Why did I even do that?
It was a quick turn around trip to Singapore.
My son, Ryan, had a basketball tournament for he was selected to be a part of the 15 and under team for the 7th Asia Pacific Youth Cup in Singapore. I flew on a Thursday morning to watch his games. Friday night, I flew back to Manila because our church had a Marriage Retreat my wife and I were supposed to teach in Tagaytay.
We drove up to Tagaytay for the retreat and I packed again that night to run to the airport at 1 AM to catch the red-eye flight back to Singapore. I had someone preach for me at the services I would normally be in – the 10 am and 12-noon services at Victory Fort.
I was so thankful for my younger sister who works for an airline that gives travel vouchers to family members. But since it was a travel voucher, I was merely on chance passenger status.
I got there 2:15 am and was told that the flight was overbooked. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get in. To top it, there were 2 other chance passengers trying to catch the flight. I was told to come back 45 minutes before the flight was to leave. Long story short, I was anxious, exhausted and grumpy.
When I got to the line 45 minutes, I was grateful that there were 25 no-shows for that day. I secured a seat! And I was able to join my son again for the rest of the Singapore trip.
Why did I do that? Why come back to teach and then go back to Singapore?
I reckon that our church can have many pastors but my son can only have one dad.
It has been my prayer to never sacrifice family on the altar of ministry.
Here’s a video scrapbook of our recent trip: