#SoakingSeason2018 PART 1: An Exercise in Patience

FEBRUARY 24, 2018

A little past 2PM or 3PM

I was not in the best of moods as Fr. Jun and I drove to Tobias Fornier, the jump off point for climbing Manaling. We were both silent in the multicab as the heat of the sun slowly started to bring in a little discomfort.

I wish I had cold water right now, I thought. 

My flight from Cebu to Iloilo went smoothly at 5AM earlier, but the land trip from Iloilo to San Jose, Antique was excruciating. I waited for 1.45 hours for the van to fill up before we could leave AND THEN we got stuck in Tigbauan for like an hour due to some road construction. In short, I was on the road from 9:30AM to 12:30PM, when I expected to be there by 11.

Earlier at 10:30AM

"Umpisa na pilgrimage mo (Your pilgrimage is now officially starting)," Tita Alys told me on FB Messenger when I told them about the Tigbauan situation. She was right. There was no point in allowing myself to be irritated by the circumstances. It was a good thing that I had a list of people and projects to pray for on my phone. I was supposed to start on them while climbing the mountain as part of a personal act of penitence, but being stuck there already felt like one. So I started with my Top 4 prayer items - Dad, Mom, Lai and Mafi. 

Indeed God meets us wherever we are. And there, inside a cramped van squeezed between a middle aged man who smelled like cigarettes and a college girl who was peacefully sleeping, He met me like He usually would when I was in my prayer closet. Never mind that my tears were falling, overwhelmed by His intense presence inside that van. I was meant to be where I was at that time, and it was well and good. (I would tell this story of me crying inside the van to Tita Alys later on and they'd joke that the passengers probably thought somebody died and I was in a hurry to get to my destination.) 

As I recall this now, it is a bit comical. In my little piece of the van, I was oblivious to the world. As I listened to instrumental worship on my earphones, praying, tears streaming down my face, the passengers around me cursed the road construction workers who had to pour sand and gravel on the road at the exact moment that we were passing through. I mean...it is a bit funny.

Back to a little past 2PM or 3PM

Back inside the multicab, I listened to my #SoakingSeason2018 playlists which were combinations of African Praise & Worship, Instrumental Worship, a few Lenten themed songs from Indie Christian Artists, John Mark McMillan's Live At The Knight, and The Greatest Showman OST - for when I needed to pause from The Pause, so to speak. 

I unplugged my earphones and played the African version of Ancient of Days on my phone speakers and by the time "Behold He comes..." came on, Fr. Jun and I were singing on top of our lungs. Ah, nothing like some good 'ol praise and worship to perk you up. 

4:00PM

Finally we parked the multicab and grabbed our bags from the back. I was mentally psyching myself up for what laid ahead when...

"Hi Father! You going up?" It was Sister Diding, one of the mission church members. Fr. Jun introduced us and we politely exchanged hellos. She then insisted we go to her home for refreshments before we started our climb. 

I was a bit wary about the time but Fr. Jun gave me a look that said, "Be polite and just go with it."

The idealistic "penitent pilgrim" in me was just restless to start The Climb and I had this whole "I'm going to fast while we climb and break fast after church tomorrow" thing planned in my head. I even informed Fr. Jun in advance to avoid situations like this. So imagine my slight concern to be invited for snacks just when I was about to start my fast. I knew I had to be polite, but I was eager to do what I had planned in mind.  

When we went inside her house, she brought out a plate of freshly baked bread she just bought from the bakery and two huge slices of "ibos," a local delicacy made of sticky rice, wrapped in banana leaves. She also brought out a liter of Pepsi and a bowl of ice.

Sister Diding & Racquel

(Quick backstory: I quit sodas and rice beginning January 8 for vanity reasons and my streak was good up until that moment.)

"Your dad never ate ibos until he tried the ibos of Manaling," Fr. Jun told me as if reading my mind. I imagined my dad going on a mission trip to Manaling and I remember him telling me before "You always eat what you are served when you go on a mission, regardless of how fancy or how simple they are. It is their way of blessing you and by accepting it, you are allowing them to be blessed."

Well then, I told myself, to heck with vanity and planned fasting. If the people of Manaling will serve me ibos, bread, and iced cold Pepsi before we start our trek, we shall have ibos, bread and iced cold Pepsi. 

In fact, when I started eating the food and drinking the iced cold sugary drink, my body immediately thanked me for it. It was as if it was telling me, "Inday Manna, did you really think we could do an hour's worth of trek in this heat without food or sugar in our system?" Sometimes we just really have to stop being so stubborn and realize that even if we think what we are doing is noble, it is not what God intended for you to do at that moment. 

In bisaya, di maghinilas. (Don't be too prideful.)

4:20PM

Finally we were refreshed and the sugar from the Pepsi did wonders for my overall state. I was ready. Padre and I thanked Sister Diding and told her that we had to start with our travel so that we would get there before sundown.

Here we go, I thought to myself. I physically trained for this climb the week before my trip and I was more than eager to start. 

I put on my backpack and my earphones, checked my prayer list, nodded at Padre to signal the start of our ascent, and started.

Sugod nang penitensya. (Let the penitence begin.)

(To be continued.)