It was 4 in the morning when I felt the rush of excitement of getting up early to bed as I am looking forward for this day to come. Together with my bestfriend, we went to Zambales for a trip. We decided to go to different churches around the city. After a long drives and loud laughs, we went out of the car and see the first local church. We met tourists and vendors in the church that sells their local foods and pasalubong (tagalog term for souvenir). We say our prayers as we bow our head in the middle of the church. After that, we went on to the long lists of churches we’ve been planning to visit. Little did we know, the last church that we will be heading to will change our lives.
	  An old woman approached us in the gate of the church and asked us to buy some candles. We looked for a place where we can put the candles before buying but unfortunately, we couldn’t find a place. I decided to decline her offer, but before we enter the church, a young, very skinny boy who wears dirty and shattered shirt approached us and asked us to buy a candle by simply raising the candle towards us. Curiously, I asked the little boy a place where we could put our candle but the little boy shrugged his shoulders and sadly looked at my eyes. I decided to get my wallet and gave the little boy money and told him that I won’t get the candle anymore, instead I asked him to just keep the money for himself. The boy smiled at me and ran to the old lady we met at the gate. Shocked by what the little boy did, we went back to the old lady and asked if it was her son. The old lady confirmed that it is her son and that her other children was missing. Me and my bestfriend looked at each other and felt a different kind of feeling-a feeling that we could not explain. We sat down on the floor and asked the old woman what happened to the skinny boy. She mentioned that the little boy was Jonathan and that he cannot speak. The old woman handed us a plastic container with all the medicines they are taking and that according to them, they have no money left for the next medications. The old woman has a heart problem and that she knew she cannot make it until next year. With tears in her eyes, she told us how painful it is to leave her son alone, having that condition. The boy doesn’t know how to write and speak so I had no idea how the little boy will survive when she dies. I could not help but to cry and hug the old woman. I gave more money for additional help and promised to come back to Zambales after a month and bring people who can help the both of them. I took a picture of the old woman together with her son with my instant camera that prints the picture quickly for memories. The old woman burst into tears as I handed her the copy of their picture. She told me that it was their first picture together and that finally, she now has a memory to leave to her son. After a long conversation, I immediately ran inside the church and cry while saying my prayer.
	We met people along the way because that is God’s way of talking to us. We bump into other people because they bring us lessons we will only learn through experience. After hearing their story, I have learned a lesson that I will bring until my last breathe. We should always be thankful for what we have, appreciate our family, spend time with our loved ones and most especially, help other people in the best way we can. After reading this, I urge you to show your love to your family and be a blessing to other people. Your simple help can turn into their biggest blessing. Give some love everyday. This is my first local travel and I will never trade this memory to anything else.  How about you? What is your local travel? Share it here at Good Info Net and remind everyone to promote local!