The past week we have been able to jump in on a lot of different outreach events headed up by Mt Moriah. Here’s a glimpse of what that has looked like…
To The Fields
First, there is a church community in the middle of the rice fields that recently lost their pastor. In response, a group goes out every Saturday to put on a program for the kiddos. We joined last weekend, had lunch with one of the families, and even road a water buffalo! It was actually a pretty anti-climactic ride, but a must do. For lunch they served this dish called Kinilaw – which I love – where they cook the fish in vinegar and serve it with fresh cucumbers and lime. Zesty! It’s also the closest thing to sushi I’ve had in a while.
Into Town
Then there was a VBS program run by Pastor Rogene’s church that my team had a blast with. We first rolled up during a rain shower to see the kids curiously poking their heads out of windows and doors all along the street. Who are these strange white people anyways? Once it became clear the rain wasn’t letting up, they all gathered inside the church for an afternoon of games. I walked into this feeling zapped of all energy and not really in the mood to entertain 100 kids. However, once we got the ball rolling it was just one song and game after another – an accumulation of all the kid’s stuff we’d picked up over this past year – and ended up having a lot of fun with it. I was most impressed with the local youth leading the whole thing. They were hilarious and so good with the kids.
To the Streets
Part of my team got the chance to do a few house visits in an extremely impoverished part of town. The families they met literally have next to nothing. I don’t know what it feels like to wonder where my next meal will come from, but that is their life here. Pastor Jojo, the leader for this ministry, himself lives in a very humble financial state. He is parenting his three children while his wife works as a nanny over in Hong Kong. This is their three year plan in order to get by, and she gets just one week off per year to come home and visit her family. They’ve made this sacrifice because they believe so strongly in the calling Jojo feels for ministering to the poor.
Here at Camp
Some of the kitchen walls needed a little TLC, so we also spent a few days washing and painting. Time-willing we will continue to paint upstairs and the picnic tables out on the patio.
There is also a woman that stops in to do manicures and pedicures that our teams like to support. She is a single mother of four boys between ages eight and thirteen. While corn farming has been her main source of provision over the years, she recently got bitten by one of the cobras that run rampant in the tall grasses around here. They say some farmers get bit so often they begin to grow immune to the cobra venom….whatttt! Needless to say, she is trying to segue into a safer and more profitable profession with the nails. I got mine done yesterday, and we had a great conversation. It actually turned into a small English lesson as she is eager to learn all that she can. Ironically enough I even taught her a little Spanish, since she got so excited when I told her I knew a few phrases in that language as well. Now that she is equipped with “No worries” and “Hola, como estas?” My work here is done…lol
So there you have it! Never a dull moment so we’ll see what happens in our next and last week here at Mt. Moriah/New Faith Family Children’s Home. Check out pictures from this month HERE
