Coming over to the Philippines I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I still am overwhelmed by what I am seeing and I don’t really know how to describe the area of Tondo with you. The pictures do not do justice because you don’t get the noises, sweat, or the smells that accompany them. The day after we got here we went out right away and did home visits, walking around and praying with people. I was overwhelmed. So many people in such a small amount of space and in some of their houses you can’t even stand up. There are so many children living in one house as well. There is stale sewer water in the canals and in the river. The houses are piled up high on one another and in some places and I have no idea how they even climb up to the top. Under the bridge there is a tiny community of people and as we walked through I couldn’t believe how they lived. The kids are dirty and most aren’t clothed. They wear worn down flip flops, have decaying teeth, and a lot of them have lice. There is garbage everywhere and some do not have running water in their homes. They practically live on top of one another..and yet.
God is in this place!! You walk past their little houses and they greet you with huge smiles and say hi. They are beautiful people with a kind heart. They welcome you to sit in the only chair in their home and visit with you through broken English. They are gracious and giving of the little they do have. You look down at the dirty kids and all you see are huge gorgeous eyes and a smile that breaks your heart. They run up to you and ask you your name! The community is great! I am definitely falling in love with the people here!
We are staying in a church with the Pastor. His name is Ramil and his wife is Jenny. They are a great team! He has a real pulse on the community and knows where the most hurting and needy are. He is full of energy and wants to help out as much as he can. He has passion and vision for these people. He is so hands on and the people just love him. Some of the areas we visit are tough, one community lives on top of piles and piles and years and years of garbage. The hill is huge and it's made up of trash! These people have homes on the mountain. There is no electricity or running water. We also went to another garbage dump where people go through it looking for stuff to sell. They also smoke wood all day to make charcoal. God protects the lungs of those people. They are breathing it in daily and we could barely make it an hour. Ramil does what he can but there is no money here. We are able to help him a little, but I hope this could be a future partnership. Yesterday we did a hospital visit and prayed for many children. It was so sad, but very rewarding. One girl, Aeysha is 9 months but smaller than a 1 month old. She is very malnourished, has a sore in her mouth, and has pneumonia. Pastor came in and got the prescriptions and we hope to help with getting them filled. Then we hope to go to their community and do a feeding. It brings being God’s hands and feet to a whole new meaning for me.
Last month I dealt with swooping bats, and this month we have a rat (small dog really) that is living here in the church with us. I love that I am facing my fears with Jesus. He gives me the peace to close my eyes at night and rest. Just saw my first spider here this morning. If I think of it as a baby tarantula it’s not that bad J The neighbor next door loves to play American cheesy love songs, a personal favorite of mine too so I’ve been enjoying that! Thanks again to all of you for your support! Know that I appreciate every comment and every word of encouragement. I know and trust with all my heart that you are praying! Please pray for our safety, my issue with the smell here (woke up at 3am and couldn’t sleep because of it), and that we can fund many feeding programs! It’s about $40 to feed 150 kids.
There is life in chaos. There is love in chaos. There is hope in chaos. God is in this place! We live in an imperfect world where hurt, unfairness, and sin is real. Instead of blaming God for this, we can see God in all of this. He has a perfect plan. He sent Jesus to die for sin, to save us, and to give us hope and a future with Him someday. He loves us so much!
Love God and Love People! Mark 12:30-31
