Wow! It is almost the only thing I can say about this immersion...Wow!
But... for the sake of the blog, I'll try to add more.
It was a power-packed few days in the northern barrios of Eastern Samar. The barrios we visited were Conception and Cagsalay, and the barrios that came to us there were MacArthur and Kaaswan.
Let me just start off by saying that there is no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit is alive and well, working through the Oikos Sisters. I say that because it seems humanly impossible to do all that they did through human means alone. From the feeding to the giving to the praying to the playing to the dancing to the medicating to the mentoring to the teaching, and much, much more, I think my head was spinning quite a few times!!
Conception is a barrio that is pretty far from Borongan. The pastor of the barrios we went to, Fr. Arce, contacted the Oikos Sisters and told them his people were in need of their help. We drove to the northern-most barrio in Eastern Samar, about a 3 hour drive from Borongan, then had about a one mile muddy, hilly walk to the river through tall grasses and coconut trees, then we took a boat ride for about 20 minutes to Conception. (no, that is not the Filipino equivalent to the "I walked through 5 miles of snow, barefoot to school" that my grandfather used to tell!! Mine is true!! :) )
Thankfully, we had Fr. Arce's motor boats which made the trip shorter, and the breeze on the water was heavenly!! With mountains of rice, clothes, shoes, food, medicines and dental equipment, many trips were made to bring everything we needed to Conception and Cagsalay...but with the help of our super strong man squad, and Sister Clarissa, everything made it to the place it needed to be. And thanks to the Good Lord, too!!
At least once each day, we had to get on the boats to travel to another barrio... now, being the not-so-much natural hiker that I am, getting on a small, narrow, tipsy boat, without a dock, fearing to fall into the water and getting schistosomiasis, a waterborne disease where parasites from the feces of snails can seep into your skin and lay eggs in your bladder, intestines, even your brain...yeah, it's not a stretch to say I wasn't the coolest cat on the boat!!! But by the last day...I had it down pat! ...sometimes I find myself asking myself... what are you doing here??? And then I picture God up in heaven having quite a good chuckle over me!!
Anyways, our first stop on our trip was to Conception. There we were greeted by an amazing group of dancers, Fr. Arce and a delicious lunch provided by the sweet mothers of Conception.
The next day began with mass celebrated by Father Arce, then a nice breakfast and off to work!! I was on kitchen duty, making lunch for the families we were serving that day, about 500 people. We made spaghetti, rice, menudo, which is a stew made with pig's liver, and adobo. While I was busy in the kitchen...actually, we didn't have a kitchen...it was a burned out building that was being used for a garden. In one corner, there was a fire pit that we used:
Anyways, while I was chopping and cooking, there was a lot going on in the village plaza. Sister Michelle was busy doing her mobile dental clinic. She saw 25 patients that day!!
Mary Jane helped Sister Ethel and the volunteers hand out new shoes to the kids.
And the mothers received Water with Blessings, providing for them, for the first time, a way to give their families clean water to drink. That is Sister Clarissa and Dr. Vic Trinkus in the picture with the mothers.
Also, we handed out the food packs, clothes for the moms, dads and kids and fed everyone who came with a wholesome lunch.
After we workers had our lunch and a little rest, we got back on the boat to Conception to prepare for the medical mission the next day. We were blessed to be able to stay in a very nice home that is reserved for priests and religious who visit Conception. I had a headache, probably due to the heat of the day, but I slept well again, praise God!!
The next day began again with mass celebrated by Father Arce. Then, it was off to the kitchen to begin my work. There was a girl working with me in the kitchen who was in school to be a chef. She became my shadow and I taught her about using knives, cooking ribs and much more. I had fun! We were quite busy in the kitchen again, this time we had a real kitchen to work in...a real Filipino kitchen, which was simple but awesome!! We made pancet, rice, fried chicken for lunch and served it with a big roll. We fed over 500 people once again!!
While I was busy in the kitchen, Sister Michelle and another dentist, Ben, worked tirelessly to bring dental health to the people in these barrios. Between the two of them, they saw 75 patients!! A doctor from the hospital came to do the medical immersion. We had the word of several more doctors that they would come, but for one reason or another, she was the only one who could come. A team of doctors would find it hard to do better than she did, for she helped over 100 patients that day!! The missionaries from the US, Vic and Mary Jane Trinkus, had an ob/gynie clinic. Dr. Vic saw 48 patients!!! We had nurses doing registration and triage, a few pharmacists giving medication and volunteers who worked hard to keep the kids busy. What an incredible, amazing, crazy, unbelievable, nutso, awesome, blessed few days!!!!!!!
Aside from all of this, Sister Minerva did recollections and catechesis for the adults, and volunteers did the same for the kids, knowing that the spiritual needs of the people are just as important, if not more important, as the bodily needs. Sister Minerva did share with me that, although after the mass on the second day she announced that she would be doing catechesis and a bible sharing for the adults before the medical mission began, no adults showed up for it. It broke her heart. She said she sat in the chapel and apologized to God for the people's negligence...wondering why God was the least important on these people's priorities. Truly, it exemplified one of the major reasons the Oikos Sisters chose to come to these barrios and help them. Sister Aileen and Sister Clarissa both told me that these people feel they are entitled to help. We are poor. Give us help. No thank you's given. And you might be scratching your head thinking, well, why would you go there then? Aren't there barrios in Eastern Samar where people are grateful and appreciative, willing to use the help the Sisters give as a hand to help themselves out of the pain and indignity of poverty? It was a question I asked myself. The answer: We were sent to help them to see that they are not entitled to any help and how to use the help given to help themselves. So, aside from the immersion, the Sisters will start the Faith program here and teach the people the importance of work and of providing for their families.
If I already wasn't totally on board with the work the Oikos Sisters do, this would have cemented it for me. Oh my goodness!! Not only medicating and feeding people, not only teaching them about God and helping to educate them, they are teaching them how to be good human beings, responsible and doing their part. There is no doubt that the amount help the Oikos Sisters can give is dependent on the work their beneficiaries are willing to put into it themselves. I've seen people soar, truly. But now, I'm seeing them teaching people how accept the help they give, sort of like how a mother teaches her child how to move and talk and make his way in the world. There is no person, or group of people, who are outside of the Sister's radar. If they choose not to work with the Sisters, that is their choice, but the Oikos Sisters give everyone a chance. Simply amazing, and so much like Jesus.
It was hard, and it was hot!! There were so many people, so many, in fact, that we are returning there on November 25th and 26th with the medical and dental teams to see the remaining people there. But it was awesome, and I am looking forward to going back, seeing the people, helping them more...even to getting on the boats!!
Please keep the people of Conception, Cagsalay, Mac Arthur and Kaawasan in your prayers. Thank you!! You are in mine!! xxoo Sarah
