We are in the genre where the prevalent notion is only the rich and powerful are the only ones capable of rendering outreach service or community services to help the general public, especially in financial and monetary terms, because there is often a notion made that the standard for something done to be called outreach services is that it is be made in volumes or by bulk.
This notion is wrong. I am reminded by the act of Mary, The Visitation, in relation with the event we are still celebrating, Christmas. The act implies a pure gesture of service from a poor lady to somebody in time of hardship. Mary and Elizabeth are poor individuals, thus, any help extended to them is very much appreciated: ordinary persons doing extraordinary things.
Just recently, while I’m on hunt for stimuli for my writing adventure, I saw someone familiar to La Trinidad street travelers. He is the one selling “pamunas” along the La Trinidad Highway. I saw him brewing coffee. I took his picture to enhance this piece. The next day I passed the same route, I saw him again preparing coffee for the general public who attends the Simbang Gabi.
The selling itself for me is very noble thing. But I found out there are more extraordinary things about this ordinary guy:
As he sell along the road, he also often he directs traffic. It’s not his job and he is not oblige do such, but it seems he recognizes the need to do action to help ease the suffering that commuters experience from the traffic jams. A friend informed me that after selling coffee, he goes to clean the church regularly. Not surprisingly, I verified this to be true.
Indeed, an ordinary man doing extraordinary things.
This ordinary man who does extraordinary community services deserves recognition. To my humble opinion he embodies the real spirit of service for he does them without pay, cash incentives and alike.
Much more, the spirit of Christmas is made very much alive by this guy. He may not have walked the long miles like Mary did to visit Elizabeth; and the “extra miles” he does while earning for a living to ease some of our inconveniences might be too simple and easy for today’s standards. However, they are good enough to be called as outreach or community services in my book.
An ordinary man who does extraordinary things!
