WHEN we were with Couples for Christ (CFC) as Area Head for Guimaras province in the ‘90s, we crossed the Iloilo Strait every weekend for 12 years.
Many times the sea was rough but we overcame our fear and the imminent danger because of prayers.
But we cannot forget a most challenging experience – not in Guimaras – when we attended a regional meeting of Couples for Christ in Romblon, an island province which, like Guimaras, was part of the CFC group in Western Visayas.
We travelled with the late congressman, Bro. Allen Quimpo, from Kallibo to Caticlan in Aklan province. He was a top leader of CFC Aklan at that time. He drove his van with us beside him on the wheel.
We left early Saturday morning from Kalibo to Caticlan and was there at 8 a.m. But our pumpboat was able to leave not until after lunch because we waited for a youth group from Kalibo that joined us on the trip.
There were 21 youth members on the boat, with their adult leader; Bro. Allen Quimpo and their CFC coordinator for Aklan whose name escapes us now; two of us elders from CFC Guimaras – Bro. Celoy Bernas who was Head of our Formation and Pastoral Support Group, and yours truly. All in all there were 28 of us on board, including two crew members.
After passing Carabao Island just behind Boracay, the sea started to get rough with truck-high waves hitting our pumpboat. Then the clouds darkened the sky and it started to rain. Some of the boys were vomiting.
We held on to our rosary and continued to pray all the way until we hit the north-eastern end of Sibuyan Island, then turned left to the smaller but capital island province of Romblon. It was about 9 p.m. when we landed in Romblon. They were worried about us and already sent a lookout team in the western part of the province to see if we landed there because of the bad weather.
We caught up with the latter part of the program and the Aklan youth group joined them. Much later in the evening when the program ended, we were booked to pass the night at the Provincial Governor’s guest house while the youth group was taken care also by their counterparts in the province.
It is a practice in CFC to pray over a new member as the party kneels while an elder places his hand over his head to pray. In praying over a new member of the order by one elder, he says the following as he places his hand on the head of the former: “Bless us oh Lord and this gift that we are about to receive from your bounty,” which was a prayer before meal.
The new member turned pale and was about to run out of the hall had he not been stopped. He was relieved when we everyone laughed. It was one of the effects of the stormy sea experience on one of our brothers.
It is good that on our return trip from another port in the island the sea was already calm.
Sailing on a stormy sea was a most exciting experience that up to now we cannot forget.
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GEM OF THOUGHT
“I keep my ideals because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are still good at heart.” – Anne Frank (For comments or re-actions, please e-mail to jnoveracompany@yahoo.com)/PN)
