Monday, September 27, 2010
CEBU....senor sto. nino....a childhood dream fulfilled
every time people would ask me what place outside of luzon i would like to visit i would always say CEBU....that was when i was in grade school....i think that lasted up to high school....i had that idea after my father went to cebu on a business trip...he came home with several sto. nino images....he brought home a lot of small ones....they were no more that 4 inches tall....most of them my mother gave to their friends....one image which was about 9 inches tall was kept in our house...that one was supposed to be for me....i loved that image....it was a black sto. nino....i felt it was unique because of its color...i didn't know that that was how sto nino de cebu was supposed to look like.....
i would always ask my parents to bring me to cebu one day so i could go to the place where the BIG sto. nino can be found...but we never got that chance as a family to go there....
when i studied in manila i learned that there are beautiful places other cebu.....i met friends from iligan, davao, cotabato, etc....and then i also learned about boracay.....cebu was pushed far back i almost forgot it existed...the first chance i got to fly outside of luzon i didn't go to that place i've always dreamt of...instead, i visited boracay.....i loved the place so i would always say that that's the place i would love to visit over and over...but i would also say i like to go to other places as well like palawan, davao, cagayan de oro, etc....cebu was not part of my plans anymore because i found out from friends that it looks just like metro manila....
and then an opportunity to go to cebu came...i was excited....well, i was excited just to be able to travel again and not really to see the place...so i booked our flight and reserved a room in a pension house....
when i arrived in cebu i was surprised that i felt really happy....i felt like i have a connection with the place....i didn't feel this throughout the entire preparation period.....i just felt when i arrived that i like cebu....the cebuanos are very kind...all the people we've encountered were great....all the people we've asked for help were kind enough to help us.....the taxi drivers didn't take advantage of our being new in the place....the security guards were approachable...they gladly helped us with directions.....one security guard was even gracious enough to take my picture when i was struggling to take a picture of myself with the fountain as a background using my cellphone....
the place really looked like manila as i was told....there's traffic....long line at the taxi bays.....most of the shops are the same as those that you'd see here....but i didn't mind....in my 5 days stays i visited ayala center 4 times and sm cebu once....
but the best part of my stay in cebu was my trip to the BASILLICA DEL STO. NINO....the first thing i did when i saw the image was to take pictures...the 'tourist' in me said take lots of pictures of sto. nino....
i also took pictures of me with the image in the background.....there were a lot of people just looking at the image which was placed high up on one side of the big quadrangle....most of the people were praying...i think....some were singing along with the music playing in the background....after taking a few shots i entered the church....
that's when i felt the same feeling i must have felt when i got hold of the sto. nino my father brought home more than a couple of decades ago....i closed my eyes and started to thank Him for bring me to the place that i used to love as a kid.....i thanked Him for allowing me to finally see the church where i know my father prayed for blessings for our family....we didn't stay long but i know in the short time i was there i was able to express my gratitude for just being there....i also prayed for my father particularly about his health.....i felt like it was my time to ask for blessings for our family....my father's prayers were generously answered then....i know my prayers now will also be answered generously....or perhaps even more......
i saw a stairs leading to the image of senor sto. nino.....i think people go up there to 'touch' the image and pray.....it was already night time when we went there....nobody was going up anymore(that is if people really go up there)....i thought that going up there would have been a nice experience but it was okay.....i felt that just being there in the quadrangle was more than enough.....it was more than enough to fulfill a childhood dream.....it was more than enough to say my thanksgiving....it was more than enough to pray for my requests...it was more than enough to feel confident my prayers were heard and will be answered....
i would always ask my parents to bring me to cebu one day so i could go to the place where the BIG sto. nino can be found...but we never got that chance as a family to go there....
when i studied in manila i learned that there are beautiful places other cebu.....i met friends from iligan, davao, cotabato, etc....and then i also learned about boracay.....cebu was pushed far back i almost forgot it existed...the first chance i got to fly outside of luzon i didn't go to that place i've always dreamt of...instead, i visited boracay.....i loved the place so i would always say that that's the place i would love to visit over and over...but i would also say i like to go to other places as well like palawan, davao, cagayan de oro, etc....cebu was not part of my plans anymore because i found out from friends that it looks just like metro manila....
and then an opportunity to go to cebu came...i was excited....well, i was excited just to be able to travel again and not really to see the place...so i booked our flight and reserved a room in a pension house....
when i arrived in cebu i was surprised that i felt really happy....i felt like i have a connection with the place....i didn't feel this throughout the entire preparation period.....i just felt when i arrived that i like cebu....the cebuanos are very kind...all the people we've encountered were great....all the people we've asked for help were kind enough to help us.....the taxi drivers didn't take advantage of our being new in the place....the security guards were approachable...they gladly helped us with directions.....one security guard was even gracious enough to take my picture when i was struggling to take a picture of myself with the fountain as a background using my cellphone....
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| this is the fountain and the security guard you can see at the back was the one who took my picture (which i will not show) |
the place really looked like manila as i was told....there's traffic....long line at the taxi bays.....most of the shops are the same as those that you'd see here....but i didn't mind....in my 5 days stays i visited ayala center 4 times and sm cebu once....
 |
| view from the second floor of the ayala center...stage was set because ogie alcasid will be performing that night |
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| there's the newly opened redbox at the back.... |
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| then there's starbucks |
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| the long line of taxi... |
but the best part of my stay in cebu was my trip to the BASILLICA DEL STO. NINO....the first thing i did when i saw the image was to take pictures...the 'tourist' in me said take lots of pictures of sto. nino....
i also took pictures of me with the image in the background.....there were a lot of people just looking at the image which was placed high up on one side of the big quadrangle....most of the people were praying...i think....some were singing along with the music playing in the background....after taking a few shots i entered the church....
that's when i felt the same feeling i must have felt when i got hold of the sto. nino my father brought home more than a couple of decades ago....i closed my eyes and started to thank Him for bring me to the place that i used to love as a kid.....i thanked Him for allowing me to finally see the church where i know my father prayed for blessings for our family....we didn't stay long but i know in the short time i was there i was able to express my gratitude for just being there....i also prayed for my father particularly about his health.....i felt like it was my time to ask for blessings for our family....my father's prayers were generously answered then....i know my prayers now will also be answered generously....or perhaps even more......
i saw a stairs leading to the image of senor sto. nino.....i think people go up there to 'touch' the image and pray.....it was already night time when we went there....nobody was going up anymore(that is if people really go up there)....i thought that going up there would have been a nice experience but it was okay.....i felt that just being there in the quadrangle was more than enough.....it was more than enough to fulfill a childhood dream.....it was more than enough to say my thanksgiving....it was more than enough to pray for my requests...it was more than enough to feel confident my prayers were heard and will be answered....
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
patintero...taympers...hope...
last night i went to robinsons place, ermita just to wander around...i walked aimlessly...it was probably the first time i went to a mall without real purpose...i walked without knowing where i was going...i looked at shops without really seeing...i bumped a few guys along the way...they were probably wandering inside the mall just like what i was doing...it was tiring but i felt good...at peace...did i get anything from it?...except perhaps for a couple of calories off i got nothing from it really...but then again i felt at peace...it was like having my 'taympers'...remember that time when we were kids playing patintero?...we used to say 'taympers' if we want to rest...if we feel tired...if we feel some pain...or we just feel like stopping for no reason...i had my 'taympers' last night and it felt great...but just like any game of patintero the 'taympers' has to end...it was i think 9 already and the mall is already closing...i has no choice but to go out...but i didn't want to go home just yet...so i walked...and i walked...and i walked...while walking i thought, once the 'taympers' in patintero ends, the games begin again...but in patintero, if failed to make a goal in your firsts attempt you are g iven another chance after the team has tried their luck...if you fail again you just have to wait a while and you'll get yet another chance...is it the same thing in life?...do we get the same privilege of getting several chances...yes, i think we do...but the game of patintero is not a never-ending game...it ends when somebody says he's out already because he is tired...it ends when it gets dark...it ends when our parents calls us to go home...does this mean our second chances in life end also?...perhaps it does when we get too tired and we say we no longer want to go on...or when everything gets dark we could no longer see anything even hope...or when our maker calls us home...was that 'taympers' my last timeout...after it has ended and the game begins, will i be able to get a chance to reach that goal again...or is it already 'time's up'...
when i got home i went directly to my room and lied down on my bed...i closed my eyes hoping i would be pricked by a needle that will put me to sleep much like what happened to 'sleeping beauty'...i was hoping i will only be awakened by a kiss of blessings...i was hoping to wake up to a brand new day full of hope...not a day when all hope is gone...then i was awake again...the room still looked the same...the pile of laundry at the foot of my bed still looked the same...the table with my grooming stuff still looked untouched...the faucet in bathroom still gives the same dripping sound...the tricycle drivers outside our house are still the same bunch of guys i saw yesterday...the security guard at work still wears the same old uniform...did anything change?...not a single bit...oh there is one change...the calendar says it's no longer august...it's already the start of the highly anticipated ber months...but even that could not hide the fact that nothing changed...the same life...the same life...
when i opened my facebook the first thing i saw was this line from a 'friend' whose profile name is 'the bible'...
Freedom following pain
The resurrection came after the crucifixion, this is God's pattern throughout the Bible: freedom following pain. In times of pain know that God seeks freedom for you, release, healing and great joy! As Isaiah 40:31 states:
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
i said 'i believe'...yes, freedom does follow pain...but what if i already chose to alleviate pain already by being at peace while wandering about...did i already lose that freedom i am supposed to get?...
then this line from the same 'friend' again...
hope...if it's the goal in patintero, how long do i need to reach it...how many 'taympers' will i need...will i last long enough to cross the last line...will the whole game last till i finally cross that last line...hope...
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