The event was made possible through the combined efforts of Jerl, John Ranel, and mine, and of course, with the help of all the people who joined, donated and supported the event. Maam Beth - aka Teacher Traveler, was also a huge help, and I admired her effort in accommodating us together with the principal and all the teachers of New Bucao Elem. School. I don't exactly know what to tell you about this. It actually started as a random business idea. We wanted to create a T-shirt business related to sports and hiking, and we wanted to promote it through this event. However, things got out of hand that we ended up focusing more on this event itself, and we kind of forgot about the whole business venture idea. I couldn't tell you how nervous I was on the days, even weeks, leading to the main event. I did not expect it to blow up, and I certainly did not expect us to have over 50 interested volunteers. I worried a lot because it was my first time organizing an event as big as this, with people we barely know. It helped that there's three of us, and we kind of delegated the necessary tasks. As luck would have it, we ended up having a lot of joiners. They were all a mix of our acquaintances, close friends, online friends, as well as John and Jerl's random invites. When I think about it now, I was pretty amazed at how diverse our group was. I mean, I'm not really the kind of person who likes to mix up my friends from the different areas of my life in one place. But during that time, everyone I know, from my closest friends, college friends, workmates to some acquaintances, were all gathered at the same event with me. PS. Most photos are not mine, credit goes to Bry2 and Maam Beth. It was considered a success, after all. The event made lots of children smile, and I know that no matter how tiring the hike was, the volunteers were also satisfied to see how happy the kids were. It was a different kind of feeling, really. I felt a great sense of relief that everyone was safe and the event's main purpose was achieved. I also felt very grateful because everything I worried about was all worth it. After all, everything worked out all right. Though it was a success, it goes without saying that we also encountered several setbacks on the event's days. The printing of shirts and bags got delayed. Most of the participants did not receive their kit on the day of the hike. I know many of them were disappointed, but we did our best to solve it but to no avail. Aside from that, I haven't thought about a lot of things that I wish I could have prepared everyone for. We didn't get to have a decent lunch after a tiring 3-4 hours of hiking. The lunch budget couldn't accommodate everyone in the school. Also, we kind of mixed up the number of students per grade level, so we ended up giving some of them random kits, not on their level. I wish we could have given them more. Nevertheless, the overflowing gratitude and happiness that I have after the event outweighed all the unexpected things I mentioned. Aside from those I mentioned, there were still a lot of things I was grateful for. I felt very thankful that the principal helped us secure a bus going to the jump-off point because we carried many school supplies, and the volunteers would have had a hard time carrying them over. The volunteers were also thankful that they didn't get to spend a dime for the transport there. I was also grateful to Emman and Koring for hosting the program and letting their charm brighten up the kids' day during the program. If you could only see the joy in the children's faces while playing and receiving their tokens. It was priceless. The participants enjoyed incredible scenery overlooking the famous lake in the background. I know everyone was tired, but I also saw their happiness after everything they went through. I didn't know everyone who joined our event, but some of them became our friends after that day. And what made me even happier? After that event, I saw some familiar faces going together for hikes again with the people they met during our event. Many of them bonded over that day and developed close friendships afterward. Even until now, I can see them going to places with those friends whom they met on that day. Thinking about how our event made them crossed paths with one another swells my heart with pride because we get to be God's instrument for those people to meet. I don't know about everyone, but this event will forever leave a mark on me. Something I thought I couldn't do, but I did, with the collective help from a lot of people. During that time, I discovered a different side of me that I didn't know even existed. It pushed me beyond my comfort zone in a good way. It made me do things I would never have the guts to do in any normal circumstances. I experienced asking strangers to join our event, asking office personnel to sponsor our event, sending letters to organizations to ask for donations, connecting with old friends to ask for support, and many more. It was pretty hectic, and I think I've used up a month's worth of social energy for that event that I ended up drained and exhausted for over a week after that. But I'll say it again and again, it was all worth it, a million times over.
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