The
whole day I felt like I was dreaming, that any moment I would wake up in my
usual morning stupor and stumble out of bed. Is was Saturday in Baguio City, Philippines during the
Panagbenga Festival and our contact wanted to take us to the flower float
parade. It is the equivalent to
the Rose Bowl Parade in the states, except it is one of the biggest cultural
festivals in the Philippines. We
set out early in hopes of getting a good view of the floats. Marita, the head of Crossover ministries,
got a phone call telling us to make our way to the athletic bowl to see the
floats from the stadium. Somehow,
the police let us through onto the parade route and walk in the middle of the
street lined with people. News
Photographers began stopping us asking what country we were from, why we were
here, and asking if they could take our picture. We felt like celebrities, little did we know it was the only
the beginning.
When
we arrived to the stadium we were given access by security to go to the VIP tent. We were ushered in, given a seat with
an amazing view, and a bottle of water.
We were being treated as honored guests. As we met the people around us we realized we were in the
company of the highest officials in the town. We met the mayor and all the local officials, as well as
other distinguished guests. They
greeted us and wanted to thank us for coming to visit their city. My jaw dropped at their gratitude and
hospitality. The television hosts
even made a special welcoming announcement to our team “thanking the American
missionaries for coming to Baguio City and hoped that everyone would make us
feel welcomed.” I kept thinking at any moment they will realize we are just
regular people, nobody really, who happened to come to serve the Lord. We were able to have many conversations
about Crossover Ministries and about the World Race. Our prayer is that this day would help establish many
contacts so Marita could further her vision to empower women to get out of
prostitution and restore their value and self worth. We watched the entire float parade from the front row field
level, with all the performances directly in front of us while we were in a
stadium packed with thousands of people.
But wait, the best is yet to come…
About
half way through the parade the guest of honor, Gibert Teodoro, or “Gibo” as he is
affectionately called, arrived. He
is the National Secretary of Defense and a current candidate to be the next
President. We sat at a respectful
distance for sometime before Marita urged us to talk to him. I approached Gibo nervously, introduced
myself and thanked him for allowing us to be a part of such a beautiful
event. He asked what I was doing
in the Philippines and where I was from.
We were able to talk a little about the world race. He even knew where Novato, Ca was
because his wife graduated from Dominican university! WOW, what a small
world. The next thing I knew, news
cameras and microphones surrounded us and my time with the next potential
president was over. Or so I
thought… After answering a number of questions from the media, Gibo came back
and apologized for our conversation getting cut off and took a picture with our
team. I’m sure with that kind of
humility and consideration he has great potential to make a wonderful President.
The
day was topped off with attending a catered senators lunch at a local
hotel. It was a political forum to
ask Senator Lorena Legardia questions about her platform before the upcoming
elections. It was great to get
insight to Filipino politics and lets be honest, we are world racers, we never
pass up a free meal!
better than that, but the next day we were given an even greater honor. We were given a special security
clearance to go attend the Philippine Military Academy graduation (equivalent
to Westpoint). The distinguished
speaker was the President herself, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo!
Not only was the graduation beautiful, but we got to hear the president
speak. This was a once in a lifetime experience.
God’s favor has truly gone
before us on these days! I know
that this last weekend is one that I will remember for the rest of my life.
