Hitchhiking in Philippines: Manila and Universal Church
11th of March, 2025.
Outside Talisay, a family going to Tanaunan takes me. Jiel and Jerome, with their two super cute sons, are going to the hospital in Santo Tomas, so they can drop me off in Tanaunan, at the same intersection which I took to come here. Their children only speak English, which is something quite common in Philippines nowadays. For different reasons, the parents are raising their children in English only, and not teaching them much Tagalog, which leads the children to dislike their mother tongue. That’s a shame, if you ask me. I know how important it is for young kids to learn a new language, and mostly an international one like English, but knowing your mother tongue first is something extremely important.
I pass the toll entrance to the express way, but remain right after it, at the still exit to it, where the cars coming from the toll are still driving quite slow, towards the express way. Unfortunately, I get unlucky and only after some minutes there, a traffic control comes by. As usual, the officer is quite ignorant regarding not only the actual rules but as well as how to help. In the end, I have to go back to before the toll gate, which sucks because a stupid police stand is placed right at the corner of the road, not giving too much visibility to the cars coming towards the toll to see me; and not much space for them to “stop” before it. Luckily, after a few minutes only, I get lucky and a really nice guy called Ruan stops for me.
Ruan is going to work in a CBD just before Manila, called Funcity/vest. We have a very interesting chat, and just before reaching our destination, he stops at a Jolibee and buy us some breakfast and even some lunch for me. It’s funny that, just in the previous night, I was talking with the kids at Talisay about the fact that I have never tried Jolibee. It’s a branch similar to McDonald’s but from the Philippines. We have burgers and ice tea for breakfast, and he gets me some spaghetti with fried chicken for lunch.
The place where Ruan drops me off it’s… interesting. It’s in the middle of the CBD, where I almost never hitchhike, but there’s also this road, which is quite calm and with some place for stopping, and it’s located right before the ultimate turn to a skyway to Manila.
At first, I have my sign saying “San Fernando”, which is a municipality right North of Manila. I was hoping to get someone going nearby there, so I would skip being stuck in the middle of the capital, which normally sucks! But after some time I decide to get someone going to Manila anyway which should happen easily, and figure out from there. Funny fact is, right by the time I make the change, a lady and her daughter pass by and come back to me, just in time to notice the change, which is basically why they came back for me, as they still live around here. The lady also try to give me some cash for the “jeeps” to Manila, but I kindly refuse.
Then a journey starts. When Zac stops for me, he tells me he’s going to Manila. He’s a doctor, working at the emergency room, and he strikes me as a very calm and gentle man. We talk about many different things, and he also tells me about his fiance, Ana, with whom he lives, not far from where he picked me up. As we are going to his destination (a pet place to buy fishes, birds, dogs and cats; and right after to a Japanese grocery shop), he invites me to join him and Ana later, when they are going to a Northern part of Manila. In order for that to happen, I would have to come back with him to his home, as they would leave later in the afternoon. I don’t know why but I did think in some how that I could, perhaps, stay with them for the night, or something like that, and then carry on towards Aurora tomorrow. But now thinking that was just stupidity of my part. In anyhow, as I also have extra days to travel around the Philippines, I decide to accept.
They live in a condominium with a lot of big and fancy houses. Their own is also big and it could have a lot of potential if it was not owned by someone from Asia. They have a lot of beautiful birds, and some fishes. Ana is a dermatologist, and as she is trying to fight against the damage caused by the cosmetics industry to people’s health, due to the completely lack of responsibility over dangerous components which they use in their products, she is now selling some cosmetics herself; only the ones which she knows are trustful. Therefore, their home is also full of different products. Apart from that, Ana still makes jewelry with some lovely stones.
I meet Ana as we have lunch together. I have my Jolibee spagheti and fried chicken, and she has also some fried chicken with rice. We both have a full plate of salad with some delicious avocado and dijon dressing, prepared by her lovely helper Pin Pin. Plus some fresh grapes! Before we leave, Ana gives me a gorgeous bracelet she made it, with red stones from South China, called South Red Agape. I love it! And it’s definitely the fanciest of my bracelets now.
As we drive to their destination, we hear the news about their former president being arrested. That reminds me of Brazil, back in the time when Lula was arrested. And now he is reelected. Go figure!
They drop me off in front of a mall. I use the toilet and then start walking again. It would be a nightmare to hitchhike anywhere here because there is no place for me to stand safely, or for the cars to stop. So I keep on walking. But soon is dark already so I have to stop and come up with a plan.
I seat inside a mall and take a look on my offline map, Maps.Me. I see a few churches not so far away, and a place market with a cross but which says something about “help centre”, which is the closest one. I start from there.
It’s Universal Church. I’m actually very surprised by it. I decide to come and ask if they can help me with a place where I can camp for tonight. There’s some people in front of it, distributing leaflets. One of them tell me to talk with the pastor inside. I talk first with a very young, Filipino pastor, called John Jean, who listen to me carefully. He tells me about the few Brazilians around here. What? Yep! And the pastor and his wife doing a service at 19.30 hours are actually from Brazil, so he recommend me to talk to them. Middle time, I meet another young pastor, Bruno, also from Brazil, from Sao Paulo, and we chat for a little while. Soon after, I meet Helen, and I actually thought that she was the wife of the pastor preaching at 19.30 hours. She is from Rio Grande do Sul, and she’s only 22 years old. She also listen to my story but as she has been here for seven months only, she also advises me to talk with the other couple. Helen shows me to the place where the service will be held.
It takes me a few minutes to make the connection the Pastor Leandro is from Brazil. I don’t know why. Perhaps because he reminds me a lot of Ben, from Iran, a friend with whom I worked during my time teaching in Thailand.
After the service, I first talk with Pastor Leandro’s wife, Ingrid, and she listen to my whole story. She then explains everything to the pastor, and soon I also meet him. We chat for a while, even though I’m a bit lost with my Portuguese, and then they start trying to help me. They also tell me that, when they first came here, over 10 years ago, they couldn’t really speak English, and were the locals who helped them. Nowadays, they are both fluent, of course, and Pastor Leandro preaches in English, but using Tagalog many times during the service too.
After talking with other pastors, they come with only one option: the church offers to make a reservation for me in a nearby hotel. I was really hoping someone, any member of the church, could simply invite me to stay with them. Even if not for camping, but in a couch or any small space at their home. But as they couldn’t do that, and being in Manila and all, where I cannot simply keep on walking, hoping to find a family house and ask for camping, I decide to accept. I could keep on walking and try on the next churches. But then there would be three problems: One, I would have to walk at this time, after dark already, in the streets of Manila; two, they would be worried about me, now that I’ve already come here and talked to them; and three, what if I couldn’t find any help? So I accept the hotel.
As we go back down to the entrance of the church, Ingrid shows me the main hall, and it’s very beautiful, all white. It reminds me a lot of our Theatre, Cine Opera, in my hometown, Ponta Grossa. Nostalgia takes over me.
As we take my things and walk altogether to the hotel, the first pastor with whom I talked, John Jean, tells me he got me some food. How kind! Before we actually leave for the hotel, Pastor Leandro makes a pray for me, this time in Portuguese, and it feels so much nicer to hear it than in English. We also take some photos.
It’s right across the street, and there we say our goodbyes.
I am actually very surprised with the attitude of everybody at the church. In a very good way. Back in Brazil, we were used to know that, members from Universal Church are very enthusiastic and into attracting more members to the church. I guess that in somehow, I was kind of expecting this attitude from them. But it was nothing like that at all. Even during the service, they didn’t “force” me to say anything, or to come in front to be “welcomed”, not even mentioned my name to the other members present. And all of this made me feel happy and in peace among them, and not as I had to be part, or to become part of the church just because I came here asking for some help. I felt as they really wanted to help me and respecting my privacy at the same time, which is very touching. Besides, Pastor Leandro, Ingrid, Helen, Bruno and John Jean were all genuinely kind and nice to me, and for all of that I felt very welcome and happy for having stopped here.
At the hotel, I’m told that there’s also a meal included. As I have some fresh food for tonight, I inform them that I will take that for breakfast tomorrow morning.
The Hotel is nice and clean. They give small soaps, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush. The AC is old school and small but it works just fine.
I eat first. I’m starving! Pastor John Jean got me some amazing pasta with tomato sauce and mince chicken, some sliced bread and jam, and for the best part: cassava cake. It’s absolute delicious and I cannot stop eating it. It’s still very different from the cassava cakes we have in Brazil, but amazing just the same. There’s some kind of icing on top, something with coconut and sugar, perhaps? I love it!
Even though I’m exhausted after so much walking, I still must wash my shirt, two pair of socks, and my undergarment. Laugh. I try to take a look on the map to come up with a plan for tomorrow morning when I’m leaving Manila, but I cannot so I go straight to sleep.
10 Years Around the World 