Holy Week Thus Far

Hard to believe that it's already been three days since we left Manila for Kabayan. Funny how time flies with the right company, in the right environment. And yet the hours, even as they while away so swiftly, seem to be better spent up here in the mountains than in the city. Undistracted by the petty demands of the metropolis, you have time to concentrate on the essential things in life - watching the sun set and the ricefields and trees turn from green to brown, building relationships and making new friends, praying without interruption (pray-all-you-want). Just lying in bed, alone with your thoughts and the sound of rain falling on the roof is a pleasure in itself.

Even now, on this brief visit to Baguio (there is thankfully no phone or internet connection in Kabayan - even the satellite dish system in the convent is down, yahoo...heh heh), the littlest pleasures are magnified into tremendous blessings. The warm company of a dear resident sister, the generosity and hospitality of friends, the promise of a new experience at tomorrow's Chrism Mass...and that's only Holy Week thus far. Tomorrow we go back to Kabayan (funny how a 5 hour trip over treacherous and dusty mountain roads isn't any hassle at all - so far we've logged 10 hours back and forth!) to remember Christ's Passion and glorious Resurrection in a place that is starting to feel so much like "home," and with people who are beginning to feel so much like family.

Until then. :-)