When It's All Been Said And Done (Part Three)

Whew!! At last, I’m down to the last part of the Caticlan Mission and Boracay Escapade blog series. Actually, on this part, I would like to be more personal. (As if was not in Part 1 and 2, Hehehe…) I must reflect on certain things that made a great impact not only to me but also to my friends/co-missionaries.

It was early in the morning, when we left Caticlan and rode a motorboat which has a capacity of 30-40 passengers. (Wow! Grabe na yung lahat kami nagkasya, eh 45 kami nun. Kulang na lang katabi na ng mga mukha namin yung motor sa likod ng bangka. Kaya naisip nalang naming na tumahimik at mag-picture-ran.)

Si Gospel, Ako at Steff. Habang nasa isang maingay na bangka. Hehehe...

Si Gospel na malungkot, Ako na inaantok pa, si Sam nanagugutom at inaantok all at the same time. Hehehe..

When we arrived in Boracay, we all felt like pampering ourselves. Sleeping, shopping at D-Mall (Tiangge na paulit-ulit at parang iisang lang ang may-ari.), eating ice cream, and even watching beautiful, alluring and tempting bodies of foreigners. Of course, what do you expect, it’s Boracay, and I think everyone needs a great and sumptuous showcase (Kahit wala namang dapat ipakita). There are many beautiful women especially foreigners (Dahil sila lang naman ang may lakas ng loob.) in skimpy bathing suits. (Mga two-piece na parang gawa lang sa limampung sinulid. Mga bathing suits na pang-panyo lang ng bata ang size.) Here's a shot while observing them:

Si Gospel na puno ng buhangin ang katawan, si Mawhi na pumuputi pag bumibilad sa araw, si Steff na napaka-sexy at may balak na i-tumba nag mga sexy foreigners dun at Ako na inaantok pa rin. Hehehe...

Si Gospel, Mawhi, Ako at Yen na may sumbreron na ang hirap hanapin at tawaran... Hehehe...

Si Gospel, Mawhi, Ako, Sam na hindi namin alm kung saan galing basta na lang sumulpot, at si Yen at ang kanyang mahiwagang sumbrero. Hehehe...

Then, we enjoyed sharing our different stories and memories that we had during the Medical and Dental Mission. Gospel shared the funny experience he had during the circumcision sessions. Steff and Mawhi shared the little yet juicy discussions that we had together with the Dental Team. Yen shared about his new friend, Darius. We were surprised when Yen talked about Darius. It’s because we didn’t expect that for that short period, Yen and Darius bonded as if they have known each other for so long. We enjoyed how Darius showed his thoughtfulness to Yen; that even before we go back to Manila, he brought Yen a bunch of ‘sineguelas’ as his pa-baon. Then, we also prayed for him before we left Caticlan.

The last night before we go home was one of the best parts in this trip. It’s when after being refreshed through a good shower. Steff, Gospel, Mawhi, Yen, Phillip and I, after having a good dinner, decided to walk and explore the night life in Boracay. But Yen and Phillip had their henna tattoo done first so we let them go ahead of us. Mawhi fixed her things. So Steff, Gospel and I went to a shop and talked about our personal stories. Steff opened the talk with ‘love life’ as the topic. (Kamusta naman ang mag-usap sa tabi ng dagat habang umiinom ng nakakangilong shake?! Hehehe..) Then Gospel, continued the discussion. He revealed his ‘crush’ to us. I was shocked to hear him talk about his ‘crush’ because unfortunately, I’m very close to her. (As in. Hehehe…) In fact, he even told us that he has plans of courting her. (Tama ba namang, pangunahan ko na?! Hehehe…) Then, both of them looked at me with eyes forcing me to share mine. I hesitated at first. I’m not used to share that aspect of my life. It’s not that I’m being unfair to them. It’s just that I’m not comfortable talking about that part of my life. Anyway, Yen and Phillip came and they heard my story. Then, we asked Yen and Phillip about their share. Yen concurred with my story, telling the group that we have the same situation. I was surprised with that. Phillip told us about his present situation. Then, our discussion prolonged with different matters led us to go back to our room and talk about it discretely.

We started the first day of our cell group in Boracay. Each of us telling our deepest secrets and sharing each other’s past pains and present burdens. I prayed for each one of them. I felt that the Holy Spirit was there. God was there. Every eye was filled with tears. The room was filled with the anointing as each surrendered, once and for all, all the pain, burdens and worries. We had a great bonding, though we didn’t have the chance to roam around. Indeed, we all concurred that that night was a very special Divine appointment.

The next day, we woke up with different testimonies of how God talked to them personally. Everybody felt that there was a big change that happened. It’s funny that I told them, “Dito sa mission trip natin, hindi lang tayo ang nag-mimission, mi-nission din tayo ni Lord.” Then all of us, agreed and praised God because of what happened.

Here are some of the pictures before leaving Boracay:

L.A.U.G.H.S. cellgroup wala lang si Phillip. Asan na yun? Hehehe...

Ganun pa din. Plus, Ian minus Steff. Hehehe...

Pauwi na kami, tawa pa rin ng tawa. Kunyari lang naman... Hehehe..

My personal shots before going home:

Of course, this article wouldn’t end with just a bunch of stories. Again, as what I’ve said before, I had many realizations about this whole Mission Trip. And I’m excited to share some (if not all) of them as I have a series for this Mission Trip. For this Part Three, the last part, I want to share the realizations I had while we were in Boracay and as we go home.

1. God never runs out of surprises. You’ll hate it at first but you’ll love it in the end, believe me.
2. Life is like a box of chocolates, you’ll never know what you’ll get.
3. 2 Corinthians 13 said it very well.
4. Moving on is a decision, not just a feeling or a desire.
5. Where there is a vision, there is a provision. (quoted from Tatay)
6. Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens another.
7. God is a God of second chances. His love never fails.
8. Christianity is not a religion. It’s having a relationship with Him. It’s accepting Jesus as your personal SAVIOR and LORD. It’s a lifestyle.
9. God loves us though we are not lovable. Then, who are we not to love others?
10. Though you don’t feel like doing what is good. DO IT ANYWAY.
    
    Thank God for this one of a kind experience. God bless.