God’s Grace Through Challenges: Faith, Friendship, and Victory

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Introduced by one of our teammates, this quote from American author Wayne Dyer was one of our main mottos during our World Mathematics Team Championship (WMTC) trip to Doha, Qatar last November. With our groupmates Aaron Russel Kho, Laira Caylee Chunpeng, Maribeth Jullian “MJ” Tiong, and Cassandra Jade Ortiga, along with our team coach, Mrs. Emilyn Mendoza, the one-week trip became one of the most unexpected yet memorable competitions we’d experienced so far. 

Our trip started in the early afternoon of November 27, beginning with a short prayer rally with our teachers before departing from Manila a few hours later for our nine-hour flight to Qatar. Exhausted and slightly jetlagged, we landed in Doha at almost midnight. As we left the airport and stepped out into the country for the first time, we enjoyed the cold breeze of the night, something we wouldn’t be able to experience back home.

The second day was filled with high hopes. We learned that, as far as we knew, the other teams were unprepared. Many of them didn’t know each other or even what the rules were, while we  had weeks of practice together. Given this, we thought we had a good shot of getting into the top 30% of teams. We felt ready to take on the challenge awaiting us the following day. 

Coming into the competition site, we were feeling confident, especially because we had just learned that the questions were mainly on algebra, which was our team’s strength. Unfortunately, things quickly veered into an endless downward spiral for our group’s morale. The competition was supposed to start at 2:00 in the afternoon, but it was delayed by an hour and a half. After that, we were given incorrect instructions by our proctor during the relay round. Upon studying the rules beforehand, we knew that each of the three sets would be seven minutes long. However, our proctor mistakenly informed us that it would only be seven minutes for all sets. As a result, we ended up eating our “lunch” at 6:30 p.m. due to the many delays. 

With every round, our estimated total score became lower and lower. Our goal was originally to get 150 points out of 200, but when we calculated our own score at the end, we only got 82 points. At the end of the day, all exhausted and disappointed, we went back to the hotel to rest.

Despite the disappointment, we didn’t let that stop us from making the most of our trip. As the following day was dedicated to self-guided tours, we were able to visit Al Khor Family Park & Zoo, see the giraffes and other animals, and have fun at the playground in the area. It was truly one of the most memorable experiences we had during the trip, as we were able to just relax and have fun together as a group.

When the day of the awarding came, we told ourselves that as long as one of us won a medal, we would consider it a win for the entire team already. It came as a surprise to all of us when it was announced that we had three gold medalists in our team, namely Aaron, MJ, and Laira. Our hopes quickly started to rise. After that, they announced the top 30% of teams. We can still very clearly remember the announcer's words right before the screen flashed to show all the names of the awardees: “Starting with… the Philippines!” 

It took us a while to overcome our disbelief, and the day concluded with our spirits high as we returned to the hotel to celebrate our win by thanking the Lord for His grace. We had expected nothing, but He had worked through us in the competition. 

We ended our trip with a short journey to the sand dunes before we checked out of our hotel and headed to the airport. We got up at 3:00 a.m. to experience the beautiful sunrise over the sea, camel riding, and even a thrilling bumpy ride on the way there. Looking back, our wonderful memories weren’t just centered around the awards; from the countless hilarious fiascos we encountered to almost freezing in the desert, God’s grace and power truly shone through this experience. 

As we flew home on December 2, we couldn’t help but feel grateful to God for the wonderful opportunity He had given us. Throughout all the challenges we faced – booking flights, finding visas, staying late every day to train, and facing many delays and disappointments on the competition day – we were able to overcome them only through Him. We take no credit for our success, but give glory to God alone.