My first leg of Alberta Mission is already done. On top of the service aspect victories, the Lord gave me a lot of bonuses too. I had a lot of other highlights at Fort McMurray Mission.
- My flight to from Vancouver had a 2hr lay-over at Calgary. While I was waiting for my next flight I met a lady who I asked me to keep an eye on my stuff as I had to go to the washroom. I came back after 15mins which is a long time considering that it was just next to our gate. She told me that she was worried something happened to me coz it took longer. At the back of my mind I felt glad because there are actually people who care. I got RAKed by that simple gesture. As much as I want others to see Christ in me, in that gesture I saw Christ in her.
- In the plane to Fort McMurray, another lady was seated beside me. She asked me if I’m visiting my family at Fort McMurray, I told them I am not and that I am there for work. To cut the story short, I end up telling her that I am a missionary and that I am Catholic. She had a huge smile on her face and admitted that she is also Catholic. We can never be too shy or too embarrassed to admit that we are Catholic. We cannot remain hidden. Some people are actually waiting for us to talk about Christ first and they have a lot more stories to tell and intense stories.
- I got to watch another Korean movie. Apparently a lot of the SFCs and even the CCs there are into it. I watched “More than Blue” and it is one of the most heartbreaking movies I’ve ever watched. I realized that, that movie even if it was a tragic love story, it portrayed how love is selfless and not possessive.
- It was my first time to participate in bottle drive fundraising and to actually sort the bottles at the bottle depot. I did not know that we can earn that much and that there are a lot more people who go to the bottle depot not for fundraising but it’s just part of their routine in the house. There are a lot of people wasting money, a lot of the milk jugs we got still have at least enough to fill a glass. I thought sorting the bottle is already messy and gross, until I saw the people behind the counter who are working 8hrs everyday there. They have to bear the stinky smell and messy place to earn. When we need it we bear the hardships. How about seeing this as a sacrifice that our parents or siblings did so they can make us happy. What about me? What did I sacrifices recently for my loved ones?
- The 10hr bus ride from Fort McMurray to Calgary was also an experience. That was my first time to travel that long by myself in Canada. I tried to sleep but every 2hrs we have a stop-over and almost in all occasions we were asked to vacate the bus. As this process goes on an unwritten agreement is established here. I found myself accountable to my seatmate. I want to make sure that she is there before the bus leaves. She may not know that I did those but on the fourth stop, she said “thank you” to me. I did not know it was that obvious. Is this a creepy gesture or gesture of concern. When we want others to see Jesus in us, we cannot just be ourselves. We have to deliberately let Jesus consume our lives so He will just radiate in us naturally. It is intentional and it is desired.