I Was Robbed of Everything...

Early mornings in the Philippines are the best;

they remind. me of summer nights in California. It was the only time when it seemed as if the air was not so polluted, and most of the motor vehicles weren’t out on the road, emitting fumes and God knows what. It’s the only time during the day when the temperature is nothing to complain about. I didn’t need a sweater, and a shirt was just right. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air in Quezon City.

I didn’t know then, but I was told that the Philippines is one of the most dangerous places for foreigners to walk around, especially when it is dark.

It was nearing 4 a.m., and I knew I had to return to the hotel and get ready immediately. I am expecting to be scolded by Brother Joel as well. Is it worth it? I thought so at first. I waved for a tricycle driver to stop and lift me to the hotel. A few passed by me but continued. One did eventually; I showed the address to my hotel, and the driver said It wasn’t on his route. I didn’t know, so I tried offering a hundred pesos, roughly two U.S. dollars, 70 pesos more than the standard rate.

He respectfully declined and went on his way. I am getting frustrated again. My family always told me I had an anger problem since childhood. I never noticed it, but I learned how to control it as a missionary. I learned how to adapt to different personalities when the time was right. I began walking toward the hotel; at least, that is what I thought.

I heard a motorcycle coming from down the street. I saw that it was a tricycle and threw my hand out to stop the driver. He sounded his horn, assuring me that he was picking me up. He pulled up before me and said, “San po kayo?” (Where are you headed?) I handed the hotel’s business card to show the address, and he handed it back and told me to hop in. I know for sure that I will be late for service.

I didn’t care; I felt better after hanging out with Sarah. I just began planning my arrival to get there, shower, change, and service. I started to feel my eyes getting heavy since I still hadn’t slept much. But as a missionary, I am used to the lack of sleep. That didn’t stop my body from taking a nap on that tricycle. I leaned my head on the side and told myself I’d nap it out and wake up when we got to the hotel.

My eyes opened, and I looked around; it was still dark. I glanced at my cell phone and saw it was 30 minutes after 4. The driver said in Tagalog, “That’s a nice cell phone.” Mom had sent it to me a week before; it is a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Gold edition. I loved that phone; it was the most recently released. I looked around and saw that the place we were in needed to be more familiar. I am sketchy about the driver now. I asked, “Sir, where are we?”He assured me we were close to the hotel and would arrive shortly. I wondered if he took an alternate route, which I needed to learn about because nothing looked familiar. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep, but I am tired. I glanced to my right and saw a long, dark, empty field.

+