the gift
it's a few days till my birthday. normally, i'd be either a) complaining about how old i'm getting or b) making a list of gifts i want to receive. but now i would do neither because i wanna share with you the gift i already received, weeks before my birthday. that is, the gift of a renewed relationship with the Lord.
last september 11-23, my parents and i joined a group on a pilgrimage to jordan, israel and egypt. we were 39 all in all, including the priest chaplain, Fr. Teofilo Rustia, and two tour escorts from catholic travel, ate racquel and ate bernie. for people who really knew me, the reaction was that of surprise. they teased me if i could really last that long on a religious activity. to be perfectly honest, the last time i ever did something religious was way back in 4th year HS, a retreat with Fr. James Reuter. when college came, the Lord came second to matters i thought were more important. the first few days were pure torture. mass, rosary, morning prayers, 3 o'clock habit EVERYDAY! but as the days wore on, i found myself praying along and participating in the activities. as we went to the different spots where Jesus spread the word of God, i felt myself immersing fully in the experience. at some points, i shed a few tears because i was really touched. it was actually surreal to be at the place where it all happened, his birthplace, his baptism, his crucifixion, his resurrection and ascension, to name a few. now that we are back home, i kind of miss the mass, prayers, activities that we did back there. PLUS, i miss the people coz it seemed that we were one big family back there.
the trip wasn't all serious and religious. there were a lot of laughters and joking around that happened. you wouldn't believe who spearheaded the kalokohans.. it was Fr. Rustia! hahaha! but there was a really funny incident i would never forget. apparently, middle easter people find filipinas exotic and are very expressive of it. while i was walking in israel, a guy asked me, "japanese?" i said, "no." and he said, "thailand?" i answered, "no." and then he said, "philippines?" to which i answered, "yeah." so he asked me, "kumusta ka? so i replied in tagalog, "mabuti." to which he answered again, "hindi mabuti, ma-beauty!" i laughed so hard coz it was one hell of a pick up line! hahaha!
it's very hard to describe the experience of a pilgrimage. you really had to be there. after the trip, i recommended to people that they should try it and i'm sure they'll come out a better person. i am speaking from experience. since i can't describe the trip fully, just click and you'll see some pictures that show highlights of the trip.
that's all for now. godbless! =)
btw, congrats to dcay, pipay, anna , tin and the rest of the Ateneo Lady Eagles for winning the UAAP women's basketball, emerging as CHAMPS!... =)
last september 11-23, my parents and i joined a group on a pilgrimage to jordan, israel and egypt. we were 39 all in all, including the priest chaplain, Fr. Teofilo Rustia, and two tour escorts from catholic travel, ate racquel and ate bernie. for people who really knew me, the reaction was that of surprise. they teased me if i could really last that long on a religious activity. to be perfectly honest, the last time i ever did something religious was way back in 4th year HS, a retreat with Fr. James Reuter. when college came, the Lord came second to matters i thought were more important. the first few days were pure torture. mass, rosary, morning prayers, 3 o'clock habit EVERYDAY! but as the days wore on, i found myself praying along and participating in the activities. as we went to the different spots where Jesus spread the word of God, i felt myself immersing fully in the experience. at some points, i shed a few tears because i was really touched. it was actually surreal to be at the place where it all happened, his birthplace, his baptism, his crucifixion, his resurrection and ascension, to name a few. now that we are back home, i kind of miss the mass, prayers, activities that we did back there. PLUS, i miss the people coz it seemed that we were one big family back there.
the trip wasn't all serious and religious. there were a lot of laughters and joking around that happened. you wouldn't believe who spearheaded the kalokohans.. it was Fr. Rustia! hahaha! but there was a really funny incident i would never forget. apparently, middle easter people find filipinas exotic and are very expressive of it. while i was walking in israel, a guy asked me, "japanese?" i said, "no." and he said, "thailand?" i answered, "no." and then he said, "philippines?" to which i answered, "yeah." so he asked me, "kumusta ka? so i replied in tagalog, "mabuti." to which he answered again, "hindi mabuti, ma-beauty!" i laughed so hard coz it was one hell of a pick up line! hahaha!
it's very hard to describe the experience of a pilgrimage. you really had to be there. after the trip, i recommended to people that they should try it and i'm sure they'll come out a better person. i am speaking from experience. since i can't describe the trip fully, just click and you'll see some pictures that show highlights of the trip.
that's all for now. godbless! =)
btw, congrats to dcay, pipay, anna , tin and the rest of the Ateneo Lady Eagles for winning the UAAP women's basketball, emerging as CHAMPS!... =)
posted by blueG @ 6:43 PM
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