There are two types of people at 5:00 AM on a Saturday. There are those who are fast asleep, dreaming of a peaceful weekend, and then there is Chapter Head Gerome Quimpo, fueled by a mission, a map, and a solid determination to make it from Kalibo to Pontevedra, Capiz before the morning coffee even finishes brewing.

As his designated navigator for today’s Breakfast Meeting where he is set to be the guest Sharer for Roxas East mission, I have long since learned that traveling with Bro. Gerome requires a healthy appetite for two things: open highways and early morning soul-searching.

The Race Against the Sunrise

We rolled out of Kalibo exactly at 5:00 AM. If you’ve never experienced the roads of Panay Island at dawn at this time of year, it is a serene mix of misty green fields, stray roosters and hungry dogs making questionable life choices on the tarmac, and Bro. Gerome navigating it all with the focus of a Formula 1 driver.

Our destination? S Beans Garden Cafe in Pontevedra.

Against all odds (and perhaps a few speed limits), we pulled into the cafe just before 7:30 AM. The place was spacious but austere with greenery outside visible through large glass wall panels and with the aroma of Nescafé decaf and pan de sal wafting the sinuses. It was the perfect backdrop for what turned out to be a deeply moving morning.

Pro Tip for Road Tripping with a Chapter Head: Keep the radio off (he doesn’t care for it) and just stick to the navigation. It keeps the peace.

When the Sharer Shares from the Heart

When Bro. Gerome stood up as the morning’s Breakfast Sharer, the room went quiet. Now, usually, you expect a breakfast talk to be light, filled with standard pleasantries, and safely structured. But Bro. Gerome decided to serve a side of raw, unfiltered honesty with our breakfast plates.

He focused on a deeply personal chapter in his life with his wife, Sis. Yeye: the painful disappointment of not being able to have children.

You could have heard a pin drop in that garden cafe. He didn’t sugarcoat the grief or the years of asking “Why us?” Instead, he took the room on a journey through the messy, vulnerable process of human heartbreak.

But a true testimony doesn’t end in the valley. With a smile that could rival the morning sun, Bro. Gerome shared how he and Sis. Yeye ultimately found peace. He spoke about the beautiful, albeit difficult, moment of surrender—accepting that while their house might not be filled with the sound of their own children, their lives are overflowing with a different kind of purpose.

The Ultimate Plot Twist

I’ve lost count of how many times Brother Gerome has reminded us that God’s plan is perfect in its very imperfections. And he’s absolutely right!

It turns out that not having a conventional family simply freed up Bro. Gerome to father an entire Chapter. Instead of raising a few kids, he’s now dealing with a whole flock of us—which, if you look at our Chapter meetings, might actually be a much harder job. God clearly knew Bro. Gerome and sis. Yeye had the patience of a saint, so He gave him a community to nurture instead.

By the time the meeting wrapped up, the coffee was cold but our hearts were incredibly warm. We walked into S Beans Garden Cafe looking for a hearty breakfast, but we left with a profound reminder that when life doesn’t give you the script you wanted, it’s usually because the Author is writing a much better story.

Shoutout to Bro. Gerome for the ride, the inspiration, and for not falling asleep at the wheel on the way back!

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