I went out for a walk along the beach area. The place was teeming with music and fanfare. It was overwhelming. Delicacies of food items lavishly displayed to entice the throng of tourists to sit and dine while watching the alluring sunset. Everybody seemed to be in a jovial mood, except me. I found myself entertaining moments of doubt.I asked myself the question "what am I doing here?".I have limited resources, I feel inadequate, away from my family, feeling lousy about my abode or perhaps fatigue is finally setting in and exhaustion is catching up to me. I felt defeated.
Just then,I saw something that ether people do not see or perhaps avoid to see. It fixed my point of reference as to why I am there in the first place. The indigenous ati people sitting sickly and malnourished begging for someone to spare a change so that they can eat something. I had to stop and cry. While many are enjoying seafood buffets, some are just hoping for a piece of bread to alleviate their pangs of hunger.
I stopped at a restaurant and ordered 10 spaghetti dinners to go. A little girl caught my attention as her eyes glanced around the restaurant room looking for leftovers. I can see her nose whiffing the scent of food. I approached her and asked her if she wanted something to eat. She said yes with a twinkle in her eyes then immediately excused herself. She came back soon enough with six other hungry kids, one of which is carrying her 1 year old sister. Smilingly, I invited them to sit in the restaurant as I wait for the spaghetti dinners. The manager of the restaurant came out and tried to move the kids along but I told him that these are my dinner guests. He then came back and served them drinks and spaghetti. These kids are between 5 -13 years of age and all of them are undereducated. I had to order more meals for the ati people who were on the sidewalk. Total cost for 15 meals is P495 ($12.37). Total smiles I received (priceless)
One of the servers asked me if I can spend time with him. He talked about how his father abandoned him and had to fend for himself since the age of 12. He is 16 now. We had an opportunity to pray. He told me that he is a christian but sometimes he feels that GOD has abandoned him too. He was deeply encouraged by what he saw and heard tonight. This was a great evening.
I went back to my place at 11:30 pm and realized that I had forgotten to have supper. Welcome to my first day in boracay.
Just then,I saw something that ether people do not see or perhaps avoid to see. It fixed my point of reference as to why I am there in the first place. The indigenous ati people sitting sickly and malnourished begging for someone to spare a change so that they can eat something. I had to stop and cry. While many are enjoying seafood buffets, some are just hoping for a piece of bread to alleviate their pangs of hunger.
I stopped at a restaurant and ordered 10 spaghetti dinners to go. A little girl caught my attention as her eyes glanced around the restaurant room looking for leftovers. I can see her nose whiffing the scent of food. I approached her and asked her if she wanted something to eat. She said yes with a twinkle in her eyes then immediately excused herself. She came back soon enough with six other hungry kids, one of which is carrying her 1 year old sister. Smilingly, I invited them to sit in the restaurant as I wait for the spaghetti dinners. The manager of the restaurant came out and tried to move the kids along but I told him that these are my dinner guests. He then came back and served them drinks and spaghetti. These kids are between 5 -13 years of age and all of them are undereducated. I had to order more meals for the ati people who were on the sidewalk. Total cost for 15 meals is P495 ($12.37). Total smiles I received (priceless)
One of the servers asked me if I can spend time with him. He talked about how his father abandoned him and had to fend for himself since the age of 12. He is 16 now. We had an opportunity to pray. He told me that he is a christian but sometimes he feels that GOD has abandoned him too. He was deeply encouraged by what he saw and heard tonight. This was a great evening.
I went back to my place at 11:30 pm and realized that I had forgotten to have supper. Welcome to my first day in boracay.
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