Might have beens and invitations

It's no secret that I was originally assigned to the Diocese of the Southern Philippines.  I was then transferred to the north out of some safety concerns, and given tensions on the island of Mindanao, as well as the earthquake centered in the southern islands, I have been just as glad to be up in the North Central Diocese instead. 

But sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would have been like in the South. 

This particular bout of wondering increased because I just spent two days at a conference/workshop of CE teachers from throughout the Philippines.  The Episcopal schools in the Philippines are working to create a uniform, comprehensive curriculum for CE, and I was invited to attend the workshop being held here at Easter College.  I spent the past two days living and working with other teachers from many of the other diocese, including a bunch from the south. 

A group of teachers from Zamboanga City adopted me almost from the first, and made me feel like such a part of their group.  After the first day was over in the early evening, they decided they wanted to tour parts of Baguio, and invited me along.  We went to Burnham Park and played and took pictures there, including renting a boat and paddling around the pond inside the park.  After that, we went to the Harrison Road Night Market, which is this giant street market that sells used clothing and various trinkets.  It was a bit of a late night, and we all had to get up early the next morning for a 6:30 church service, but it was worth being tired just to be with everyone. 

The next day was spent actually working on and critiquing the curriculum.  There were some subjects I knew a lot about, hello medieval society, thank you for giving me a very thorough grounding in the medieval church, while with others I didn't have much to contribute to, as my knowledge of the history of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines is very surface level, but it was exciting to be a part of making this curriculum work for the years to come. 

We finished in the early afternoon, and many groups headed out soon after, so they could get home in time for the feast of All Saints.  I did get an invitation to come and visit the Southern Philippines, especially Zamboanga City, and I so want to go and see my new friends there again.