I was already on the road an hour later and watched the moon lighting up the sea coast along the highway. The meditative religious music which I could hear from my cellphone (even without earphones) helped provide a prayerful atmosphere. My favorite background music: You are my hiding place, eagle's wings, morning has broken, etc. I always play these at dawn as I resume my journey.
There were lots of ascents and descents during the morning. I usually walked uphill and ran downhill. In the level portions I did more walking.
Along the way two Redemptorist confreres (Frs. Tito & Nico) who were on their way to Calbayog stopped their vehicle and came out to greet me. They had picture taking with me and then sped away. They were my students in Davao and they have recently been assigned in our college seminary in Cebu.
Since today was a short & easy day (only 38 km), I took a lot of long breaks. I reached San Jorge at 1 pm and stopped for an hour in a sari -sari store owned by Mana Aurora. I ordered a soft drink and biscuits. She also served me a pancake. I talked to her about my peace advocacy and she told me that's what we need. She and her family used to live in a farm but they had to evacuate to the town center due to the frequent clashes between the NPA guerillas and the government troops. She wished a day will come when peace will finally reign. When it was time to go and I asked how much I owed her she told me that it was free. When I finally introduced myself as a priest, she was pleasantly surprised.
I arrived in Gandara at around four and procceded to the parish rectory. The parish priest - Fr. Bloy - welcomed me warmly. After a heavy dinner time for a much needed rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.
1 comment:
Praying for you today. Question Fr., what is a sari-sari store?
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