Challenges

Sept 8, 2023

On this journey to the Philippines, quite a few challenges reared their heads. In Honolulu, the boarding ticket wouldn’t appear on my phone, even though the thumbnail version showed it was there. I almost missed my flight. Blessing: The agents finally believed me and printed a new boarding pass.

Severe wind and rain hit Manila the day thousands were expected to arrive. Blessing: the storm lessened later in the same day. Still a few days later, thousands were stranded at the venue when hundreds of needed taxis didn’t show up for hours, 4 hours for some. Blessing: Organizers strongly suggested arranging their lodgings close enough. That made it possible to walk to their rooms despite heavy rains. 2nd blessing: like a lightening bolt, a taxi appeared on our radar so we didn’t have to walk.

My expensive cochlear implant got snagged on my poncho and fell to the pavement. It was dark, and it took forever to find it again. Blessing: it didn’t land in a puddle of water or break. Two cameras could have been damaged when a bag slipped off my back and thudded on the pavement. Blessing: It cost $5 to remove the broken ND filter, and no other damage is apparent. Also, my housing here for a 12-day stay turned out to nearly free due to a gift from a friend.

Yet the greatest blessing I received came during the pre-recorded video of Loren Cunningham’s 10-minute “father’s blessing.” Those words have been heard not only by the 4,500 attendees here in the Philippines, it touched hearts around the globe.