Close Calls: When your life is on the line, experiences of narrow escape from danger, faith testimonies
situation where you asked yourself,
is this it? Do I end here?
That is called close call...being in a
scary situation where your life is on
the line. Close call is defined as a
narrow escape from danger, that
slim chance of surviving given the
situation.
Here are my close calls, life events,
the kind that we all want most to
avoid. But they happen.
.
And in those kind of experiences,
call it luck that you made it through
or more likely, one that has divine
intervention at play - the unseen
hand that protects, saves. Looking
back, they were experiences
grounded in faith.
I've had several. Years ago, I was
puzzled and had questions. But
today, grateful. And the lessons in
faith are a testimony.
Buyong Beach, Talisay
I knew that my parents won't allow
me to go without them as my
chaperone, so I did not ask permission.
I secretly hid my beach clothes under
my books inside my schoolbag
pretending it was just another regular
school day. So off we went, excitement
mounting as we neared the place. As
teenagers, we were having so much
fun while our class adviser watched
us close by. A male classmate whose
father owned a big mechanized
fishing banca (outrigger) allowed us
to ride on it.
Philippine banca
We were so many on the fishing boat,
like a little less than half of the entire
class on that wooden banca, including
the young son of our adviser. We went
so far out into the sea. It was a sunny
day, and nobody thought of an
impending disaster.
It all started when the banca stopped
in the middle of the sea for our male
classmates to dive in deeper water.
The problem was after they got up
from the water, they would cling to
the bamboo poles or "katig" (in
Cebuano dialect) found on both
sides of the boat that served as
boat stabilizer/balance.
Boys clung to bamboo poles on
either sides
As the boys came up from the
water, they would lean on those
bamboo poles so heavily, others
on the right side, others on the
left side of the banca. One time
there were too many of them on
one side, as a result our banca
slowly leaned on its side. It could
not recover its balance. The banca
was off balance so to speak.
Everybody panicked and shouted,
"Balanse!Balanse!" There was
mayhem. Screams of panic were
heard. Then, it finally overturned
and capsized.
A capsized banca
Everyone jumped out into the water
except me.
I happened to sit in the middle
part of the banca where there was
a long pole standing (see it on banca
pictures above). I grabbed the pole
just before the banca fully overturned.
I was thinking that if I jumped into
the water like what others did, I
would definitely drown because I
can't hold on to anything and I
don't know how to swim. I
needed to have something to hold
on to, so I grabbed the pole in
front of me. I was under the
floor of the banca under the water
when it overturned and flipped
over, holding on to dear life, the
pole. I drank lots of sea water. My
eyes were hot and sore. And
everything was black. I couldn't
see anything. And the deafening
silence. It was eerie. I tried to
move upwards, but I bumped
my head on the bottom of the
banca. That was the time I
asked God was this my end? Will
I die? It was a close call .
Gathering my senses, I
remembered I was directly under
the boat because I clung to the
pole when the boat capsized, so
I have to move sidewards. Still
clinging to the boat, I wouldn't
want for a minute to lose my
hold on the pole. To me, it was
my lifeline. Slowly moving to
my right, all of a sudden my
head bobbed out of the water.
Thank God I could finally breathe!
My life isn't over, I could still
breathe.
And was I so glad of the sunshine.
For me, it shone so much brighter
that moment. What a blessing!
Still holding on to the banca,
rescuers came not long after.
We thank the high heavens, each
one was accounted for,especially
the young boy of my teacher was
safe.
Lesson: Ask permission from
elders so they'll know where
you are when something bad
happens.
Lesson in faith: Call on God.
Couldn't sleep well for 2 weeks after
this next close call incident
happened in the late 1990s. I was
already a teacher that time and with
a fellow teacher, attending a week-
long seminar in Compostela town. It
was our last day of the training and
I couldn't forget the date, May 8. I
remembered because late that
afternoon we went to Saint Joseph
Church to thank God we were safe
after the harrowing ordeal.
In church, we wondered why there
were so many people attending
mass. Then, it dawned on me, it
was the feast day of Saint Joseph,
the patron saint of Mandaue when
this unfortunate incident happened.
Early that day, my colleague and I
felt relieved it was the last day of
the seminar after an exhausting
week of early morning rush to get
a ride towards Compostela, the
training venue, 21.2 kilometers
away from our home.
Mandaue to Compostela
We finally got a ride. It was so
full that we sat in the middle aisle
on a small wooden bench. Most
of the passengers were Mitsumi
production workers(a
multinational company operating
in Danao City) who were going
home after their shift.
We sat on improvised bench in the center aisle
Trouble begun when we were about
15 minutes into the ride. An owner
type jeep with open top,
more or less like this one below
Madman vehicle
was following us. It had a driver
and 3-4 passengers at the back.
And it wanted to overtake us. He
had a hard time because the road
was narrow and there were cars
and other jeepneys passing by. It
was a busy road, both lanes full
of transportation taking workers
home from work. Even if our
driver would have given way for
him, it was not possible because
of the narrow road. He honked
and honked, but our driver,
thank God, remained calm. We
noticed that he slowly grew
irritated and angry
by the minute. He was really in
a hurry to get way passed us.
Sitting on a bench in the middle
aisle facing back, I was directly
facing him on his vehicle. Most
of the passengers agreed that
he was drunk, maybe they
were on a beach outing of
some sort for lining up this
stretch of a road are beach
resorts, and he had no upper
shirt. Then he became
aggressive with his driving.
At times he came too close to
our jeepney. I feared he might
bumped onto us. And it seemed
his passengers were cheering
him on. And he was shouting,
"Pagdali! Hinaya nimo padagan
oi! Banga kang draybera!"(Fast!
You are tooslow! You are a lame
driver!) Our driver remained
calm, maybe thinkingof his
passengers, too. I was afraid.
My heart was pumping so fast
that my heartbeats went crazy.
Our driver tried to drive fast,
too, but he still tailed us. This
went on for about 20 minutes.
God, that was the longest 20
minutes of my life. Yelling,
driving fast, laughter of his
passengers, while we were
there inside the jeepney
praying when this will end.
We all hoped we could pass
by a police station but Liloan
town where the police station
was, is still a long, long way
from Compostela.
The last straw came when he
raised his arm, and to our
fear, there was a gun on his
hand!!! What remained of
the little courage we were
holding on to, flew out the
window...vanished into thin air,
evaporated. Now, this has really
turned out very, very bad. Panic
crept in on my fellow passengers.
There were those who cried,
others prayers became louder.
All passengers' heads are down,
and we crouched into spaces
tightly, fearing for our lives.
Jesus! This is a madman. I fear
for our driver who is holding on
so bravely for all of us. This is
not my wild imagining or
conjuring up some sort of fake
events that I am making. These
happened. One can read the
blotter reportat Liloan Police
Station.
A woman passenger seated at
the front near the driver jumped
out of our running jeepney
when the madman drove his
vehicle beside ours at the left
sideand pointed the gun at our
driver. The woman jumped out
fearing for her safety. For sure
she'd be hit because she was
seated beside our driver on
his right and the madman's hand
holding the gun was swaying. It
could not focus because both
vehicles were moving.
To my thinking of the events later,
did he really mean to pull the
trigger? Or was it that he was just
taunting the driver? playing with
him? with us? But to us, that
moment in time, he really meant
to harm us, especially our driver.
Though he never pointed
the gun directly towards us in the
jeepney, he held it up and kept on
waving it.
What if the gun wavered in
his hand and fired randomly? He
was holding the wheel with his
other hand,
and holding the gun in the other,
that was difficult to do. And
what if our driver lost control of his
steering wheel or his tires burst?
What will happen to us?
Knowing that we were nearing the
Police Station,at Liloan, the madman
slowed down, while our driver in
full gear rushedto the Police Station.
Rushing towards the police station
Upon reaching the Police Station,
we all sighed in relief. Immediately,
the police went after them in the
direction they were last seen,
towards the sea coast of Liloan
(now the so-called by-
pass road to Mandaue passing
throughTayud, Liloa-an).
We waited a while for the result
of the chase and also took time
to calm our frayed nerves. A little
later, the madman was in custody
of the Police together with his
companions. He was finally caught.
Some of our fellow passengers
stayed to give their statement to
the police on what happened. Having
exchanged phone numbers with
them, my friend and I hurried
home, and decided to hear mass
at Saint Joseph Church, to give
thanks we're stillalive. It had
been a long day for us,
and we missed our loved ones.
for long in the police station.
Unfortunately, no gun was found
in his possession. Maybe he threw
it away over the bridge during
his getaway.
Famous bridge in Suba, Lilo-an where
the famed LILO or small whirlpools
are found and perhaps where the
town got its name Lilo-an
On this well-known bridge was
probably where he threw his gun.
This is very near the Police Station
and on his getaway route.
But karma still caught up with him.
That man was a known delinquent
and shady person. He was in and out
of jail for some petty crimes like
theft. Overall, a troublemaker.
Crime really does not pay and
for all the pain he caused, not only
us, but to a lot of people his entire
life, his evil intentions caught up
with him. A month later from the
incident, he died.
And to the woman who jumped
overboard while the jeepney
was running?
A bit of good news after all this
tragedy. No major injuries for that
female passenger who jumped off
the jeepney at the height of
that fearful incident. Only a sprain
and scratches to her elbows and legs.
What a relief! And to our brave
driver, whoever you are, may you
have a good life for you
are a good person. And for all my
fellow passengers of that fateful
journey, this was one of those
experiences that took so much of
us - the fear, the anxiety, anger. But
we all faced the incident with deep
courage...and faith.
Now, we learn not to take
everything for granted because
life can be so fleeting.
And for my dear friend Helen, my
companion in all those trying moments
and whose composure at the height of a
frightening situation I drew strength
from -
Thank you, Len. This is for you.🌺
Lesson: Close calls require a
lot of courage.
Lesson in faith: Call on Jesus...
and trust Him.
Years ago, sometime 2007,
another of that close call
experience happened. This time in
a remote barangay in Quezon,
Bukidnon in Mindanao where I
taught kids for 7 years.
What happened there was...
I wrote it in my blog Teaching and
so much more.
To read it, here's the link to the post:
https://mentorshare.blogspot.com/2023/05/now-it-can-be-told-in-exigency-of-job.html
To open on your desktop:
Highlight link, right click, click Go to
To open in smartphone:
Highlight link, press the 3 dots
on the drop down, press
Web search
Life indeed is a paradox. There
are good times, there are bad.
There are happy times and there
are sad. Let us just be glad,
we're still around. And that
unseen hand that protects and
saves us,
He still wants us to do His work.
Luck runs out, but never God's
saving grace. 💕🙏
To God be the glory!
/EAB💗
📌Addendum:
Just two months ago after I wrote
this blog, I just felt the urge to look
up my friend Helen on Facebook,
to find out how she is. It has been
so many years since we have seen
each other. To my surprise, on her
account there was an obituary and
it was for my friend. There was a
picture of her wake posted. My
heart sank. So I immediately called
up a mutual friend to confirm. Yes,
she told me, it was Helen, she died
a year ago. Years
ago we escaped a close call together,
but this time my friend
succumbed to an illness.
Rest well in God's hands, dear
friend.💗💗💗💗💗
2/26/2024
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