Year 2010 pa ang picture...The event happened last October 1-3, 2010 to be exact.
Reminiscing where it started....
Nag announce ang head ng community namin (Tito Abet at that time) that Tito Norbert will handle the regional conference in Ilo-ilo and they need volunteers to serve as part of the service team.
Nag yes kaagad ako sa call coz (1) Mahilig ako mag volunteer kase masarap sa pakiramdam (2) Hindi pa ako nakakarating sa Ilo-ilo kaya masaya yun..adventure (3) Hindi pa ako nakaranas na maging part ng service team sa conference at gusto ko na maka-experience.
When I had na the details ng conference, I immediately filed a leave of absence for Friday and Satuday, but marami kami work sa office kaya I change it to Satuday na lang.
Nagpabook ako ng earliest flight to Ilo-ilo for Saturday Morning. I knew, wala na ako kasabay sa byahe (Thursday at Friday flight ang booking nga mga kasama ko) pero alam ko that God is there to guide me, saka mas mababait naman at matulungin ang taga province kaya alam ko carry ko kahit mag-isa.
Before the flight...
Tito Noi advised me a day before that there would be someone na kasabay ko sa Flight. He gave me her number and the phone numbers of the service team so that we can keep in touch while I'm traveling.
Travel time...
From Manila Domestic Airport, I arrived at Ilo-ilo Domestic Airport just in time. I have textedmy companion before hand and we agreed to just meet at the airport.
God is really good. You know why? Because the place where I am going is faaaaar from the airport and it took us several rides before we arrive to our destination ((1)We took a cab from the airport going to SM (2)From SM, we rode a van (3) after the van, we rode a jeep (4) then finally, we rode a tricycle.. whewww). It would be very difficult for me if I had travelled alone.
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| Arrived at the Conference at last |
During the conference...
Ilo-ilo have their own dialect which is Ilongo... and I don't speak and understand Ilongo. (I only know Filipino, English and a little Bisaya and Spanish).
After the talk, there is a segment where the participants are grouped together to share their experiences or insights pertaining to the talk. The service team are advised to group with them and to observe.
They know that I am tagalog and can't understand their dialect so they tried their best to speak using Filipino and English. As expected, they can't explain themselves fully so I advised them to just go ahead and speak Ilongo.
At that time, I feel like Im a foreign delegate. The girl beside me is the one translating the sharings and when they crack a joke, I would be the one to laugh last, ha ha ha.(During ICON or International Leaders Conference, we have foreign delegates coming from different countries. They have interpreters because most of the speakers and sharers talk in taglish. If the speaker/sharer crack a joke, the foreign delegates laugh after we are all done laughing). :-)
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| The service team |
After the ReCon....
Sa halos lahat ng conference, ito ang hindi namin nakakalimutan...at ang aming inaabangan.. ang gala time. (wooot wooot!)
After hardwork, syempre we need din na magpakasaya by exploring the tourist destinations of the place and to taste ang food na sikat sa area.
At Miagao Church
At the beach just near the house where we stay
At GK (Gawad Kalinga) community where they grow mushroom for livelihood
Ate the famous La Paz Batchoy
Departure time
My reflection about the experience.
1. God always provide. He knows what we need, so he will prepare it for us beforehand because we are serving him. (This time, my travel companion).2. God uses people to show us his love, (my travel companion, my co-service team and my seat mate who became my translator).
3. It's really heart warming to be in service for the Lord because I know that in my own little ways, I am contributing something to the community and to the person I talked with. I can show my love for God by serving others.
