Friday 30 September 2016
Thursday 29 September 2016
Day Thirteen
We rose this morning and celebrated mass with the Brothers of Manila followed by a sumptuous breakfast. We commenced this morning working in the Apostulate, shaving the men and cleaning the children's section upstairs.
This was followed by a visit to three families' homes in the local area that the Brothers support. This was a confronting experience to say the least. We thought visiting the dump site was difficult but nothing could have prepared us for what we saw today regarding their living conditions. Yet again we were amazed by their humility and welcome, something we will never forget.
This afternoon the brothers treated us to an afternoon of competition. The stakes were high but volleyball was the eventual winner. There was some conjecture about Fr Damian's scoring so he retired and the stand in ref took over (me). After 5minutes they were calling for the return of Father.
All that awaits is the rosary, dinner and battling traffic to the airport.
Wednesday 28 September 2016
Day Twelve - by Christine
We knew our departure from the Brothers at Naga was going to be difficult. The emotions of the week and a half spent there seemed to be heightened by the realisation that we were saying goodbye to brothers that had made our stay there so memorable. Last night we shared a meal and someextremely entertaining games with them. We shared our journey and celebrated our time together.
The brothers sent us off with a blessing after mass and we in turn reciprocated with our version of the Irish Blessing. Tears fell and hugs were exchanged and then we were off, until a little way down the road Father realised he had forgotten the passports and we had to return and thankfully not start the process again.
Our flight to Manila was fairly uneventful except for the moment we hit turbulence and the plane fell ever so quickly. Half the the team were thrilled, the other praying Hail Marys. On the way to the Manila Monastery the team were amazed again by the local traffic and the havoc in the streets. Once at the monastery we were introduced to the brothers and given a tour of where we would be spending the next two days. The afternoon consisted of spending time with the children and men in the apostolate.
We are slowly realising that our time in The Philippines is coming to an end and that the journey we've been on together will be over.
No one will miss the lack of sleep but there is very little else that we will not miss.
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