I have no idea why I love Lent more than the Advent. My favorite moment is when I can sing with all the feels “Old Rugged Cross”, whether in English or Tagalog. I was used to a hot and dry Holy Week. During Wednesday of that week, the television channels start to retire and you cannot watch the usual programs. Instead, old films or children’s films are shown. In the Philippines, we have a worship service celebrating the Last Supper and sometimes washing of the feet on Maundy Thursday then Seven Last Words with seven different speakers on afternoons of Good Friday. Black Saturday is usually swimming day for families, because there’s a superstition that you cannot take a bath nor smile during Good Friday due to the death of Jesus Christ. On Easter Sunday, we have sunrise services sometimes all together in a park near the mountains, in an area with a hundred steps. Moreover, the long weekend is used by people who work in the capital to go home, out of town or abroad to relax and unwind.
Telling this story from my new home (Uruguay, South America) sounds extremely rare or different. Holy Week here is a 5-day holiday called Semana de Turismo (Tourism Week). There’s even a Semana de la Cerveza which is a famous week-long festival with artsy items and draft beer plus bands and performers. The weather in the capital city, Montevideo starts to cool down for the autumn season. Cool down for me, around 18 to 12 C from the summer`s 30 to 36 C with humidity. I spent my Good Friday at the local church I am working with where a group of people gathered for a reflection time. The next day, Black Friday, I was privileged to share some games with children and teens during another local church in anticipation for Easter. On the morning of Easter, almost five churches, and a group of Youth for Christ, gathered beside the beach waiting for the sunrise. We read some verses from the Bible and sang original hymns from all over Latin America. Afterwards, we had breakfast in each local churches. At 11 AM we had worship service and holy communion. I had my time with the teenagers, like a small group where I shared my work with young people in the Philippines during Holy Week. It was different for the Uruguayan teens.
Late in the afternoon, I went to the Museum of Visual Arts with some friends to catch an exhibit of an Argentinian painter named Sergio Viera. I have appreciation for the art in my new home. I always enjoy my time going to art museums for free. The masterpieces always remind that something or someone will always be out of my league or sense of reason and it’s alright not to fully grasp its sense, but at the same time it’s vital to not miss it’s beauty and that feeling of transcendence. That is maybe why I love lent more than advent because most of the time, death is harder to explain than life.
Micah Pascual
GMF Class of 2017-2019
Advance #3022332
The Book of Fellows 