Chris and I were sooooo blessed to see His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today. As of this writing, we are very tired from all the walking and waiting we did in the City the whole day but we are exceedingly happy that we were able to experience the magic of WYD in Sydney. We are grateful, we are lucky, we are blessed....Thank you Lord very much for that once in a lifetime and heavenly experience!!!
Our first attempt to see him was during the Boat-a-Cade. We waited at the Sydney Opera Bar for more than three hours, made friends with lots of people while we were there and yet, we didn't see the Pope very clearly. He was so far, the driver of the ferry wasn't very considerate enough to maneuver the boat a bit closer to the Opera House.
As soon as the Boat-a-Cade was over, we immediately walked to Albert Street to wait for the Motorcade. The waiting took more an hour and a half. Our feet was getting numb from being tired and cold, but we didn't care. At nearly 5:30pm, he passed by Albert Street very swiftly. Everything happened too fast. One Aussie girl even said, "We waited here for two hours and yet we only saw him for two seconds!".
But even so, seeing him three meters away from where we were standing was simply euphoric. Until now, I can't seem to find the appropriate words on how to describe what I felt at that moment.
After all that was over, decided to walk to Hyde Park to buy some souvenirs, however, another surprise awaited us. When we were at the Royal Botanic Gardens area, the barricades were still up and luckily we found a spot in time for the Pope to pass by AGAIN!!!!
After seeing the Pope for the 3rd time, wala na akong masabi kundi "Thank you Lord, thank you Lord talaga." Nawala ang pagod at gutom nang dahil sa sayang dulot ng makita namin si Pope Benedict XVI. This is one experience that Chris and I will always cherish for the rest of our lives.
And yes, we saw and were able to commune with several Filipino delegates and we are very proud that they are holding up very well to their hectic schedule (they're tired from all the walking and activities), hunger for rice (they miss eating rice meals as most meals given to them are bread/sandwiches) and the cold winter weather (thank God that since Sunday, it has been a bit warmer here and no rain at all). They're doing good and enjoying every minute of their stay here in Sydney.
Mula umaga....
...hanggang gabi...
...wala silang sawa sa pag-wagayway ng ating bandila. Our Filipino delegates are making us proud in Sydney. God bless them all!
More photos to come.
For a better and clearer view of our WYD08 photos, please check my Flickr site:
