JESUIT NOVITIATE: MISSION TRIALS 1999

by Frank Savadera, SJ

March 1, 1999 (Monday) – MISSION TRIALS

Karel, Chris and myself wouldn’t let the opportunity pass by. We had to take a side trip to Miarayon from Cagayan de Oro. We arrived in Kibanggay at 4:00PM. The motorbikes wouldn’t take us anymore up the mountains. Not at that time, says the habal-habal drivers. The roads going to Miarayon have yet to be paved. It’s dangerous to travel at dusk. There’ll be no assurance also for the drivers that they can still pick up passengers on their way down. What to do? What to do? We’re in the middle of nowhere, an unfamiliar place. The manangs along the road advised us to visit the sisters’ convent nearby. Hmmm … the Assumption Sisters. Sisters Claire Jo and Marianne were very welcoming. Apparently, they are friends to some of Ours. Sister Claire Jo even showed us her photo albums and there we saw familiar faces … i.e., Frs. Mon, Kit and Salty. The sisters were apparently wary of welcoming strangers the past days because of news of mass murder initiated by a cult. The sisters showed us, as well, the gory photos taken from the crime scene. We were advised not to get out of the house in the evening and as much as possible, keep the doors shut when everyone’s asleep. The community was very kind and not to mention entertaining. Sister Claire Jo even gave us Tanduay rum to drink to keep us warm. This is relief also, she said, for my asthma. A young priest apparently lives with them in this small house. Eventually, however, the sisters will transfer to a newer residence near the St. Francis Xavier School being constructed nearby. We’ll visit the place when we come back from Miarayon. In the meantime, we simply wish to survive the night given the hacker-stories.

March 2, 1999 (Tuesday) - MISSION TRIALS

We woke up excited to proceed with our trip. Two motorbikes were already waiting for us along the road. There was a another sister who was supposed to go with us. We fetched her from another house. Hmmm … we met her before during Salty’s B-day celebration. Sister Gemma from the Cenacle Sisters was not wearing the habit. They don’t. She gladly shared her asthma puff with me upon learning about my breathing difficulties. She had a spare, she said. I rode with Karel. Chris rode with Sister Gemma. Kibanggay is actually the nearest town to Miarayon. However, the habal-habal ride took us a good one hour. The roads remain unpaved ... really unpaved. At some point, we needed to alight from the bike and walk while the driver maneuvered the habal-habal safely to non-muddy paths.

Finally, we reached our destination. The weather is a bit cool. Miarayon can well be Bukidnon’s version of Tagaytay. There’s so much resources around. I myself saw tomatoes simply rotting near the roads. People couldn’t bring their harvest down the cities. There are no roads, no forms of transport. There are a lot of missed opportunities for the people of Miarayon.

The convento was joined to a small school house where two JVPs taught. Father Kit was not around. He was still in Malaybalay. We were however, welcomed warmly by the caretaker. We simply moved around and were surprised to see hundreds of roosters, housed in unique triangular shelters. I remembered how my father kept his roosters in Cavite this way. But nothing compares to the sheer number of the flock. Ang dami talaga, as far as the eye could see. The business sustains the parish, reportedly. So this is what the fathers in Cabanglasan were talking about. Some concerns about the business apparently had been raised in the diocesan meetings. As Fr. Kit however, explained, while we were in Malaybalay … better to care for roosters than anything else. Logical enough for me.

March 3, 1999 (Wednesday) – MISSION TRIALS

People of Anlugan had been waiting for me. The Miarayon trip delayed our arrival from Cagayan de Oro by a day. Salty brought us to our respective sitio assignments after a mass in Bulak. Tagging along was Salty’s cousin, Jimmy. Renovation of the chapel is apparently ongoing and almost complete, thanks to Salty’s family.

This time, Chris was assigned to Iba while Karel proceeded to Mandaing. Our sitio assignments are actually adjacent to each other … all fairly developed and along the national highway. I lived in the household of alagad Rudi who is a baker. His wife Maria Paz (Boby) is a catechist cum day-care officer. The couple has three kids, namely: Desiree, Fundador and Vinna. Tatay Jose and Nanang (also a Selda leader) live with the family. Everyone in the family is active in church. A worthwhile enterprise for everyone.

Immediately, in the afternoon Rudi, Mars, Arvin and Yeyeng (kid) brought me to the Pulangi for some recreation. I never thought that there’s a place like that in Anlugan. The sitio seemed so close to the highway. An hour’s away from the road, there it was … another hanging bridge. The nearby cliff echoes the story of a jilted lover who plunged himself down the ravine in his motorbike. Luckily or unluckily, he survived the ordeal.

The area, formerly had a chapel which Father Leoni also used to visit. According to Rudi, however, the dumagats who used to inhabit the placed were later on chased away by the lumads. Now, no lumad nor dumagat dare inhabit the place since it offers no security for residents there. What was left was nature’s wonder that awaits occasional visits from strangers like us.

"My Companion" asks: Where did I personally grow today? I answer: In my vocation (general ‘no?). What new thing have I learned today? My answer: I’m learning to love (yeeks!).

March 4, 1999 (Thursday) – MISSION TRIALS

This is my first morning in Anlugan. Rudi left early at 4:00AM to deliver bread to the stores. I heard him off. Paz went with him but returned in time to prepare for breakfast. Ate Neneng drank coffee with me ... sharing along the way how her ‘bana’ left her some 15 years ago. She was ‘buros’ then with Yeyeng and his twin. What a salvo-sharing in the morning. She was nevertheless, thankful that her family takes care of her. I can well see how she reciprocates their love.

After breakfast, Paz brought me to the ‘uma.’ Wow! Plenty of Kalabasa. When prices of corn fell sometime ago because of the over-supply, the family reportedly experimented by planting kalabasa. Tatay Jose, Ate Neneng and Yeyeng met us in the ‘uma.’ Tatang and Yeyeng must have been there very early in the morning. Tatang says that he was a panday in Misamis Oriental until circumstances made them transfer to this place some 25 years ago.

Kalabasa ni Paz

Mahina raw ang ulo mo … kung mag-uwi ka ng kalabasa

Ngunit dito sa Anlugan … kalabasa’y kakaiba

Dahon at sanga’y sa lupa’y umalsa

Upang magbigay buhay sa pamilyang umaasa.

It was time to take some pictures … with the kalabasa … with the labanderas, in the cornfields, etc. 
Also met Cherry’s parents Mang Gardo and Ate Ching who sell vegetables in the market. I also got to meet fellow kababayans, “Tagalogs” as they are called here. The Madriagas hail from Alaminos, Laguna who had since moved to this place since 1979. They now own some land around the sitio. The ‘tagalogs’ are a bit well off given the local standards. They have 30 hectares of land to manage and cultivate. Their 19 year old son Michael, however, is a constant concern for them. His brain failed to develop because of meningitis. His mother’s eyes reflected the pain that the family needs to endure because of the situation. Yet, here I find a family who lovingly accepts their fate. They apparently are being rewarded in some other ways.