Missionary Experience in the Philippines

After last year’s missionary experience in Guayaramerín (Bolivia), we decided to remain available to go on mission again during our holidays. The human heart knows what it needs, what truly fills it; it seeks fulfilment. And a holiday spent relaxing and having fun, does it help you rest? Does it help you switch off? Does it bring you enjoyment? Yes. But the heart is always filled by God, by those on the margins, by the poorest, by those most in need and by trusting in Providence.

It is in our encounter with others that we truly put what we carry within us “into play.”

We could begin this article with something that deeply touched me from Father Arnold Abelardo’s first homily in Saklay: “The Lord has given us the gift of life, and we can be a gift to Him. Because it is not about having a purpose in life; it is not about doing something, but about being”. I believe this year’s missionary experience can be summed up in these words: the encounter with so many people and so many different realities has been a gift to us, and we have been a gift to them.

I don’t like arriving in a country having already seen photographs or knowing everything about it. I prefer to arrive and discover it for myself. And the Philippines, from the moment we landed, struck me with its natural beauty. Those crystal-clear waters and more than 7,000 green, mountainous islands… indescribable.

We spent a few days resting in Coron and then took a flight to Clark, from where we travelled to our first mission in Nueva Ecija. We saw Spanish influence everywhere: in the language, with so many words in common; in the monuments; in the country’s history; and even in the affection with which we were welcomed.

When we arrived in Clark, Father Arnold, a Claretian priest, and Barik, who also lives in Saklay, were waiting for us. He speaks Spanish perfectly, which made our arrival much easier.

Do you know what the name of the mission where we stayed, Ako Ang Saklay, means?

A Crutch Is More Than Support

“I am the crutch, because every person deserves the opportunity to stand up again.”

The name is a promise of support, accompaniment and collaboration as people build their strength and shape their own future.

A mission of mercy and compassion.

That touched something deep within me and opened me up to the experience I was about to have.

Every day began with the Eucharist, which, of course, the sisters living at Nazareth House also attended. We did not have a fixed schedule; the only constant reference point was Mass. After that, we simply allowed ourselves to be led by whatever the day brought.

I was struck by the way the priest unpacked the Gospel and delivered a message in Tagalog for the workers and people living in Saklay, and another in English for the postulants. In a very natural and pedagogical way, he made the message accessible to everyone present, including me.

Each day we discovered and took part in the different apostolates: we visited the poorest families; we spent a day working in mushroom production; we went to the Feeding Program, where, at seven in the morning, a meal was distributed to people in need; we visited two public schools and brought chocolates for the children; we met with the principals and teachers and visited each of the classrooms; we visited two orphanages, one for girls and one for boys; we took part in catechesis with the sisters and played basketball with the children.

We also spent time with people struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction who are undergoing rehabilitation in a very natural way. We practically knew nothing about it until the end. And I love that: the way they are fully integrated into the community. They work in the rice fields, take care of the animals, participate in Mass, have their meals with us… It was amazing!

As we came to know the reality of Saklay more deeply, we saw the enormous good that one single priest is doing in this mission. A true witness to Jesus and the Gospel. Simply seeing the way he lives is already a great help.

We also spent practically the whole week with the sisters in Nueva Ecija. We were able to get to know and understand more deeply the daily life of the postulants, their formation and their schedule. We shared meals, dinners, testimonies, prayers, karaoke and a trip to Baguio, a beautiful city, by the way, although it rained tremendously while we were there.

I am infinitely grateful to the sisters because, when Father Arnold left to take a Counselling exam, they came to pick me up to go to Mass, took me there and brought me back. We were able to spend the 15^th with them, and it was very special. We truly experienced the universality of the Church and the sense of being one congregational family. We felt at home anywhere in the world.

For me, a postulant named Mónica, from Indonesia, completely floored me. On the 15^th, after lunch, she asked me:

“Menchu, what do you feel when you are with us?”

At that moment I did not answer. Later, I turned the question back to her, because Patri told me: “Menchu, you didn’t answer her”.

So I asked her:

“What do you think I feel when I am with you?”

It is obvious that we share the same joy, that we enjoy being together, laugh and share our faith. I feel at home and I am happy with the sisters.

On 17 August, we set off for Quezon City. The day began with heavy rain. It had been raining for three weeks and there were numerous floods, although we had not yet been directly affected. I must admit that we experienced everything: a typhoon, monsoon rains, thunderstorms and flooding.

A two-hour journey turned into a genuine seven-and-a-half-hour nightmare. It seemed impossible to reach the community in Quezon City. The water came up to our waists, the traffic was completely paralysed and many streets were closed. It was a very worrying day until, finally, we arrived.

They were waiting for us with a smile, a delicious, warm meal and a bed where we could rest for a while. Afterwards, they explained what the following days would look like, and we got to work.

We got up at 5:30 a.m. At 5:50 we prayed Lauds, and at 6:30 we took part in Mass at the Claretian seminary.

I was deeply moved by the number of vocations they have. It filled me with immense joy, and I greatly enjoyed those joyful celebrations in Tagalog and English, surrounded by so many young and good-hearted people.

We had breakfast at 7:20, and at 9:00 we went out to the mission. From distributing medicines to people living in poverty to delivering food to emergency centres; from preparing food packages at home to taking them directly to families affected by the floods. The work carried out by the Philanthropic Development Office is truly impressive.

I feel that, with the novices and postulants, this has been an experience of simply being there, of presence and living together, rather than of doing things. I believe that respecting their way of life, admiring them, participating in moments of prayer, in the Eucharist and in the apostolates, as well as accompanying them, also helps them, just as it helps us to have a stronger and more deeply rooted faith in Jesus, who is the only thing that truly matters.

I will end this article as I began it:

“Life is a gift from God, and we can be a gift to Him.”

Thank you for allowing us to take part in this gift of being one Claretian family throughout the world.