Whenever it's Sunday, we really find time to go to church. This one became a routine for us because my mother is very particular about it, and also it's a way for us to start another week with gratitude and positivity. Yesterday, we thought that we would be late for the 3:00 P.M. mass since we started our walk past 2:30. However, to our surprise, when we arrived the mass was still not starting. We looked at the time and we were really late! And also what astounded us more is that there are a lot of people inside the Church. It was quite unusual because usually due to heat, there were fewer people during that time.
Since the inside of the church was already too cramped, we just stood outside the windows and after a few more minutes of standing, the bells rang and the mass started. It seems the unusualness wasn't enough because there's also a new face that presided over the mass. We stood for the entire mass, but I didn't feel tired because I got engrossed with how the mass presider said things. Honestly, if you aren't paying much attention to what he was saying, you wouldn't understand him much, but still, I was able to understand his homily because he shared it with much conviction and enthusiasm. I like it when the mass presider puts much effort into explaining the readings because mostly if they don't I would really find myself snoozing, even if I'm standing at that time.
His homily was really nice and impactful because he definitely explained the message of the readings in an engaging way. He even sang some of them, and his voice was so full and powerful that even those people far outside the church came near the window, curious about who was singing inside it. I know that most of the people around me as well the people inside the church had a hard time understanding him because of his rapid English and his diction that we're not used hearing to, but still, for me, it's one of the best homily I've heard yet. I've attended a lot of masses and heard a lot of homilies as well and most of them sound the same to me, yet some of them stood out and his homily is certainly one of them.
The mass lasted for more than an hour, and by the time it ended, the sun was slowly setting. Before we proceeded to walk home, we stopped by a burger junction and there we ate for a while. I put a lot of hot sauce inside the bun which I somehow regretted after because it was definitely spicy. We also bought some for my brother and my parents and after eating we started our way to our next destination. Just when we were done shopping for the school supplies we needed, we saw a group of friends eating big ice cream from 7-Eleven and upon seeing them, another craving was born. It was still hot so we decided to give in to our cravings.
It's just a 20-peso (0.36 USD) ice cream with cone so I expected I could easily eat it all, but it seems I underestimated it. By the time I'm down with the cone, my stomach is almost bursting and I'm almost about to puke because of the sweetness that really lingers in my taste buds. Also, it melts immediately so I have no choice but to eat it fastly. However, my cravings didn't stop after eating ice cream because as soon I saw a street food stall, I was suddenly hungry again and with that, I bought something to eat. I really like tempura—not the fancy coated shrimp but street food that kinda tastes like fishballs—ahhhh I really like them!
It was almost dusk when we arrived at the barren rice fields near our house. It was a long yet food-filled walk, and the moment I arrived at my bed, I immediately plopped myself on it. I'm really tired, but at least my heart is filled and happy. It is sometimes indeed the small things that bring us joy and enjoyment that we didn't expect we could feel from those simple experiences.
Most of the pictures that were used were taken by yours truly, ridgette while the first picture was edited in Canva.