The Philippines is well known for its thousands of islands—7,461 to be exact, according to the latest mapping survey. If you are a boat and sea lover, it might be a great place to go island-hopping, especially when the sea is rough. I know how it feels when the sea is about to swallow you alive. So, this is how it feels when the disciples’ boat was swamped by wind and raging water. No wonder they cried out loudly, waking Jesus, saying, “We are perishing!”
During my recent visit to Turda, Coron, where our Mill Hill Missionaries have been working for the last 18 years, we visited one of the islands, perhaps the smallest inhabited island I have visited so far. I couldn’t find it on the map; it was just a small dot if you zoomed in. A regular boat would take around an hour and a half to reach it. There is no regular boat service to the island, nor is there a source of drinking water or power supply. One of the teachers assigned to the island, not by choice, exclaimed that drinking water is the most challenging part of being here. I couldn’t suppress my curiosity and asked where they get drinking water, and she replied, “from the other island.” I could only sympathize with my silence. In my mind, I was grateful that at least there is a school, and I thanked the teachers for their sacrifices and service to the community.
I couldn’t remember, but I think there was no priest who used to come here before the Mill Hill Missionaries arrived in 2007, one of the residents commented. I was a little surprised, but it could be true. I can only recall Fr. Herman, a Mill Hill Missionary, visiting us in the early days along with other priests, and Fr. Charles Okata later on initiated the community to erect a chapel, he added. Since then, we have been grateful to have a regular missionaries visiting us monthly, if the sea conditions permit.
