Literary Jump: "A Testimonial"

"Thank God, Intact pa ang Pinuhunan Ko!"

By: Ms. Jan De Ocampo

"So many times the Lord will allow things to happen to us , just to show that

Often, in church, i envy the people who stand in front and share a testimony. Sometimes it's about their experiences during an outreach, or how their parents disowned them when they decided to get baptized, or how somebody close to them died and it changed them. Don't get me wrong, i do not envy them because they get to stand in front (goodness, NO, i would probably faint from nervousness), i envy them because they have a powerful story to tell of how God intervened in their lives. Yesterday, i learned my lesson, the hard way. I learned that envying is a sin and i should be careful what i wish for, because i just might get it.

"Pag-madumi ang sapatos nyo, absent-an ko kayo!" Those were ma'am Estapon's words that sent me searching for white shoe polish. I even had a tiff with my mom over the frustration of finding something that would restore my shoes to it's original color. When i finally found it (Thank you, Mr. Alvin Amurao), i stayed up late just to make sure that every centimeter of each shoe was as white as paper. After around 30 minutes of washing, polishing, and brushing, my pair looked like duty-shoes again! I placed it on the floor, admiring my masterpiece(haha!), and thought to myself "Ha! Tingnan natin kung sino ang absent!"

FASTFORWARD TO THE NEXT DAY, (Friday) April 30, 2010.

5:00 AM I hop on the bus and scan the seats for ate Deem, my seatmate for the past two days. Oh, there she is, but she's seating on the other side of the bus, weird. Fine, doesn't matter, i guess. And kuya Martin Adea's here too! Probably coming to get some scrub forms signed. I proudly show ate deem my shoes, they're sooo white, i love it!

5:20-ish Finally a batchmate who probably woke up late is here now. Good thing she was able to catch up. We pray and off we go! Kuya Martin and I are chatting, lights are still on. Im probably not gonna get much sleep now.

5:45 Ma'am Estapon scolds the kuya-driver for loading gas only now, when we're already late for duty. She tells the driver to next time load up on gas at night. Kuya-driver shyly says yes ma'am, and we are on the road again. Kuya martin's stopped talking now, probably sleeping, and I try to get some too. For some reason, even if i try, sleep won't come. I guess i'll just have to settle with closing my eyes. Come sleep, my patient's baby poops like there is no tomorrow, and i want to be alert for that.

6:30-ish The driver hits the breaks three times. Why? Oh no, something's wrong. I open my eyes and HOLY KAMOTE we are going to...... *CRRRAAAAAASSSSSHHHHH* I open my eyes(i don't remember but i guess i closed my eyes again before the impact). The windshield is smashed into pieces and i cannot see the driver and the kuya-conductor. Wala na ung front ng bus, sobrang yupi. Ma'am Lea is stuck in her chair and cries for help. Whoah, did sir Shal just lift the whole seat and set ma'am Lea free?! Amazing! I turn to my right and ate Deem's face is so red, but she seems fine. I turn to my left and Micah is bleeding! Blood all over her uniform. Look for something to wipe the blood and put pressure on wherever the bleeding's coming from. Kuya Martin helps me look. Oh wait, nose bleed pala. Atleast yun lang. My other batchmates are shaken, but nobody was unconscious. Good sign. I look down, and DARN IT! My shoes!
My just-this-morning-so-pretty-white shoes, are DIRTY AGAIN. Hay, Thank You Lord everybody seems to be fine. Wait, the people outside are screaming for us to get out. Hala! There's smoke coming out from the front of the bus! Dear God, please naman don't let the bus explode. Atleast not until everybody is safe outside. Oh my, wala ng door! How do we get outside? Teka, sir Shal is jumping out the window! Ako din! Im bringing my bag and my dear red pillow. Kaso baka mahirapan ako. Ok leave it. Ay wag! Andito skills booklet ko. I run to the window. Ate Deem, kuya Martin, let's go na DALI! Kuya Martin: "WAIT! asan ang scrub forms ko?! ANG SCRUB FORMS KOOOOOO!" Bahala ka jan, ako im jumping na. Waaaah! Ang taas pala! KEBS! May i throw my things on the road and JUUUUMMMP! okay im safe now. I think. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU Lord!

Psalm 91:1-2 'He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." He will cover you with His feathers, under His wings you are safe.'

(I promise I wasn't posing for this photo.)


After everyone was able to get out of the bus, police patrols and ambulances came to bring us to the Ospital ng Muntinlupa E.R., another highway hospital, and a police station. At the station a police told us that we were so lucky because most of the accidents they experienced, they ended up picking bodies on the road. Dr. Flores' family, Mr. Morada, and Kuya Jonathan Gonzales came to the station, provided us with some food and took us to a bus station. Rides from AUP would take too long now since the traffic going our way wasn't moving anymore, so we had to commute to OsMun. At OsMun, another bus was waiting for us. There we were reunited with the other people who had more injuries than we did. They were stitched and patched up now. Micah, my nosebleeder friend was smiling again! At AUP, we all went down at the clinic just so they can make sure that everybody was okay.

I praise God because He is too good. I escaped with just bruises on my knees & legs, muscle pain, and dirty shoes. The worst injury we had was nothing seven sutures couldn't fix. Looking at the pictures of the bus now, i would think that people inside wouldn't be spared. But God didn't allow that to happen, He kept everyone safe from serious injuries. And at the end of the day, we were all back from the hospital, clinic, and police station, ready to welcome the Sabbath and praise God for giving us another chance at everything.

Thank you to all who called, texted, commented & messaged here in FB, and visited me at home. Most especially thank you for your prayers. And thank you to everybody who helped to make sure we were okay: Dr. Flores & Family, Mr. Morada, Mr. Gonzales, Tito Bob Galicia, Ma'am Angel Bingcang, Ma'am Susy Jael, Clinic Family, CON FAMILY, and my dear batchmates! ICONS UNITED! : )