I have been dying to tell you about this. Here's how it happened. I know someone who knows someone who is related to some people, and I wiggled my way into making them believe that someone like me, with no medical experience whatsoever, could somehow be helpful on a medical mission trip in the Philippines. NO experience - my background is in a law office, farming and ranching, and bookkeeping. Language (Tagalog) advantage? Uhm, no. Do I know any of the people going on the trip? Not a one. BUT. Life is short. I am not afraid. I can sometimes strike up a conversation with a toddler. It was cold at home, so a tropical climate was very inviting. I have no children depending on me (you know, they're grown), and a husband who loves to work many hours a day. Translation = I will hardly be missed. It's only two weeks.
Somehow, I get a "bye" from the selection committee -- and they allow me to join the group. This is a joint effort in its 21st year, between the Philippine Medical Society of Greater Kansas City and in cooperation with the Philippine Nurses Association of Greater Kansas City. Not positive, but I think there were about 53 in our mission group this year. There were a handful of us who were non-medical volunteers.
Here's almost our whole group on Day One. Still getting to know everyone, I felt part of the squad from the very beginning. They were ALL so kind to me. Every single person extended warm feelings to me, and that was my first clue about the kind of people I was preparing to meet. I couldn't help it, but I started making generalizations right off the bat. Every one of my thoughts were positive. From the moment I landed, alone, in a foreign place I had never been before, I felt safe. People were friendly and kind. People were generous and giving. Another thing that I noticed right away, these people were beautiful! All of them. They were absolutely beautiful in natural ways and in striking ways. I went in with no expectations or assumptions, so I felt like my eyes were wide open.
Vanessa and Bernard were two of the first people I met upon arriving in the Philippines. I could have been their mother, but they treated me like one of the "cool kids." They are both nurses who live in the Philippines. Last year was their first affiliation with the mission, and they were able to join the group again this year. Such fun personalities!
And here is Tess, a nurse and lab technician. She lives 45 miles away from me at home, and she was the only individual that I was fortunate enough to meet before we left on the trip. She is so cute and has the sweetest, mildest manner.
This is Lito. Turned out he was our limo driver and personal tour guide. In reality, he is Tess' cousin. So I hadn't been in Manila for a few hours before these sweet new friends tracked me down, and said, "C'mon, we're going on a tour of other parts of the island!" I'm in downtown Manila, hotel room by myself -- of course I am in for an adventure. They showed me the well-known volcano in the ocean. The five of us climbed a giant hill, and froze our tail ends off in unusually chilly weather. We saw a beautiful sunset. I ate my first authentic Filipino meal. We bonded immediately -- it was like we had known each other forever.
There were dozens of fruit and vegetable stands all along the road everywhere we went.
This was how I really felt. I was so excited to be there, checking into our accommodations, and getting ready to get down to business. We were staying in an unusual place. It was a hotel/water park. There weren't a lot of patrons in the water, and we never had time to cool off there ourselves, but again, we experienced unusually cool weather during our whole time in the Philippines. I didn't feel disappointed missing out on the swimming part. Each day ended with a banquet or program of some kind. After a full day on our feet, most of us just wanted a shower. And a bed.
