The Bible Mission in Sariaya and Pagbilao, Quezon last September 27 to 29 was marked by a variety of activities and an unforgettable adventure. 11 Sisters and 2 APC’s (Association of Pauline Cooperators) left Pasay right after lunch, hoping to make it to Pagbilao before the evening of Sept 27, for a Bible Seminar to be given to parishioners of St. Anne Parish in Malicboy. On our way to Pagbilao, we stopped at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Concepcion, Sariaya to see Fr. Rafael Tolentino, the priest who was organizing this Bible Mission.
After a hearty merienda, all were excited for the next stop, Pagbilao, which was just an hour’s drive from Sariaya. And this is where an unforgettable adventure happened! Just a little over 5 minutes from where we dropped off two Sisters for another mission, traffic began to build up. What would usually take an hour of travel to Pagbilao took us 10 long hours, 8 of which were spent on the road. For the other 2 hours, a Good Samaritan very willingly offered us the use of a single-room Day Care Center and all its facilities – kitchenette, restroom, tables and/or mats to sleep on – anything to keep us comfortable.
It was fortunate that Sr. Maricor, the team leader, decided to bring along dinner instead of having it prepared for us by her family in Pagbilao. In that little Day Care Center, the Lord continued to provide all the other things we needed – hot water for coffee, utensils for eating, etc. If there were any complaints in our hearts at that time, it was silenced by God’s providential love and care, so that, after finally arriving in Pagbilao at 2 in the morning of the next day, there were still a number of stories to tell, and a lot of laughs to share before exhaustion finally took over.
Up early the next morning, we gathered at the Parish of St. Anne in Malicboy, together with our guides for the day who gave us the itinerary of the animations that we were to give. We were divided into sub-teams of 2 Sisters and/or APC, each team giving two Bible Seminar to MSKs, one in the morning, and another in the afternoon. Meanwhile, the 3 Sisters whom we dropped in Sariaya gave a short Bible Seminar to a huge gathering of more than 300 MSK households and leaders, aside from having vocation animation and a book display.
In the evening of the same day, amidst an extremely heavy downpour, those of us assigned to Pagbilao headed back to Sariaya. After the 1st Mass the following day, Sunday, we were given our mission tasks by Fr. Raffy: 4 squads of 2 Sisters each did home to home visits the whole day, with 1 squad giving a Bible Seminar in the afternoon. The rest of the Sisters gave Bible Seminars in the morning and did a book display in the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the afternoon. Meanwhile, the 2 APC’s, together with a Sister, did a parish book mission for the whole day in San Pedro Bautista Parish in Candelaria.
This particular weekend was fully packed – with various activities and animations – not to mention one particular unforgettable adventure of getting caught in traffic for many hours! But each one in the team felt the deep joy of knowing in one’s heart that God has made possible many things so that He could reach out to people through our presence, our humble work, sacrifice, and concerted effort.
