A week ago, two of my teammates and I set out on an intentional walk around the village. We knew there were specific people the Lord wanted us to talk to, so we stepped out in faith. As we were walking, a young woman holding a baby called out to us, “Hello! Where are you going?” (This is a phrase that all Filipinos seem to greet us with.) We said back to her, “We’re coming to see you!”
We walked over to the little bamboo hut and noticed a little puppy laying beside the wooden ladder, the entrance to their home. Once we saw the puppy’s eyes, we knew this was the house we were supposed to be at. His right eye was brown and his left eye was blue-exactly like Nikki’s eyes. They invited us to come and sit with them.
Inside the hut was a woman threading bracelets with her two daughters. The young woman holding the baby was named Sarah. For the next hour and a half, my teammates and I sat on their bamboo floor and talked about life. After a while, Sarah began to open up about her life. She explained that she hated her stepmother, her father never paid for her to finish her last three months of school, and that her life was filled with struggles.
While the compassion in me wanted to fix every struggle she had, the Lord made me realize that we were there to bring joy into these women’s lives. Shortly after Sarah finished telling her story, my teammate Nikki attempted to get up from the chair she had been sitting on. All the sudden we heard a loud cracking noise. We all looked over at Nikki to see that the chair had split in half! Everyone in the room burst into laughter. And I’m not just talking about a little chuckle here and there, but full, loud bellows of laughter that came deep within our bellies. I was laughing so hard that I snorted!
I am amazed that a broken chair can bring so much laughter and joy into people’s lives. The women were not mad at all but instead could not stifle their laughter. As we were preparing to leave, the mother gave us each a bracelet that she had made. When we offered her our pesos, she shook her head and smiled, “It is a gift. Just you coming here is enough.”
Every woman that I have met here makes Threads of Hope bracelets. Whenever I’m walking around the village, I see women threading bracelets in their huts with their little children playing near their feet. These bracelets are providing the families here with an income to buy food. They are giving woman and children purpose. This morning I met a woman named Nina Bonita who started making bracelets a month ago. She told me that is how she met Jesus. 
This community has been a blessing to me in so many ways. Their simple way of life is humbling to be a part of. Partaking in communion with the Church brought tears to my eyes. Christ’s body was represented by merely one dinner roll that everyone broke off a tiny piece, while His blood was represented by a few small cups of grape juice that everyone shared. To hear 400 Filipinos sing, “Thank you, oh my Father, for giving us Your Son, and leaving Your Spirit till the work on earth is done,” touched my heart beyond words. While there are many people who don’t know the Lord here, I can see the seeds that are being planted deep within them.
