Timbao and the Grace of God

Dumaguete: "The City of Gentle People" is a city of 100,000 facing the Pacific. It is located on the southeastern coast of the island of Negros Oriental in the central Philippines.

Today, we left the city on our way to Timbao, a small mountain community 40 minutes away by our LCP van. The paved road ended only 15 minutes into the trip.

The unpaved road that replaced it was strewn with rocks, pot holes and.....coconuts the size of small watermelons. No speed limit signs are necessary as the road winds and turns along the side of the mountain. Only the truly skilled and fearless need apply to navigate past the constantly changing hazards.

Those of us in the back of the van sat on 2 bench seats facing each other. A convenient hold bar that runs the inside roof of the van between the bench seats is the only safety we have. There are no seat or shoulder belts, no airbags and little hope of a quick rescue if our driver falters.

Some time later, a clearing appears out of the foliage. Small tin roofed houses form a semi-circle at the edge of the clearing. The center building is larger than the others and that is our destination: the Timbao pre-school.

Many of the residents of Timbao are gathered there awaiting our arrival and we are made to feel very welcome.



Inside the building, there are approximately 15 pre-schoolers. With them is their teacher, a slender, graceful woman named Florita.


Florita has been the pre school teacher at Timbao for many years.
Her home is a 30 minute walk, uphill, from the school. In the recent past, she has lost her husband to cancer and has battled kidney problems but she moves among the children with a gentle, loving movement that reminds me of Audrey Hepburn. Every child is visited and helped with the day's lessons. I have never seen a happier group of children in a classroom.




As we left Timbao, the thought came to me that, in this peaceful corner of the world, God is surely standing next to Florita in her classroom.