Nakita ko Siya sa Bundok

This article has long been overdue. Our God, who is also yearning for us to spend some time with Him at rest, is probably longing for me to just sit quietly beside Him. I thank Him for that gift this Lenten season. I’m really glad to have the time, not just to relax, but more importantly to keep still and to calm my heart. This time off from work has allowed me to go into a retreat (literally and figuratively), and reminisce with my greatest Lover some highlights of my journey with Him.

After my last entry, when I was in Aurora, I served again with UP Pahinungod volunteers in October 2005. The itinerary was up North, with the Ortigas center Mountaineers Inc.(OCMIN). Way before the activity, team members were encouraged to prepare physically for a projected long walk and climb (more or less 6hours!). I didn’t have much apprehension then since it was like a several times for me to be going to Northern Luzon. I’ve been blessed to have had the chance of going to Ilocos, Nueva Ecija, Baguio city, Kalinga, Ifugao, Mountain Province, and even to our supposed mission site, Benguet (specifically Itogon). The only question in my mind then was why we were primed that there will be a long walk. I could not imagine the long travel then since I knew Itogon to be the area of Benguet closest to Baguio. The first time I went there, I just experienced a no-sweat 30-minute brisk walk on the mountainside. Human as I am, I somehow placed the forewarning at the back of my mind. In short, I didn’t really prepare physically. Besides, I don’t know how it could be still possible, with my activities and other gazillion stuff to do!

The climb going to mount Ugo took almost 6 hours! There were times that it would have been easier to give up. I was catching my breath at every steep curve. My legs were starting to stiffen and weigh more than double its mass. Sweat was overflowing and the grass & gravel along the way did not help my legs at all. I was honestly asking myself why I was doing what I was doing then. I was wondering where someplace more relaxing I could have been, instead of being there climbing a mountain for a medical mission! I did not know when I agreed to join that it would be an induction activity of a mountaineering group. It was a hard climb indeed, but I was getting my strength from a source that would never be depleted. Long ago, as I’ve experienced walking on slippery mountains barefoot, trotting on leech-infested rice fields in the dark, climbing on steep mountainsides for the first-time, I realized that my physical strength would never allow me to conquer such activities. I am not athletic, I just love the outdoors. There’s a difference ;)! But, I’ve managed to hurdle those activities, for I’ve discovered the trick of walking hand-in-hand with God in the mountains!



I definitely encounter Him in the mountain tops. As I witness the sunrise from a good vantage point, as I marvel on the different kinds of trees I see, as I smell the breeze with a hint of pine scent, as I wet my face with flowing spring water, I see the fingerprints of God all over! I cannot help but feel His warm embrace, as He gives me the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of His creation! How magnificent! And so, every time I go on missions with long walks or climbs, I really stop and take time to smell the roses.




But, as the saying goes, life is not always a bed of roses. And if you ask, how I manage to remember His omnipresence when the going gets tough?? I always recall an encounter with God, on a very hot & humid midday. I was climbing then, again for a medical mission. I was catching my breath, but was continuously making heavy steps. I was not stopping to rest for I just stopped a few steps before that (less than 5 minutes or so). Every step became heavier than the previous one! I really felt my heart pounding on my chest as if about to burst, and I could hear its beat ringing in my ears. I was exasperated and I felt ridiculous. I was exasperated with myself, for I know that it was largely by my choice that I was in that tough situation! Nobody forced me to join that trip. I felt ridiculous, for it did not make any sense that I was pushing myself to the limit, being a third-degree flat footed person at that (according to my PT friend!). Just as I was about to wail and vent my frustration, another mental picture came to me: a hot, humid midday…about two thousand years ago, in the mid east, where it is probably hotter and there are fewer trees as shade! I saw a figure, stumbling and struggling to climb uphill. It was familiar, it was my messiah. I did not see a back pack of personal belongings on His shoulders, instead, there was a very heavy wooden cross…an instrument of punishment He didn't even deserve. He did not have the luxury of resting or stopping to catch his breath, He stopped only when He stumbled because of pain, excruciating pain from the thorns atop His head, from the bleeding wounds on His back, from His scraped knees. Unlike me, who was in the company of fellow volunteers, this disfigured man was in the company of cruel soldiers… I would get encouragement to continue or words of concern, but this man was being ridiculed, kicked, spat at, and whipped every step of the way!

As the vision was playing on my mind, I mustered control to prevent my tears from falling, besides my sweat! At that instant, I felt so arrogant to have been complaining all along. I realized that my discomforts paled in comparison to the sacrifices that Jesus had to endure…and He endured them all…for me. Instead of complaints, only words of gratitude escaped my lips! I was moved to pray, as I was catching my breath. I lifted up my very insignificant sacrifice to Him, who never withheld anything just to prove His love for me. I also asked for grace then, for I know that things were easier to endure with the Holy Spirit giving me strength. I probably looked foolish then for, after all my realizations, I started to sing: God is the strength of my heart; God is the strength of my heart…and my portion forever! in between gasps.

That encounter with Jesus and the cross, has reminded me that God loves us lavishly indeed! Wherever we are, whatever we do, whatever our struggles may be, He never wastes time to make us feel His guiding hand. He never stops blessing us through other people and through our experiences. I went to several medical missions, with mountain climbing even after that incident. The Mt. Ugo mission was a total of nine hours on foot (to and fro)! I had leg scars and six dead toe nails afterwards! But, if you’ll ask me if I’d still go on similar trips?? I’d say…I feel I am very much blessed and loved that I cannot help but still say yes! ;p