51st and 27th

Today is a special day and I thank the Lord for His faithfulness. Another year has passed filled with blessings from the Almighty God. Looking back, I've seen how He has guided me through the past 365 days. How am I? Definitely, I'm a better person than I used to be. He has challenged me to give my best. To explore talents that I could use in the ministry He has called me to serve. To live a life that will continue to make a difference. To be His channel of blessings to others.

Life is full of surprises, too. I woke up to find a bouquet of red roses.  It was unexpected. I'm not used to receiving flowers on special occasions. There's always a first time they say. I'm truly blessed to have a husband who I've come to love more each day.

Looking forward, I will continue to claim God's promise that He will not leave me nor forsake me. I believe He has a lot in store for me and my lifetime partner. May our lives be always pleasing before Him. Thank you, Lord!

Day 3: Surigao City to Gingoog City

This is the shortest leg of our journey so we were not in a hurry to leave early. Bobby and I sat by the shore as we waited for the breaking of dawn. We thought of having a quick dip but the beach was not too inviting. Perhaps we were just excited to reach our final destination.

After our breakfast in the city, we started hitting the road at 8 a.m. We could have reached Gingoog City by noon but we decided to have lunch in an eatery by the beach approximately 20 km from the city. The homecooked dishes were gone in a few minutes and the driver got to lie on a hammock as we breathed in the sea breeze and admired the view of Camiguin island on the horizon.

At 12:38 p.m., we reached our destination. We're very happy to see our loved ones in Gingoog City. This is going to be our first Christmas with them.

By the way, the odometer registered 1,237.9 km. Hurray to the best ever driver in the whole wide world and thank you, Lord, for your traveling mercies.

Day 2: Allen, Northern Samar to Surigao City

It was a restful night and we were all recharged to start the second day of our journey to Mindanao. At a quarter to 6 a.m.,  we left the lodge and proceeded to Calbayog City for breakfast. Along the way, we saw houses, crops, and roads that were damaged by Typhoon Nona. At 11:06 a.m., we were already crossing San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in the country. The next stop was the memorial of the shipwreck caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) then more photo ops at MacArthur Park in Palo, Leyte.

After lunch, we headed to Liloan Port in Southern Leyte. We were advised to try the San Ricardo Port 41 km down south for a better chance of getting a slot in the roro vehicle. We arrived at 4:30 p.m. and there was a long queue of trucks and other private vehicles waiting for boarding. We were only accommodated on the third ship which started sailing at 11 p.m. After an hour, the ship docked in Lipata Port, Surigao City. We checked in at a beach resort to get the much-needed rest from our long journey.

Day 1: Indang, Cavite to Allen, Northern Samar

According to Google, the total distance from Indang, Cavite to Matnog, Sorsogon is 563 km. We drove 593 km and it took us almost 15 hours. That's the first leg of our journey to Mindanao and we only have one super driver. Bravo!

We were supposed to leave yesterday but the weather forecast was not good because of three weather systems over the country. Today it was still overcast and raining in some parts of our route. We left Indang at past 2 a.m. The first stopover was for breakfast in Gumaca, Quezon. Lunch was at Camalig, Albay where we had the famous pinangat, Bicol express, and a chicken dish. The third stopover was in a gas station in Sorsogon City and finally, we reached Matnog port at 3 p.m. Our roro ticket was for 4 p.m. departure to Allen port but the boat left at 8 p.m. so we decided to spend the night in Allen, Northern Samar. The town had no power and phone signal since Typhoon Nona hit the area making it difficult to look for accommodation but we were able to find one with water and standby power. We were just in time before the closing of a small restaurant which is a walking distance from our lodging house and we had a hearty dinner to cap the day.