Virtual Experience
Eat & Exercise
It is no secret, Hong Kong is a bit pricey. A gourmet steak meal runs me about $35 USD. However, in the Philippines said meal runs about $20 USD. So the week spent in Puerto Princesa was game on! I can’t say that I really tried any Filipino meals unless you count the baked bean casserole that was served as part of the breakfast buffet.
As for exercise, I hiked (story below), snorkeled, and zip lined. Do strolls to daily massages count? If so, I will consider it bang for my buck. An hour foot massage, $6 USD. I know I just dropped the zip lining experience in without going into detail. Well, let’s just say it was a once in a lifetime experience. #yolo.
The Philipeans were all about Christmas. On Wednesday, October 6th I was at the mall, and there was a Christmas countdown clock not to be upstaged by the Christmas trees found throughout the mall and the airport. And if that wasn’t enough, one flight played “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” by the late Whitney Houston. I took it as my reminder to get back on the straight and narrow so that I can enjoy (without guilt) all of my upcoming holiday feasts. If I need to be more detailed in my requests (clearing throat), please let me know.
Pray
God’s love, grace, and mercy continue to astound me. God’s mercy covers my mistakes. God’s grace ministers to my grief. God’s love surrounds me as a reminder that I am never alone. And as a celebrate another year of life, I thank God for bringing through my mountain highs and valley lows. I am thankful for the lessons learned and that He yet has a purpose and promise for my life.
I take time today to pray for and thank God for all of those who have blessed my life through their sacrifice of love and time. I even pause to reflect on the lessons that have come as a result of those who have caused me harm; for they have made me who I am today. Currently, my church is doing a series on re-thinking who we are in Christ. I admit I used to, and if I were, to be honest even still, have been a person who subscribes to the thought, “Everything would be better if…” A few Sundays ago that thought was challenged to change to, “Everything is good because…” I am a church baby and therefore product and the words hidden in my heart that sang true with the premise, “Everything is good because…” are the following:
• “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.” – Gen. 50:20 (NLT)
• “…For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” – Heb. 13:5
• (NLT)
• “…and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” – Matt. 28:20 (TLB)
• “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.” – Rom. 8:28 (TLB)
I challenge you to join me in this journey of debunking a spirit of defeat and realize that God has oh so much in store for your life. His purpose and promises are waiting to be received so that you may be a blessing to those around you who stand in need of God’s love, grace, and mercy.
Love
I love that I am a life-long learner which in turn insists that I open my type -A self to new opportunities. To that end, I allowed my friend Kate to talk me into taking a trek through the jungle after our underground river excursion. Now, those of you that know me know that trekking and hiking are not words or actions that are part of my vocabulary. So off we go. At the entrance, there is immediately a sign, rather warning, that reads on a lizard photo, “Don’t catch me,” to which I thought, “Don’t worry.” It was also at that point that I was re-evaluating my decision, but onwards I went, and I mean that literally because 50 feet away was a set of about 40 steep stairs! For the times I have hiked before, I have always felt that the ascent was physically the hardest. Well, the trip through this wet jungle floor proved otherwise.
The Lord and I had some quality time during the descent of the mountain, for there came a time when my focus turned from the actual frightening experience to what God was trying to show me. Gladimir, or G as I referred to him, was our assigned guide who was decked out in a blue shirt and flip-flops. He spoke limited English but knew important words like, “Careful,” “Monkeys,” and one that I was elated to hear, “Survived.” During this hair-raising experience, G at times was like David, for when we met a group of monkeys he picked up three stones to use as protection. As I climbed over stones and through the muddy and slick jungle floor, I held on to just about anything and everything hoping there wasn’t anything creepy or crawly wanting to make my acquaintance. At times during this torturous or treacherous trek (both applied in my mind), G seemingly had disappeared because he was ahead of us, but when we turned a corner, he would be waiting right there ready to lead us on. Also during this trek, we would come to rest areas and G would advise us to take a break and refresh. When we arrived at the end of our journey, G turned to us and said with a smile, “Survived.”
So, here is what I gleaned from my jungle trek: During this journey (jungle) of life, you will slip, fall, and get at times get dirty. You will need to hold on to support systems to steady yourself, and there will even be times when you will be called on to provide support. For those occasions, I thought of the words penned in Jeremiah 17:8 (NIV), “They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Now back to the revelation. Being that it was a bit hot on the journey, I was sweating profusely and thought, Katrina you do not need to add any more moisture to this jungle floor! I then thought of John 7:38 (NIV), “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” So as you go through the journey of life and situations cause you to perspire, take a moment to encourage others around you. Another important takeaway from this experience was the opportunities we were given to pause, reflect, and rejuvenate. That was necessary for us to continue and ultimately reach our destination. The most important revelation for me were the times I thought and felt that G was too far ahead only to realize that he was always right around the corner waiting and ready to lead us on. The last pearl from this journey was two-part – When we got to the end of our journey, G said with a smile, “Survived,” to which I replied with a worn smile and muddied body, “Yes, I survived!” We were then asked to sign a book to conclude our trek and add comments. My comment, “I survived.”
I am hippopotamus happy that my name is already written in the book of life and it is my prayer that when this journey through life’s jungle has come to an end, these two words are spoken, “Well done.”
Teach
Why the Philippines? Strangely enough, although I live approximately 500 ft from a beach, I still LOVE to go on beach vacations. To that end, Puerta Princesa fulfilled two items on the checklist, well, actually three. One, it is a country I haven’t visited. Two, it has a beautiful beach and a resort that allows for maximum relaxation. And three, it is the right price for my budget! One Philippine Peso = 50.89 USD.
Historically, the place was named after Maria Cristina, one of the princesses born to Isabella II of Spain and her consort, Francis, Duke of Cadiz. When the princess suffered an untimely death, the Queen changed the name to Puerto de la Princesa. Eventually, the name was shortened to Puerto Princesa. – Wikipedia
Puerto Princesa is also home to the Subterranean River National Park and the capital of the island province of Palawan. The Subterranean River National Park is also known as the Underground River is shy of 5 miles and has crystalline waters and jaw-dropping cave formations. In 1999 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Due to the event of AESIAN2017, our excursion was delayed two hours for the VIPs, but this inconvenience also came with one of the most secure vacations I have been on outfitted with full military and police presence.
In researching AESIAN, I found out that it is an organization consisting of the following Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Their aim, be a community of opportunities.