Dear BRODmy8,Dito na ako sa Dubai since 2007 (January 15 to be exact). It was unexpected, brod. May friend ako dati na kasama ko ring sacristan who's been in Dubai for 3 years prior. Bale kumpare ko siya, inaanak ko yung panganay niya. Nagbakasyon siya sa Pilipinas noong November 2006. Treat ko sila ng lunch sa Manila and before we parted ways, biniro niya ako kung gusto ko daw bang pumunta rin sa Dubai. Sabi ko: "Oo ba." Casually said. Come mid-December of the same year, I received a brown envelope from Dubai via DHL, and surprise of all surprises, it was my visa to the United Arab Emirates! So wala na akong nagawa pa kasi gumastos na rin siya e. I have to file my immediate resignation (kahit nag-eenjoy pa ako sa call center noon sa Makati). Biglaan. Even my colleagues were taken aback by the suddenness of it all. Hindi ako excited to leave the Philippines then. Nag-sink in lang siya sa akin on my way to the airport on that fateful day. Sa loob ng taxi (ayoko ng may pahatid-hatid pa. Mas mabigat dalhin sa dibdib yung may iiyak pag-alis) doon ko lang naisip na ilang oras na lang ay OFW na nga pala ako. Noon lang ako nalungkot, kasi kahit pag-impake ng gamit ko ginawa ko lang on the same day ng flight ko.
Sharing ko lang brod kung paanong ako ay nakarating talaga sa Dubai, like what really brought me here. Yung friend ko who helped me get to Dubai is like 7 years my junior and we became friends only when I was still a postulant sa Conventuals. Gusto rin sana niya magpari pero God has other plans for him. His father died in Japan. Being the panganay (dalawa lang silang magkapatid), he had no other choice than to be the "father" of the family. During the wake of his dad, walang dumadalaw o dumaramay sa kanila na mga kamag-anak nila. I made it a point to be there everyday and every single night. Wala ang mga pari noon dahil may annual retreat sila sa Manila so I looked for a priest from outside our town. Divine Providence, I found a La Salette priest in nearby Santiago City. Noong unang dumating ang pari sa simbahan, I have to hasten to attend to him. Up until mailibing ang father niya, katulong nila ako sa bahay nila. Nahihiya sa akin ang mother niya. Pero para sa akin, what is that for friends, di ba? In case sa akin mangyari yun, ayaw ko rin siyempre na mag-isa lang ako during that time of great loss and grief. Kapag iniisip ko, it was that simple and very ordinary act of kindness I did to his family that brought me to Dubai. I always share this to friends not for egotistical high but to highlight the importance of always putting others before one's self. Na yun bang isang random act of kindness can really spell the difference in our lives. Para sa akin, what I did was the very thing demanded by that particular situation, yun bang kung may sunog ay natural lang na tumakbo ako at buhusan yung apoy ng tubig. Pero I have seen the repercussion of that small act. Grand indeed is that maxim that God can never be outdone in generosity. Napakabait ng Diyos. Sabi nga ni Brother Mike Velarde: "Siksik, liglig at umaapaw."
CONStantly
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