10,000 lives.

That number was in my head early Sunday morning.

I was assigned to do the voice-over announcements in Feast Bay Area 8:00 AM session. The night before, I did my usual “expected” routine: sleep early, wake up at 4:00 AM to download the script, write it, and prepare to travel to the PICC to serve.

I woke up at 4:00 AM and checked our Voice-Over Team Messenger Chat via mobile phone. No script yet.

Maybe our team head, our scriptwriter, is still in an event gig. She might be in finishing touches for the script. I re-set the alarm to 4:20 AM.

Still no script at 4:20 AM, so I re-set the clock again to wake me up at 5:00 AM.

Still no script. So I prepared my way to more waiting.

At 6:25 AM, I opened my laptop and checked the Voice-Over Team Messenger Chat.

No script. No notice. Nothing.

I started to feel a bit of panic. Our team head doesn’t act like this.

I checked the email. To my horror, no written and submitted script.

The moment felt like a Face Screaming in Fear emoji.

And then the number 10,000 came into my mind.

That number is approximately the number of people attending the morning sessions in the Feast Bay Area – both coming to the venues and watching via live stream. They hear Mass and talk. In between these two is the announcement of event schedules.

The announcement of events’ schedules is where my team’s job as servants come in.

But what do we announce if my team and I don’t have a script at hand?

At that moment, I threw everything – even my schedule – in the wind.

I started to focus on writing scripts per session with only one thing in mind: 10,000 people.

I was able to write and submit the scripts in less than 10 minutes. Completing a script for 10 minutes is a feat for someone who experiences writer’s block.

A few hours later (and a Messenger Chat on fire), our team head, not feeling well the night before, apologized for not getting the scripts on time. But she thanked the team for stepping up.

We have systems in place. It was our first time to experience this incident. Moreover, preventive actions are going to take effect to make sure this won’t happen again.

Test mic, 1, 2, check. 🙂

Here’s what I learned: If I care about my customers, I can focus on how I can serve them better.

Our work has a simple call-to-actions: Sign up. Join. Attend.

But there is more than what meets the eye.

The announcement of events on The Feast try to achieve these for the 10,000 people: Deepen faith. Belong in a community. Rekindle relationships. Create new bonds.

The most basic we could hope for them to achieve: gain clarity.

Why do I know this? I have been there.

I was a Feast attendee before becoming a servant.

I wanted to belong in a community.

I was looking for new awesome friends.

I wanted to deepen my faith.

By experiencing their pain, I know that I would be able to help other people to achieve the same objectives that I got.

It is easier to bring people to where you want them to go if you know where to meet them.