Never lost, always found (24): Of dads and driving, God and GPS

Never have I had so many encounters with the GPS- global positioning system- than we took long drives the last time I was in the United States with my parents.




Given the dizzying, criss-crossing multitude of highways, signs, and lanes the US road interstate network has, the GPS is indeed God-sent. It allows the driver to drive in peace, having a guide that tells him or her where to go, where to turn, where to exit onwards his or her final destination.



In this sense, I thought to myself while experiencing the myriad conveniences of the GPS, this tool is a lot like God and our relationship with Him.

Plans
Before my dad starts any trip, he keys in to the GPS the address of the, say, hotel or tourist attraction which we want to visit, trusting fully that the GPS will get us there with the best possible route in the shortest amount of time.

Similarly, we lift up to God our plans, our intentions, basically our lives, buoyed by the fact that He will take us there, in places and circumstances where we will blossom and thrive. This trust in the Lord has been one of the earliest and most enduring life lessons given to me by my parents, that “In everything we do, put God first and He will direct and crown our efforts with success.”


Directions
And so we launch out of the garage and into the main highways. The GPS screen gives a visual representation of the road ahead, with appropriately labelled roadways, exits, and landmarks. Alongside the visual representation, there is also an audio component that gives intermittent guidance on where to go next, which side of a fork in the road do we take, etc.

In like manner, God has provided for us visual and auditory reminders of His love through constant guidance. He has given us the Scriptures, our clergy, our lay leaders, even everyday folk to serve as representations of His presence in our lives. Through these, through them, He is helping us see the horizon of the possible, guiding us towards the path promised of unending joy.


Detours
But as is wont to happen, the GPS is at times ignored. Seeming familiarity to a better parallel road will at times tempt the driver to veer away from what the GPS is indicating to be the road. At times we reject the GPS directions and heed the reminders of family and friends to take this exit or that freeway instead because the last time they did so, it cut their trip by half an hour or half a day even- only to find out that doing so now would actually double the hours on the road because of repairs. The GPS was right all along.

And so, too, do we fail, when we rely on our own devices, when we give in to the jeers and taunts of the crowd around, despite these being contrary to God’s will. We take on the easy expressways, we swerve onto reckless routes, and we tread on tempting turnpikes in search of shortcuts which turn out to be more costly. We reject God because we think we know better.


U-turns
However, with each wrong exit taken, the GPS seems to move ahead of the driver, re-visualizing the road ahead, and gives off this repetitious, at times irritating, but almost always welcome reminder: Turnaround when possible. It will proceed to give alternative routes to enable the driver to go back to the original route, even if the latter will keep on ignoring the GPS reminder. Sooner or later, especially when the driver accedes to the GPS direction, s/he will find him/herself again on the right track.

Respecting our free will, God seemingly allows us to stumble, wander, and eventually be lost in the maze of our own making. But in His infinite wisdom and mercy, He will give us second chances to get back on the road towards what is best for us. He will use any person, situation, or tool to rally us to what is good, what is right, and what is just. If only we will allow Him to do so.

Teamwork
It goes without saying though that the GPS cannot solely bring us to our destination. It takes a good vehicle, a competent driver, and a host of helpful travel gadgets and worthy road trip companions to make each destination merit the journey. No matter how hi-tech the GPS is, without the driver and his/her companions’ cooperation, they will never reach where they are supposed to go.

While with a snap of His finger God can all bring us to Him, He does not do so. He allows us to go to Him not out of fear of being punished but out of full knowledge and understanding of the immenseness of His mercy and love. He is showing us the way; it is but right that our response be to take the journey and persevere in the adventure.


Finish line
When we get to our destination, the GPS is turned off to conserve power. We may need to hook it up to our PCs to update its software. We need to be careful with it, lest the screen be scratched or worse shattered. Depending on our subscription, the GPS may not work in other countries. So in a way, the GPS can only take us so far.

Not our God, though. His power has created the moon and the stars. This same power perfectly crafted each grain of sand on the earth. His power has parted the Red Sea. This same power can relieve our anxiety before a job interview. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His is a love that is all-encompassing, never fading nor failing. He is around us, anywhere, everywhere, crossing through political borders and language restrictions. His love and mercy are eternal, always fresh, available, accessible.

Our life’s True North Star, Inspiration, Guide…


For my Pop, who's taught us to drive, thereby giving us wings. Happy Father's Day =]

I am a man in a suitcase

My Lakbayan grade is B-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

On the road for the most part of this year, so far. Traveling is such a blessing, especially when you practically get paid to do it =]

Safe journeys always everyone =]

Make the Puerto Princesa Underground River one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature!

VOTE VOTE VOTE until 11/11/11!
Make the Puerto Princesa Underground River a part of the New 7 Wonders of Nature!

To cast your vote:

Text PPUR to 2861 and follow the prompts/instructions and/or

Visit http://www.new7wonders.com

Here's why we should vote for PPUR:

https://www.facebook.com/PuertoPrincesaUndergroundRiver



Once again, here's how to vote for PPUR:



Voting ends November 11, 2011!

Now thawing

I'm still trying to get back to the groove of churning out regular updates. A brief, happy sojourn to the US ought to provide enough inspiration =]

Excuse me while I try to regain the use of my frozen fingers and brain =]

May all those who happen to wander into this obscure nook of the blogosphere have a fantastic 2010!

Cue: Handel

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said-

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.


My sister is no street sweeper, but heaven knows how much of my earthly and figurative mess she has taken care of. For that and the myriad other blessings God coursed through her for our entire family, she deserves a lengthy celestial standing ovation coupled with rapturous hoots, applause, and choral singing.

Happy birthday to my favorite sister (by default, no competition)!

I love you dearly.

(Pierce Brosnan and Ces Drilon extend their greetings as well.)

"Please don't turn away"

That was the appeal of Angelina Jolie as her public service advertisement on CNN began to unfold for the celebration of World Refugee Day today, June 20th. If it weren't for personal experience and had she not began with that line, I would have changed channels. After all, what do I have to do with those uprooted families is Pakistan or Iraq? What is it to us Filipinos if two million Pakistanis are displaced by the offensive of their armed forces versus the Taliban in the Swat Valley?

A child attempting to play or escape the noonday sun in the Batulawan evacuation center, Pikit, Cotabato.

We need not look far beyond our borders to know about internally displaced populations or IDP’s. The recent period of armed conflict in Mindanao and its aftermath (from August 2008 to May 2009) has resulted to the uprooting of 146,570 families or 703, 949 individuals from their homes and communities in 406 villages, 51 municipalities, 3 cities, and 11 provinces (Source: National Disaster Coordinating Council Situation Report 84, http://www.ndcc.gov.ph). Those are 703,949 Filipinos whose lives are forever changed because of loss of communities to belong to; loss of land to till; loss of education opportunities; loss of dignity, peace, stability, comfort.

(Want to help already? Visit the UN High Commissioner for Refugees website and the Philippine National Red Cross website to see how you can be the change you want to see in the world around you.)

I got a glimpse of their lives first hand while undertaking a project with the Department of Health with regard to disasters this summer. We were in the town of Pikit, Cotabato, site of cyclical armed conflict that comes and goes roughly every two years. Our team arrived at the (hopefully) tale-end of this cycle; there were just about five military checkpoints between the town and the regional center of Cotabato City. A good sign.

We visited an evacuation center in the village of Batulawan where several hundred families have been staying since nine months prior to our visit. They pitched their homes on parcels of land that was being planned to be part of the town cemetery. Their shelters- supposedly temporary- were nothing more than erstwhile sacks of rice bound with wire, made sturdy by bamboo frames. They had to live their own villages and aggregate in this one because of the increased fighting between government forces and the other combatant forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. They are being “encouraged” to return to their village, this repatriation even made more enticing by new homes and seed money for starting anew. But sporadic fighting still punctuate the days and nights; it looked like they were staying put. There was no other choice.

A tricycle can hardly accommodate its passengers plus the more precious cargo of this month's ration for an evacuee family.

Before we left the local health office to visit Batulawan, trucks of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross was being swarmed by a huge crowd. Apparently, we were in town the same time the monthly ration for the evacuees were being given. Each family received one-half sack of rice was given by the WFP, another half sack was given by the ICRC; 6 liters of cooking oil, and; 24 pieces of canned goods. There was some semblance of order as the items were being handed out. Soon after, men and teen-age boys were hauling their supplies unto waiting tricycles. After the latter were loaded, they sped through the national highway back to the evacuation center where their families awaited their meager supplies for the month. These, plus what the local government can give, will be enough to tide them over to the next month. Hopefully.

The men of Batulawan unload their "harvest" for the day... for the month.

All in all, we didn’t stay for more than eight hours in that town. We went to other areas in Mindanao- a vast majority of which is peaceful, let me make that clear- but the plight of the IDP’s in and around those areas were uniformly dismal. Local government resources were stretched almost to the breaking point. Frontline workers were tired, energy sapped by the everyday toil of attending to the evacuees while they themselves are displaced by the senseless violence. And those displaced populations- some are rearing to go back to the fields, some have had their spirits so broken that they now relish in their plight as evacuees- what with all the free goodies they receive, among others.

We conducted focused group discussions and key informant interviews for our DOH project. At first, as our participants shared the hardships of an evacuee, I had to project an almost disconnected demeanor, else I would have broken down. There were prevailing feelings that they have been forgotten, as manifested by the supplies that were never enough, the salaries that were never sufficient, the appreciation that do not come. However, I am buoyed by the dedication of the frontline workers, the efforts they exert despite the unwillingness of their bodies to take another step, their ingenuity and resourcefulness in the face of lack and want and threats to their safety and security. Their uncanny ability to smile amidst the atrocities, I am certain, are a great source of comfort to those whom they serve.

Our project team with our local contacts and frontline service providers in Pikit.

It has been more than three months since we undertook this leg of the project but they are still with me- faces, stories, hopes and all. The project still has a long way to go. And with all the bureaucratic tangle and obstacle course it still has to go through, I am honestly worried about the magnitude of its impact, if it will help those displaced populations and the frontline workers in time.

"Homes" for relocated and repatriated families dot the highway between Cotabato City, through Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat.

I almost did not want to leave them there in Mindanao. Everything seems so petty and frivolous here. But I guess somebody has to tell their story, so that people in Imperial Manila will get to know the real score in a land that is just about 1,800 kilometers away and yet it could very well be in another planet…

The children of Batulawan.

World Refugee Day is a remembrance of those displaced by calamities and atrocities. It aims to re-focus the attention on those who were uprooted by armed conflict, natural disasters, and human-made catastrophes. Yet it is also a celebration of their resilient spirit, the generosity of those who care for them, and the need to support and nurture both. It is likewise a call for greater understanding, tolerance, and acceptance of our individual and collective difference. It is a timely reminder for all of us to be peacemakers and changemakers and be each other’s keepers.

Please don’t turn away. But if you really have to, look around instead and see how much opportunity we have to change the lives of the least, the last, and the lost. For all we know, we need not look too far away. We don't even have to be Angelina Jolie.

Please visit the UN High Commissioner for Refugees website and the Philippine National Red Cross website to know more about the plight of displaced populations and see how you can be of help to them. They are real people with real needs.

Happy 148th Birthday, Dr. Jose Rizal!

I see him everyday, on our 1-piso coin...

in front of schools and plazas in the towns and cities I have the great blessing to visit, including this one in Cotabato City...

in Sogod, Southern Leyte...

in the Park that bears his name in Manila.

There are books, movies, websites, even stamps which endeavor to capture the essence of this man, not to mention the thousands of monuments in the country and in other parts of the world. These are all excellent efforts to depict Dr. Jose Rizal, our Philippine National Hero. But for me, the best way to remember and honor him is to give a human face to his ideals, to make his memory live on by living out these ideals: justice, equality, life-long learning, love for country.

The run up to the 2010 elections ought to be an opportune time to put into practice these principles. The one million new or first time voters who registered in just a four-month time period for next year's polls will hopefully be additional living representations of Dr. Rizal. May they- we- not fail him, the ones on whom he has pinned his hopes on for the Fatherland.

Journey of a thousand miles begins with a mouse click

Many of our recent family travels are borne out of careful scouring of the internet for the best deals in our vacation destinations. For seasoned backpackers or novice travelers (like ourselves!), the journey of a thousand miles begins with a click of a link in a reliable travel website. For the gutsier tourist- H1N1 virus notwithstanding- there’s FreeReservation.com to assist us in our dream vacation needs.


If it’s a toss up among Florence, Prague, or Paris, you can be sure that this one-stop site will deliver. Do you want to savor what’s under the Tuscan sun? Enjoy the capital city of Tuscany as you stay in one of the quaint villas in the extensive listing of hotels in Florence. Are you intrigued by what is truly Bohemian, in the form of centuries-old castles, towers, and bridges? Come venture into one of the newest Schengen agreement countries- the Czech Republic- and stay in one of the hotels in Prague- its proud capital city. Do you want to experience the world-famous food, fun, and flair that only France can offer? Live out the holiday of a lifetime within the comforts of the website’s choice of hotels in Paris.

FreeReservation.com offers a variety of options for those seeking where to stay for a few nights or a few weeks in these wonderful cities. Choose from among their listed apartments, bed-and-breakfasts and hotels, all of which are competitively priced. Do not hesitate to get in touch with the site’s customer service personnel via phone, fax, or email.

When our dream of traveling through Europe comes to fruition, I know that the comforts of home in our dream vacation destinations maybe assured by just a few clicks on FreeReservation.com

PhotoHunt: Protect(ion)

This is an elevated covered walkway running perpendicular to a busy thoroughfare in Cotabato City, meant to protect both pedestrians and motor vehicle drivers plying this route. It also doubles as an area for hanging streamers and posters of congratulations to successful examinees from the city who passed the licensure examinations for physicians and nurses just released a few days before this photo was taken.

It's a poignant reminder on how many a Filipino family's hopes are pinned on college education. College education- which can lead to good employment- is their family's protection. And recently, with the Philippines having "exported" some 50,000 nurses in the last decade alone, having a licensed nurse in the family is almost like manna from heaven. Imagine, a Filipino nurse working in the country maybe earning roughly USD 200 per month, while s/he can earn something like at least 10 times that outside the country. To sweeten the pot, with the employment there also comes the chance to emigrate with his/her entire family. It seems like a no-brainer. To make matters worse, some 9,000 Filipino physicians are training or already have trained to become nurses, with a great number already employed in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, among other countries. Hospitals are being closed due to the absence of doctors who will run them and go on duty in them.

All this is happening in our country where 7 out of 10 Filipinos die without ever being attended to by a health professional.

So who's taking care of us left behind here?

I pray it will be those whose names are plastered on this elevated walkway...

To work in another country to feed your family or to stay in the country in service of your fellow Filipinos? It's not really a no-brainer, is it?

PhotoHunt: Triangle

Perched atop one of the rolling hills of Malaybalay City in Bukidnon Province, this new chapel of the Monastery of the Transfiguration gives a new meaning to the feeling of being close to heaven. Its simple architecture, benign wooden benches, and nondescript stone slab altar complement perfectly the wondrous beauty of God's creation surrounding it, the vista uninterrupted thanks to the glass walls on at least three sides of the chapel. The edifice blends seamlessly to its green surroundings as well as to the azure sky; it's like a pair of hands, touching fingertips to fingertips, palms about to press on each other, praying with expectant faith.

This is part of my April 2007 sojourn to Mindanao which you can find here.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W. H. Auden, "Funeral Blues"

(F, may God in His infinite love forever keep your father in His heavenly home, embrace your family now and always with the comfort you all need, and fill you with the lifetime of great memories you enjoyed with your dad.)

Weekend at Sonya's Garden

We caught a whiff of this unique haven some two years ago when we had lunch there and, boy, what we saw, felt, smelled, heard, and tasted was too good to resist. However, we were then booked already at the Discovery Country Suites so we just vowed to enjoy Sonya’s Garden one day. That day came last weekend when we spent the night in this not-so-secret southern getaway located just at the fringes of Tagaytay City. And that we enjoyed our stay there tremendously is an understatement.

Choosing from among dozens is going to be painful but let me share just the five details I like best about Sonya’s Garden, in no particular order:


1. The gardens are simply wonderful. Flowers of all shapes, sizes, colors, and scents- including one that smells like butter!- populate a substantial amount of the property. I don’t know and I don’t really care if there was some planning of which flower grows beside what species; the end product is a sight for sore eyes. It’s an amateur photographer’s nightmare: I hardly knew which flowers to photograph first!




The garden, too, served as an unwitting key to unlocking memories. Our aunts who were with us reminisced about which flowers populated their home’s garden back in the day, educating us youngsters, in the process, about biology and our family heritage.



2. Guests will feel at home in any of the 12 cottages in the bed and breakfast area. We stayed in the Lavender cottage, a two-storey abode that comfortably housed our party of 13. The cottage is airy, thanks to the huge windows that allow the cool breeze of the hills to filter through.


The décor is distinctly Filipino but it is replete with hints that a well-traveled person owns the house. Sans tv, landline phone, or stereo, the place is really intended for those who want to master the art of just-relax-and-do-nothing.


The front door opens into the welcoming well-appointed living room and dining room.


My sister and brother in law, feeling a bit Town & Country in the Lavender cottage.


One of the numerous beds in the cottage, arguably the most interesting.


Loo with a view.

3. I adore the simple touches that render the place unique- from the interesting furniture, to the most inconspicuous of knick-knacks, within and around the cottage.


An earthen basin with fresh flowers greet guests at the cottage’s doorstep.


The day can be as lazy as this lounging amphibian at the nearby pond with koi fish.


Detail of the back rest of a bench in front of the cottage depicting the life of an indigenous Filipino trader.


The window greeting anyone who ascends the stairs to the second floor rooms.


Walking paths in the garden are lit at night by numerous capiz lamps.

4. The food at first glance appear to be akin to our daily fare but ordinary the meals here are not. From the bread, the salad, and the pasta for dinner; to the bangus, adobo, and omelet for breakfast- mealtimes are unique experiences which health buffs and those on see-food diet (when I see food, I eat food) will enjoy. The unending liters of dalandan juice for dinner and local hot choco for breakfast provide the perfect partner for the meals.


The irresistible savory character of the meals explains the dearth of photos. I also do not want to preempt future guests’ experience.

5. The members of the staff working with Sonya’s Garden are among the more professional and perceptive in the hospitality industry I’ve encountered. A party of 13 is not the easiest of guests to please but they managed to, um, smile and attend to our needs (and whims!).


For a respite from the stifling life in the city Sonya’s Garden may just be the place for you. It was indeed for me. No TV? No internet? No problem! There are lots of nooks and crannies to explore within the compound of Sonya’s Garden. Its wellness center has a lengthy list of massages to soothe the aches of the body; its Panaderia has goodies reminiscent of the products from the neighborhood bakery.

The Sonya’s Garden experience does not come cheap but it is worth every peso spent. And being serenaded at dinner by two authentic kundiman singers cum guitarists all the more sweetens the deal.

In case I suddenly become incommunicado, be sure to include this hideaway to the list of places you'd check my presence for.

PhotoHunt: Bridges

Good thing I love being behind the wheel, else I would have gone crazy with the intermittent traffic jams in the Philippines. While anybody, including myself, would savor bottleneck-less stretches of roadway where we can push the pedal to the metal(?), I likewise enjoy the occasional stop-and-go traffic scenarios so I can smell the proverbial flowers, or take a snapshot of a roadside vista.

This segment of my route home has been the area of many a motorist's driving woes; but the latter may soon be things of the past. After more than three years of roadworks (if my memory serves me right), the construction of these off-ramps and bridges interconnecting the new international airport with the elevated and at-grade highway systems seem to be in its final stages.

Faster travel, cooler heads, mission accomplished. Finally!

PhotoHunt: Hats

As their reputations precede them, being in their presence is such a joy and a blessing. I am no art critic but seeing the works of Rembrandt (above) and Van Gogh (below) up close, their use of differing styles and colors in their aim to have a unique capture of life is enough to enliven the spirits of the most uncouth and uninterested. Museum-crazy that I am, sans all the other excellent exhibits in the Museum of Modern Art, these hatted portraits make all the walking and jostling through New York City so worthwhile.

And speaking of being mad and hatters, here's a tidbit I picked up when we visited the Savannah History Museum.

Aaaah. Now we know =]