Update 9
After hugging tightly, we said good-bye to Elsi & Bob. They made the tough choice to leave 9 days early so they could get Elsi's broken arm checked out back home. As Bob said, visiting the M of C orphanage yesterday put it all in perspective. We'll miss them. Next we were off to find the Pope. We followed the "We love Pope Francis" tshirts until we came to the street lined with people. A huge screen was set up so we could watch...or should I say be at the Mass being said by the Pope. The chanting & singing was glorious. The Pope's words were inspiring as he talked of the compassion we must have for all. The Philippine's president was right: "You bring fire to us. You are Peter who came to strengthen us." It started to sprinkle just as the Mass ended...felt like holy water. The sprinkle meant the Pope got into a car instead of his Pope jeep...but that didn't dampen the spirits of the huge crowd being held back by a line of police officers...none of them carrying firearms as they had been banned instead who were taking pictures for people. One officer chatted with me wanting to know all about our trip. As we waited, for some reason part of the crowd racing back & forth between the two roads. And then the eruption began as the Pope's car neared. "Viva le Papa" "Viva le Papa" Though I barely caught a glimpse of the Pope--I got huge goosebumps! Why does the Pope travel so often to poor countries?? If you could have been there--felt the excitement, hope and heartfelt love pouring out from the crowd...you'd know. The crowd dispersed & we found some lunch where all the waiters were wearing Pope tshirts. Rog told me he'd read that in one of the Pope's speeches he'd talked about not bad mouthing other people's religion...he made his point by saying if someone said bad things about his mother, he should expect a punch. He is truly the People's Pope. We arrived at M of C just in time to help with the feeding. I bottle fed one of the twins...who blessed me with throw up and spoon fed a couple older kids (both whose arms were very deformed) who gobbled down their huge plate of food. Rog read to a group of toddlers and then spoon fed another child not capable of feeding herself. We visited with the workers & volunteers. One lady told me she brought her daughter to volunteer so she might realize how fortunate she was. Her daughter had a corrected cleft palate. Minor in comparison. Sister Jedadia invited us to stay while the kids watched a video of the Pope...but we were tired. Amen
