Life in the Philippines is not too shabby! We have sweet ladies who cook for us (including desserts every meal), we have real drip coffee, which hasn’t been true all year, and we live in this huge guest house that makes us each feel like we are home. We also get to partner with Jeff Long, the missionary here who is also an awesome visionary and has basically turned the 25 of us loose to work on whatever project the Lord has laid on our hearts. It’s the dream set up, really!
Besides the prison ministry three times a week, I have taken on a project of my own…mapping out the neighborhood. We are right in the middle of a neighborhood of squatters who have real needs. Jeff is a very busy man and can’t possibly make house visits to the 800 or so houses that await him right outside his front door. He expressed his desires to help the community, and I told him of my desire to do house visits, and thus Operation Meet and Greet was established! I have been going door to door for the past two weeks with a local lady named Elaina, and we basically just go into people’s houses (they are some of the most hospitable people on the planet…they don’t even ask questions…they just invite us in!) and ask them a bunch of questions that will help us better understand their situations. I find out how many people live in each house, their names and ages, if they have jobs or are looking for work, and if there is anyone who is sick or injured. I list all of this information, then come home and type it all up so it’s actually legible!
Our goal in this is not to invade the privacy of the locals, but to find out the needs so that maybe Jeff can help. He is only one man, but he has connections, and already has good standing in the community. He has already found a way for the neighborhood to have access to free purified water, which has changed things drastically here. So there is a level of trust already established when they hear that I am working for Mr. Long.
I like to view this as a recon mission to go in and find the ones who need to be rescued! Jesus knows every house, every person, heck…every hair on each person’s head, and He knows their needs. But the hosues are so crowded and close together, it’s like a labyrinth. Little by little we have been chipping away at the maze and are finding the ones who need immediate attention. These people matter. They are valuable and were bought with a price. This has been wonderful for me to be a part of, because I know it will be long lasting. I will leave in a little over a week, but I will know that the people I have met will be followed up on. They won’t be forgotten.
So, that has been my project as of late. Tomorrow, Heather and Casey will walk through the community with me and help to map out the 100 or so houses we’ve visited. That way it will be easy for the next teams and the next people who care to find their way to these people.
Besides the practical side of all of this, it has blessed me beyond words to be invited into these people’s homes and lives for awhile, where all distinction falls away and we are just people meeting for the first time and getting to know each other. Now when I walk through the streets, kids run up to me, adults stick their heads out of their windows to smile and wave, and some people stop for conversation. I even have a few friends who have taken it upon themselves to feed me every time I pass by! One of the most memorable snacks was a squid paste on top of unripened mango…mmmm…nothing like it, especially when the locals are watching you eat it! They have accepted me and know me as the crazy white girl who walks their streets everyday and wants to know them. I can see the questions in some of their eyes…”Why does this young American girl care about us?” The answer is of course Jesus, and I won’t leave here until I have told them about the only thing that they truly need to survive… a relationship with Him.
