Discovering Beautiful GK Libmanan

The province of Camarines Sur in the Philippines is a hidden beauty discovered recently by many adventure-seekers. Development in the area is taking off – including the CamSur Water Sports Facility in Pili known for its world-class wake-boarding.

But one of CamSur’s real treasures is found in the quaint rural town of Libmanan, a place that buses en route to the region’s tourist attractions Mayon Volcano and Sorsogon's gentle whales must inevitably visit. Nowadays, travelers don’t merely pass through on the way to these natural wonders but that they are also drawn to GK Libmanan, where a bed and breakfast lodging has been built, a haven for weary travelers like me.

I discovered this GK village one sunny afternoon, just a hundred meters along the highway. Tired as I was, walking into the wide open field behind the village energized my body, and talking to GK residents sitting alongside a native hut refreshed my soul.

Here I met Mang Bienvenido Nierves, an 80-year old farmer who has been tilling the land of various tenants all his life. “Life is easier here”, he says of life as a caretaker on the GK village’s farm.

It’s hard to imagine how life is any easier now. He works under the scorching sun, is the first to rise in the morning, and the last to leave the farm, just as the sun is going down. But taking in the sight of freshly sprouting greens of chili, eggplant, monggo, and various root crops, I can almost feel the years of burden being lifted up from Mang Bien as he quietly inhales the fresh air.

I admire his patience and perseverance - most urban dwellers his age would take a much needed vacation after so many years of hard work. But Mang Bien is content, knowing his labor is not in vain. He is feeding not only his family, but the whole village. Though his province is regularly struck by typhoons and heavy rain, sometimes destroying the crops, he simply plants again. And every Saturday, the whole community joins him to help in a “grand bayanihan,” where village residents plant and tend their designated patch of land, which Mang Bien has lovingly cared for the week before.

Mang Bien does not have to worry about keeping the community clean as others manage this task: clean-up of GK village pathways, maintaining the beautiful flower beds, and keeping homes clean and orderly. The kapitbahayan (neighborhood) is well organized, working as a team with a common vision.

Such joyful energy permeates the whole village as the residents take care of their environment, retaining a sense of peace knowing they will have what they need, with food from their well tended vegetable gardens beside their homes.

Village residents are genuinely happy and their joy is simply contagious. As a city-dweller used to multi-tasking - doing a hundred things at once - I was amazed. What is the secret to this thriving GK community, I wondered? It was everything I envisioned a GK community could be. Indeed, perhaps Mang Bien does not wish for a vacation because being in GK Libmanan feels just like having a vacation.

I discovered the secret when talking to the community president at the village sari-sari store where they sell rice and household items at an affordable price.

“A lot of things changed in me, my character, and the way I related to people. My vices were removed, it’s like I drew closer to a loving God,” shared Ariel Sael.

Ariel was a former drunkard and admits he did not care about the plight of his family and five children - only himself. “It was as if my mind was enlightened since I came to GK,” he shared.

“My wife thanked me. I asked her, ‘why are you thanking me?’ She said, because I grew out of my apathy.”

Where in the past he didn’t care whether his children had enough to eat, he is now deeply invested in their education, and eager to teach them good values by being a good father. “I cannot return to my former life anymore. Why would I go back to that, when I know now that it was wrong?”

It is this life-changing grace that is the secret of GK Libmanan. “Visitors keep coming back to us because of the transformation in the people,” community organizer Jim Salazar reflects. Tito Jim is one of seven couples from Couples for Christ who are the caretaker team of GK Libmanan, daily sharing their time, resources and love with the residents.

When asked about what major change has happened here aside from the eighty-five colorful GK homes, “Their faith in God. Before they asked, is there really a God? No! Because he is not helping us.”

“Now, it’s not like that anymore. They now believe that there truly is a God and that there are people who love them,” he says.

“My dream is to see all the children here finishing their studies,” dreams Cecile Deomano, who is in charge of teaching values formation in the village, and supports her husband Agoy, the village’s Project Director.

“I accompanied them to scout for furniture for the GK health clinic they were setting up. They were so excited window shopping like they were buying for their own house. I thought, “There’s another secret”: loving the beneficiaries like your own family - you give only the best to the ones you love.”

“We are very much taken cared of. It’s actually sad when they are not here even for a day. We are like one family here. They are our mother and father in GK. We love them very much,” says Ate Grace, as she thinks fondly of their caretakers.

Even if they were not loved as much, Tito Jim shares, “The love from our hearts that we gave to them, even if it does not return to us, it will be given to others.” He recounts the story of a village child who suffered an accident: the whole community gave whatever little money they had - even money set aside for tuition - to get the child to the hospital. If in the past, every man was concerned only for his own survival, here they have truly learned how to love.

“I want to help others too. Even if you don’t have money, you need to help out of your own heart,” affirms Kuya Ariel who continues to build the unfinished homes for his fellow beneficiaries even without being asked.

Love begets love. And people learn more from what you do than what you say. I learned these things in my brief stay in GK Libmanan. The kapitbahayan learned from the example of their devoted caretaker team. And where does this team, in turn, get their strength to love so generously?

“Not everybody is given a chance to serve in this way. We are blessed,” shares Tita Cecile, who together with her husband faithfully attends their weekly household meetings in Couples for Christ, where their strength for service is renewed.

“We are not rich, we are very ordinary people, but I have proven that when you say you will serve him (God), He will provide. In the two years that we have been serving GK, we never lacked for anything,” says Tita Cecile, who is herself sending 6 boys to school.

God did provide abundantly - not only for their family, but for the whole GK village as well - and blessings pour in steadily.

Today, GK Libmanan is expanding in a new direction: Two bed and breakfast cottages are under construction, sponsored by Governor LRay Villafuerte to augment the livelihood of the residents, in addition to the farming and the slippers made out of native fiber.

More and more visitors are coming! Some, like GK Builders Corps nurse volunteer Heather McPhee find it difficult to leave, so inspiring is the hope and transformation shown in GK Libmanan.

And one thing for certain that will draw visitors back to this village is the people - for such treasures I would return again and again.