Looking back on this special week in June brings back so many lovely memories which, to be serious, I didn’t think was that lovely at the time. We tend to complain to God about our difficulties and challenges. But sometimes, when we look back on those experiences, we forget all the troubles and see the beauty of God’s leading hand in them. The Cebu mission trip was one such experience.

After the trip, I thought to myself, “I’m never going to join any mission trip, ever again!” Being the first mission trip in my life, I thought it had failed because we had ‘received’ COVID. But God didn’t seem to think it was a failure to get COVID, as we actually had been able to do children’s ministry in the mountains of Bonbon barangay, serve in church and school, and do an impromptu family fellowship with a widow and her children— all on-site. And when we came down with COVID, God still used us through online platforms. Isn’t that amazing?

God was our provider. At the beginning, only a few of us had to go into quarantine. Who would have thought that we could eat the whole day on a mission trip? Because of the quarantine, we had three meals of rice with a lot of snacks in between, a very comfortable hotel, and I had closer bonding time with my soon-to-be campus roommate, Yutaro.

Soon enough, the number of COVID ‘recipients’ grew. The good thing was that we could then mingle with one another, play some games, and laugh at silly jokes. My voice became very low in pitch, which I happened to enjoy because I could finally sing as a bass. During the day, we would watch the blue sky with different cloud formations and exclaim at how beautiful they were. Every evening, we would call everyone out to the balcony to watch a famous light show: none other than the sparkling lights from construction workers who were welding steel frames on a tall house.

So many things happened within this small group in our quarantine chambers. The quarantine? reminded us to appreciate even the small details in God’s creation. It was also a time when we cared and prayed for each other. Friendships grew stronger among ourselves and with God. I am grateful to Pastor Richard Ong for organizing this trip and for the support. Above all, I thank God for bringing us closer to him.