By While trying to choose my topic for this blog, I was suddenly overwhelmed by all the possible people, places, and things that I have been blessed to experience. Each day here, it seems, has been an adventure worthy of recognition.
On our last days in the Philippines we had the opportunity to travel as a school to various historical locations and learn about their significance. My favorite part of the day was when we visited the Church of Paoay. This Church with its Gothic like peaks and ancient structure was built in the year 1593. That fact alone was enough to captivate me. I instantly fell in love with its tragic history. It was built by the forces of cruelty, exploitation, and corruption by the hands of the Filipino people under the surveillance of Augustinian missionaries. As I sat in one of the many pews, soaking in my surroundings I couldn’t help but feel the weight of the countless others who had sat there before me. Their feelings of pain, and desperate prayers for hope and redemption still resonating within the ancient walls. I had become apart of something so much bigger than myself, I had become History.
To me the Church is a symbol of hope for the future. Despite its past, the church, just like the Filipino people, has overcome countless obstacles and has persevered through them all. The people have come so far and achieved so much that they have become an inspiration to me. I can only hope that I can learn from their lives and their examples and triumph through adversity, just like the Church of Paoay.