised how much I still needed my mother.

And though I knew it would be difficult, the inevitability was that I would have to let her go, ready or not. So, for every day that I still had my mother, I loved her as deeply and tenderly as I could.

Some people have bitterness and resentment towards their parents during their adult lives. I felt none of this towards my mother and realised that life was too short for blame. Could haves, would haves, should haves. None of this meant anything in the face of death. No point in ruminating over what wasn't perfect, for the Universe knows I was far from it.

I dedicate the following to my beloved mother, Mei Ling, who passed away peacefully on April 24, 2009 after a courageous three-year battle with cancer.

I will always love and miss you, Mom ...

Native American Prayer

I give you this one thought to keep
I am with you still – I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints on snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night
Do not think of me as gone
I am with you still – in each new dawn.

"Awakenings" Spirituality Workshop

What an absolutely wonderful workshop! Thanks to teachers Michael Rudder and Nicole Moronval for their very interesting and informative workshops. The room filled with serenity and positivity as we opened up our hearts and souls to this beautiful inner journey. Everyone enjoyed the experience!

Michael Rudder, who has 35 years of experience studying and practising various meditation techniques introduced us to "Synchronicity High-Tech Meditation", which is a powerful technique that combines the knowledge of the great wisdom traditions with the cutting edge of modern technology. It does not include a belief system, and there are no rituals or cultural conformities involved.

Nicole Moronval has been teaching development classes and workshops since 1984. She is best known for her mediumship and intuitive counseling, and her powerful motivational discourses. Nicole presented "Energize your life!" We are all vibrational beings, living in a vibrational universe. Abraham-Hicks calls this "the secret behind The Secret." There is an invisible web of Universal Energy and Consciousness, which has been called "the divine matrix," that connects all life on this planet and beyond.

Kudos to both teachers, Michael and Nicole, for taking us all on this remarkable journey! Thanks to Melanie Richards of Happy Tree Yoga for sponsoring the event and providing us with such a beautiful space! And thanks also to all the participants for your generosity.

Soul Travel, India

Another fantastic slide show by Jonathan Clark.

Tonight's photo exposition was the last in a trilogy entitled "Soul Travel" and covered Jonathan's 5-week trek to India in November 2007. Special guest singer, Jackie Celemencki, closed the show beautifully by singing an acoustic set in sanskrit, adding a wonderful touch to an already visually stunning show. Jonathan, what a wonderful surprise you gave us with all those digitally recorded sounds taken right from your trip!

Thanks to our sponsors, Confusion and AV-Solutions, and of course to our favourite photographer, Jonathan Clark and our wonderful singer, Jackie, whose voice gives you shivers!

I'm looking forward to the encore presentation of this show Wednesday, May 14. See you there!

Jonathan, Bonnie, Amjad, and Amjad's friendMichael, Niki and OliverJonathan, Amjad and Amjad's friend Erik and GeoffBonnie and Geoff

Selected images from the show:

Farewell to Don Kirk

An actor friend of mine that I've done countless workshops with passed away from cancer last night. I am so sad. I had been meaning to go see him at some point but wasn't sure how to approach him and his family since I'd never had contact with him besides for acting ... now I feel so bad ...

Rest in peace, Don. You were a great man and a fantastic actor.

Soul Travel, Burning Man

What can I say?

The fundraiser last night was superb and was well-attended, so much so that I didn't have time to take photos before the show since I was incredibly busy at the door.

Jonathan Clark, you are incredibly talented and delightfully entertaining and I thank you for your generous contribution to Operation Triumph.

Tom from AVI Solutions, I thank you for donating the screen rental. It's incredibly awesome to see Jonathan's images on that 92" screen.

Edward from Confusion, I thank you for allowing us to use your wonderful space and for again supporting our charitable endeavour.

And thank you to all of you who attended and enjoyed the show! India's next on the agenda on April 30th, we'll have some surprises ... see you there!

Here are some of our guests hanging out post-show:

And here are a few selected images from the show:

Celebratory Potluck!

So now that the website is officially launched and we've had our first event, we figured it was time to get together and enjoy good food and good company. We were a small group as it seemed that this past weekend was a favourite either to become ill or get out of town.

Nonetheless, we were able to welcome three new members that day, Jacky, Erik and AJ. Thanks so much for coming by and sharing your company.


We were presented a special treat by Jacky. A short acoustic set accompanied by her incredibly beautiful and touching vocals. This woman sings with her heart and soul and sends shivers up your spine. She is charismatic and engaging and a fantastic story teller. Jackie sang a haunting song in Sanskrit and even though I didn't know what the words meant, my heart somehow knew and I was moved to tears.


Jacky will be performing a benefit concert for Operation Triumph in the near future. Don't miss it!


Incredible how the team has grown so quickly. Geoff said maybe it's the exponential factor ... We're up to 12 new members!

Soul Travel, From Auckland to Montreal

A huge thanks to all those who attended our first fundraiser last night. Your support means a lot to us. Here are some pics from the fantastic evening:

Jonathan Clark, the photographer

Yes, that is a 92-inch projection screen provided by our generous sponsor, AV-Solutions ... Thanks Tom! The images were wonderfully huge!

Operation Triumph (left to right):

Annie Gendron, Jonathan Clark, Bonnie Mak, Véronique Champoux, who just joined the team (yay!) and Geoff Brown

And here's Edward Zaki, working hard as usual ... Thanks Ed for donating the use of your fabulous space on the second floor of Restaurant Confusion.

So, a very fun and funny evening indeed. (Jonathan, was on fire!) We hope you'll be able to come out to our next events in the Soul Travel photo exposition series, held again at Confusion:

Burning Man - Wednesday, April 9

India - Wednesday, April 30

Cheers!

Some pics from the show: