THANK YOU, KA ERDY. WE LOVE YOU

09-06-2009 Sunday

After my shift, I rushed to the Central Temple and texted my high school friend Mark, who is supposed to be there already. I asked him if he's in line and he said yes, he's waiting for me. Good. I felt a sudden rush of excitement and pain inside me as I imagine myself being in Ka Erdy's wake and thanking him for the last time. The highway is still packed and traffic is moving really slow. It's not surprising after the announcement that Ka Erdy will be buried tomorrow so this is makes it the last scheduled public viewing.

On my way to Central temple, I saw buses from provinces like Batangas, Cavite, Dagupan and other places far and I thought to myself, this is how we all show love to Ka Erdy. No matter where these people are from, they exerted the effort to be here, to see him, to thank him. We all know that the line is awfully long, and we might spend hours and hours standing in line just for a few seconds worth of viewing him but it was all worth it of course. He has spend all his life taking care of us and this sacrifice that we have to endure just to see him is nothing compared to what he has done for us.

As I walked to find Mark, I felt my eyes water when I saw the hopeful faces of INC members like me as they stand in line. They have their own food, umbrellas (it's raining as if the sky is shedding tears), water bottles and their eyes reflect nothing but sorrow. The temple is still mourning, and grief is in the air we all breathe.

I saw Mark waving at me and I joined him and his friends in line. It was almost 1 in the afternoon and it was announced thru the speakers that the public viewing cut off will be at 12 midnight. With our line being miles away from the Temple, I wished so hard we can make it before the cut off. Friends of mine who have been here has told me that they stood in line for more than 12 hours. 'I'm prepared for that, just let me see him' I thought to myself.

We entertained ourselves with talking about things, reminiscing high school life and eating anything we can afford. The line started moving at around 3pm and I was surprised at how fast we were moving. By almost 4pm we're already inside the temple gates, and by 4:30, we were walking slowly towards the center of the temple where I saw Ka Erdy's peaceful face and I know that he died happy because he reached the end of his journey and he was able to bring a lot of lost souls home.

After seeing him, I wished that he can see all those people who loved him, who are still outside, enduring the rain, standing in line, and waiting for their turn. I've come to also realize that we love him not just because we are saved or because he's our leader, we love him because he has loved each and everyone of us. I also remember every worship service when a minister would always tell us that Ka Erdy always wished he could hug everyone tightly for us not to go anywhere else, for us to stay inside the Chuch of Christ. That's how much he loves us and that love is something we can never repay.

I know a lot of people consider INC as a cult or whatever and I used to be so affected about it. Now, being here, seeing the effect of our church, seeing the traffic, seeing the other side of the highway entirely closed, seeing the politicians visit Ka Erdy, seeing how the world seemed to stop even for just a brief moment to honor Ka Erdy, seeing it all with my eyes still watering, I can't help but be so proud of my religion. Let them say whatever they have to say about us. Let them call us names. We know better. We'll continue to praise God, we'll continue our journey because I know that's what Ka Erdy wants. That's what will make him happy.

It will take awhile for us to grasp the fact that he is gone, it might not even be that way because he continues to live on with every worship service that we're having. We feel his presence in every word of truth, in every passages being read, in every hymns of praises, in every prayer. I feel this sudden love for my brothers and sisters inside the church because all we have is each other to turn to in this heartbreaking ordeal. We have to stay strong, hold each other and never let go, keep the faith, that's our promise.

KA ERDY, we will never forget you. We love you. Goodbye for now, till we meet again....

Labels: INC, Ka Erdie, pink crimson, salvation

posted by Monica-Lynne @ 11:27 PM