Students for International Mission Service (SIMS)

The Philippines
by Ken Galera, sophomore, School of Medicine

I went to the Philippines to escape from the fast pace of my American lifestyle. I had visited the Philippines three years ago on a gymnastics tour, so I knew what to expect.

The people at Bacolod Sanitarium and Hospital were friendly and accommodating. We followed the physicians on rounds in the hospital, visited with patients, even attended seminars and dinners.

We learned how to do numerous procedures and enjoyed the company of residents, interns, and staff. We also went to the markets and played sports at night.

Many hours were spent in the emergency department waiting for patients to arrive. During that time, we learned how Filipinos view the world and the conditions they encounter.

Filipinos addressed almost every situation with optimism and always tried to give me advice with a smile. And it is with this smile and a raising of the eyebrows that Filipinos acknowledge both friends and strangers. This inviting nature combined with an ever-present inkling of humor, made a lasting impression. Their method of approaching every situation was to make it enjoyable.

People usually come back from mission trips with a great story or two about life-changing events and how God led them to do this or that.

I didn't need this mission trip for that type of experience. I learned from God in small ways every day. However, what I gained from this trip was incredible. I played with little boys doing cartwheels and flips. I rode in a taxi the size of a Toyota Tercel, with nine other people, for more than an hour. I conversed with young adults my age about life and the pursuit of happiness outside of American ideals. I fished on a bamboo raft using only a bamboo pole, fishing line, a hook, and a worm„and it actually worked. I even rode in a jalopy of a van whose back frame bounced with every pothole and whose driver, when the wheels got stuck in the mud, insisted on spinning them regardless of the fact that we were dangerously positioned on the edge of a cliff pointing straight for the valley below.

What was outside of my world became a part of my world. And what I thought would be a slow-paced lifestyle turned out to be a hectic yet exhilarating adventure that went beyond my expectations.

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