Blessed By A Policeman

The familiar feeling of dread once again overtook me as we drew near to our spot this afternoon. My stomach started acting up and my chest was pounding. An all too familiar feeling with every instance of pleading in public. I had to face this every time in the past when I went out alone, but now, having my wife beside me was more than enough great comfort. It's perfectly fine to be afraid, as long as you obey in spite of it.

And so we prayed. We pleaded for mercy and unction. We parked. And we made our way to the park. I immediately went to look for an enforcer but there was none, and I was directed to the nearest precinct.

It is my custom, first of all, to ask permission from any available law enforcement person before I plead in public. In this case, the nearest police district was a good leg stretch away. It was a short but amusing conversation that both of us obviously wanted to end quick. The gentleman was only too pleased to even encourage me by saying "by all means, the public needs to hear the word of God", and as I left he blessed me. I can only thank him enough for being so kind.

The wife had already begun talking to people. Some of the pedicab drivers still remembered me from last time. But when we asked about the street people who slept in the park, we were told they had to move. The city of Manila made an aggressive uplift when the new mayor was sworn into office. Not that it was unfortunate, but the poor street dwellers were driven out in the process, and forced to find shelter elsewhere.

Said one drunk vagabond to my wife, "stupid preacher preaching God's word while dressed in shorts.." I suppose he prefers a liar wearing pants.

It was a bit past rush hour. We missed the long line going up to the train, but the crowd was still streaming through. This afternoon's audience were to be the vendors around us, and uneasy sodomite who was visibly bothered but listening, a group of repairmen doing work, (they occasionally turned to hear me, and towards the end stopped altogether to sit and listen), the pedicab drivers who took a break from taking clients and instead sat by the side and listened, and the people who sat at the park who pretended not to. The rest who passed us by couldn't care less. Was it a favorable day for results? Only God knows. All we had to do was obey.