Missionary Life 101

(Click on the image to make it bigger. Feel free to download and pass it on to your friends!)

Over dinner, a good old friend asked me, "Em, do you want to be a missionary for one week?". I looked at her. "What exactly do you mean by that??"

It turns out, she really meant it in the truest sense of the word. On she goes recounting the story of last Holy Week when she and a bunch of other young women went off to an island to preach the Word of God while really living with the locals. No aircon, no cellphone signal, no showers! (I can already hear a lot of you going yikes!)

Yes, it's a scary challenge, especially if you've been a city kid all your life. But according to my friend, it's a lif- changing experience for those who dare to take it. I was actually thinking about it, but my parents said we're having a family thing over Holy Week so I'll have to skip this year. I wouldn't be honest if I say I didn't feel a sense of relief! But part of me is itching to jump on that boat with them and see what life is like over there, and what kind of a difference my presence can make on that island even if it's just for a week.

After all, only a couple of years ago an invitation was extended to me to do an immersion with Gawad Kalinga. It was with mixed emotions that I decided to sign up for the one week live-in program. Yes, we slept on straw mats on the floor, climbed scaffoldings, painted walls and wooden fixtures, handled tools we couldn't even name... But when we came home, it wasn't those things that left deep imprints on our minds. It was the friendly faces of the neighbors, the warm welcome from the community, the genuine delight that the kids showed in the fact that they had new "ates" and "kuyas" to play with, the heart-to-heart talks with the mothers in the community about how their lives and their pride were radically uplifted by their experience with GK.. those were the things that we still remember so vividly.

So yeah, I'll keep thinking about it. I've got til next Holy Week to make up my mind (or rather, I think my mind's been made up, it's just a matter of mustering up the courage to say yes and sign up!)

But for those of you who think this is something exciting you're ready to do right now, I'm extending the invitation to you!

What: Holy Week Missions When: April 6 - 12, 2009
Where: For Boys - Tingloy Island, Batangas. For Girls - Pilillia, Rizal.
Who: For young people who are interested in trying out what it's like to be a missionary.

How do I sign up / get more information?
Email: missionyouthphilippines@gmail.com
Call: Andres at 0915-6273892 for the boys' mission. Isabel at 0929-3246416 for the girls' mission.
Visit missionyouthphil.com for more information.

Let me end this post with a testimonial from one of the girls who joined it last year..

It all started with a Plan.

My Plan was simple. It involved me, a tired and relieved college freshman, spending the three weeks of my Semestral Break as (for lack of a better term) a human vegetable: sleeping at midnight, waking up at noon, and lounging around the house for the rest of the day.

My Plan was also very tempting. After a whole semester of chasing after deadlines and losing hours of sleep, I wanted nothing more than to lie down on the nearest bed and stay there for a few weeks. If there was something that I badly needed back then, it was a long and restful vacation to recharge myself physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Everything was all set: the break, the bed, and the soon-to-be-human-vegetable (yours truly). All it needed was a Go Signal from God.

But as it turned out, He had a different Plan for me.

At first glance, His Plan was not very appealing. Plucking me from my wonderful comfort zone of a home, He plopped me (and thirteen other young women) down into the middle of nowhere... namely, a remote and sleepy town called Agoncillo in the Batangas Province. There, my fellow missionaries and I were to spread His Word to the residents, and in the process, immerse ourselves in an environment that was a far cry from the securities of Manila. Tap water was unheard of in that town, so we had to bathe ourselves using a small bucket and several large tubs of water. In the afternoons, when we were done with the day's quota of missionary work (catechizing the kids, visiting the households, and helping with the community Mass), we would drag our sweaty and grimy selves back to our lodgings at the Mayor's house. And at night, we were always on guard for the sudden appearance of a strange bug or two in our bedrooms.

His Plan was not simple either. During our door-to-door visits, not all of the residents were open to what we had to share. One man even drove us out of his house, saying "I don't need to hear any of that!" Handling the kids was easier, but it was still quite a task because of our limited supplies and the sheer number of children in the community (we were effectively outnumbered, 14 missionaries to 50 kids). We had to disinfect scraped knees, carry around lost toddlers, and coax the more bashful children to join the games.

His Plan took away from me five days of my much-awaited vacation. His Plan took me away from my home. His Plan took me away from everything that I considered restful and comforting.

... But then again. It was His Plan that led me to Agoncillo, the place where I discovered the joy of genuinely sharing yourself with other people. It was His Plan that showed me the beauty of children's smiles. It was His Plan that made me realize that "rest" does not necessarily equate to "idleness," but to "service." With every child that I carried, I felt my weary heart grow lighter and lighter. With each house that we visited, I found myself feeling more and more revitalized. It was as though my joy was being magnified through them in a most awesome way.

In the end, my Plan to become a human vegetable was effectively ground to dust by His Plan. Going along with His Plan did not only give me my much-wanted rest, it also gave the opportunity to lighten the burdens of other people and share with their joys. Joining the Semestral Break Missions was a life-changing experience, one that continues to affect me even after two months since we departed from Agoncillo.

... And, as a sidenote, I'm pretty sure that I would have made a horrible zucchini. More the reason to be grateful for His Plan.

Glory be to God.

Mari Kaira Ong Leal
Manila, Philippines

.

YTRiP Wine and Cheese Party

Yet again, YTRiP brought us a fun evening of getting to know the Philippines better - Philippine wines in particular! In the evening of October 18, Frank and I found our way to quaint and cozy little Rafa's Deli and Cafe in QC. The original plan was to have a wine and cheese party, but some problems came up with sourcing the cheese. But hey, we were quite contented to have just the wine! Besides, Rafa's has yummmmm food!



It was good to see the whole gang again, as well as meet some new friends. The usual suspects were there: [1] Clare, co-founder of YTRiP, [2] Diane, the mastermind behind this evening and designated YTRiP tanggero, [3] Kara, the deceptively demure tomador [4] Kuya Leo of Sanghabi who taught us at the Pintig and Baybayin workshop a few months ago, [5] yours truly, [6] Anne, resident poshness queen, [7] and of course, Frank, designated driver for the night.




After the hi's and hello's, we all sat down to start the official tasting - 10 different native wines from various parts of the country. As they appear in the picture above (and to the best of my meory), our selections for the night were: Tapuy Rice Wine from Banawe; Pineapple Wine from Albay; Grape Wine from Benguet; Rice Wine from Cebu; Strawberry Wine also from Banawe; Duhat Red Wine of Laoag; Camote and Pineapple wine from Banawe, Bugay Wine form Benguet; 90 Proof Lambanog from Sariaya, Quezon Province; Tostadong Tapuy of Banawe, a twist to the original Tapuy as this one's made of toasted rice.



After all the tasting came the judging. As Diane placed her hand above each bottle, the crowd voted for their favorites through their clapping.

Losers for the night --Pineapple wine and the Grape Cooler. Pineapple Wine because it smelled awful (although we have a suspicion that the particular bottle we got was made from overripe pineapples.) And Grape Cooler simply because it tasted like a juice more than wine.

Crowd Favorites were the 90 Proof Lambanog and the Tapuy Rice Wine, athough people had differing opinions on which was the better version - original or tostado. My vote went to tostado. Tasted and smelled like coffee! Mmmmmmm....

And when voting was over and done with, we decided to end by finishing the bottle of Quezon Lambanog by re-enacting the traditional Lambanog Tagayan Ceremony. Ever since we learned this form Tita Tina on her Kulinarya Tagala Tour, we just couldn't get enough of it! Na'ay po!

And as wonderful nights go, it had to end... 'til next time, YTRiP! :-)





Credits:
Thanks once again to Albert Bainto for the great pictures! You're forgiven for using your "photographer on duty" excuse to keep you form drinking that night.

To learn more about YTRiP you can check out their website or their multiply site.

.

Pedala - Messengers with a Cause

I got this flyer in my email about a month ago and instantly thought it was a great idea because I am always 10 days behind on my chores, and I don't have my own car. When I need to travel far to do my chores, I always have to bug either my brother or my boyfriend.

So the next chance I got, I tried out the Pedala messenger service - and they did not disappoint.

I gave them a simple task at first - to pick up my Hands On Manila t-shirts from their office along Chino Roces Ave. and deliver them to my office in Rufino Tower. The lady who took my details was really nice, and my stuff arrived just a little later than the designated time (which was understood kasi naki-singit lang ako sa schedule ng Makati messenger nila! Heheh... so I won't count that against them.) It's best to call and schedule a day ahead, especially if your package needs to be delivered / picked-up at a specific time.

Such a great convenience for only P50 one-way pick-up and drop-off, and P70 for roundtrip return. Yes, those are inter-city rates already! Amazing, right? And it doesn't hurt that they are also advocating an environmental cause by using bicycles instead of motorcycles to help minimize gas consumption and dangerous emissions!

Their mobile number is now saved on my phonebook and I'm already eyeing them for my Christmas deliveries! I wonder what their limitations are when it comes to delivering packages...

And if you're a non-profit organization like us over at the World Youth Alliance, we're operating on tight budgets and can't afford to employ our own company messengers. So it's good to know that there's a Pedala we can count on whenever the need arises.

"Pedala is a company of bike messengers joined together to fulfill your personalized delivery needs without the fumes."

To book a Pedala messenger, call/text 0920.698.7777 or email pedalabikemessengers@gmail.com.

Pintig at Baybayin Seminar with YTRiP

(A migrated post from my multiply account, originally published on July 10, 2008.)

I first heard of YTRiP about a year ago, and have always wanted to join their projects. But for some reason, schedules never really quite worked out. (Despite me and Clare emailing and texting back and fourth for months.. even our plans to have coffee never really materialized!) So I was particularly excited when i finally found my way to one of their events - in the heart of Quiapo, no less, for their Pintig at Baybayin Workshop facilitated by Ms. Tess Obusan and the musical group called Sanghabi.

Of course, for me, the adventure started with the fact that I would have to go all

the way to Quiapo to attend it! Being the Cebuana that I am, I still get lost around Manila and have never dared to venture into Quiapo. When I first came to Manila, I immediately found my comfort zone in peaceful Ortigas Center, and never really left my little kingdom of shopping malls and fast food restaurants

even after being here for over 7 years.

So off I wet to Bahay Nakpil, an unassuming little place along A. Bautista street, with only a Philippine Flag hanging from the second floor hinting to its rich history. (This house was actually one of the key meeting places for the KKK!)

The day started out with a Baybayin workshop, learning this ancient system of writing that the Filipinos already had even before the Spaniards arrived. It was easy enough to learn, a bunch of squiggly-curvy lines put together with dots to represent variations of phonetics. (Of course, I'm biased as I've had to learn classical Chinese characters all throughout my childhood!) Here are my attempts:

This one says my name.

And this says (or attempts to spell out!) World Youth Alliance.

The one in parentheses read out WaYa! :-)

After the Baybayin workshop, we moved on to Pintig - learning about the native musical instruments and community music and native dances. Sanghabi took us through all the different indigenous instruments they brought to the workshop that day, introducing the native names, origins and uses of each. Then they made all the participants pick one instrument and challenged to group to attempt to make some sort of musical harmony come out of our individual banging and beating and shaking.. Really odd, if you look at it, 'coz most of our native instruments were just a bunch of sticks and oddly cut segments of bamboo. Played alone, you get a repetitive singular sound that was unremarkable. But played altogether, all the individuals beats and sounds made for an interesting composition.

So this was what music meant to our IP's.. Each instrument was so simple, each individual 'musician' only made a very plain sound all on his own. But when each person in the village picks up his own instrument and joins in, the result is a great piece of COMMUNITY music. It's not about the solo act, it's about everyone playing to the beat of the other, to make one harmonious...well..community with the common goal of making music. As our workshop instructors from Sanghabi pointed out, the way our tribes created music is very reflective of the Filipino way of life -- Kung marunong ka makining, kung marunong ka makiramdam, marunong ka makitao.

Then after making music came the dancing! All I have to say is... it's not as easy as it looks! So let me end this blog entry with some funny pictures of us attempting to be like the graceful ladies of the Cordillera region. A very very bg thank you to YTRiP for organizing it, and to Sanghabi and Miss Tess Obusan for imparting on us their deep insights into what really makes us Filipino.

I can't wait for my next YTRiP adventure.

To learn more about YTRiP, visit their website and their multiply account. You can view more pictures from this event on my multiply account album. All photos are courtesy of the amazing Albert Bainto, whose pictures can also be found on his online portfolio.