"It's a Small World After All"

A former seminary classmate of mine, a deaconess (now called a “diaconal minister”) in the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), invited me to the United Nations Day celebration of the church school where she teaches somewhere in Amadeo, Cavite. It was raining that day—once more, I underestimated the weather. It was not just rain, but a full-blown typhoon: Typhoon Ofel. Undaunted and/or blissfully unaware, I wore a thick jacket and went on my way.

The children in the national costumes.

I plan to go to Amadeo (of all the towns in Cavite, this is one town that I’ve been to only about once) via Manggahan, General Trias. After an enlightening breakfast at McDonald’s (see a blog entry about it here), I embarked on a journey to Amadeo.

When I got to a smallish affair which is public market, I was told to board a jeepney to Barangay Maymangga, where the church/school was. The trip there involved more stretches of greenery and farm land on a twisting road.

The long and winding road: As seen from a jeepney's front passenger seat

The church is tucked in an out-of-way street in the barangay. Maymangga Evangelical Church, which recently celebrated its silver jubilee, was a mission church of UCCP Amadeo. The church has a small but beautiful sanctuary on the first floor; the vestibule serves as the church school. The second floor contains quarters for the pastor and for the diaconal minister; and a kitchen/dining room.

Now, I will not get into the gaffes that are normally part of any live production. But let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Miss Saudi Arabia, Miss New Zealand, and Miss Thailand.

Miss Portugal, Mr. Egypt (partial hidden), Miss China, Miss Saudi Arabia, and Miss New Zealand.

There were about twenty adorable children, all dressed into colorful national costumes of the countries they represent. They showcased their talents: singing, dancing… And more than one performed the Internet viral hit, “Gangnam Style” by PSY (I swear, if I ever hear that song again…). There was an adorable Korean girl, a student, who played “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (and thankfully, not a K-Pop song!) on her toy organ. Then, there was a “question and answer” portion where, “kids say that darndest things”.

The children receiving school bags from a Korean sponsor.

An authentic Miss South Korea, and Miss Thailand.

The coup de grace was a production number involving all the children, dancing to, oh well, “Gangnam Style”. Finally, they sang the Disney song, “It’s a Small World (After All)”.

It was already raining torrents when the program ended. I was fortunate that one of the parents took me on a ride on their car back to Amadeo town proper. As I watched the raindrops patter down the car’s window, I reflected: It’s a small world after all.