The Place:
Georgia-> LAX->China-> Manila-> 31 hour bus ride-> ferry-> van-> Lighthouse
The bus ride was long but, exposed some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever witnessed. On one side there was ocean and the other was layered with rolling mountains. The clouds kissed the top of the mountains and lightly covered the breathtaking blue sky. We passed a volcano as well as drove on the longest bridge in Asia (Philippines) within a half hour. My eyes couldn’t help but to be glued to the window. But there was a catch to this beauty… in the foreground of this perfection lied tarps and scrap metal clustered together to create a house. These clusters of tarps, metals and tree limbs accumulated to become towns and cities. The poverty broke my heart as my view of ‘normal’ became more relative through every mile.
It was around 2pm when my team pulled into The Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is the branch of K.I.M (Kids International Ministries) located on the Island of Leyte, in the city of Tacloban. It was here I learned the tragically beautiful story of the island.
On November 8th 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the Tacloban shores with winds blowing over 300mph. The aftermath was a town in ruins, naturally. To this day there are large buildings with collapsed roofs, caved in roads and ships from the harbor being disassembled because they were blown onto the mainland. Absolutely tragic.
The Lighthouse is truly a beacon of hope and safe haven on this hurting island. Its beauty and strength provide a safe and comforting work environment for the full time staffers who are constantly serving the community. On any given day there can be anywhere from 5-80 volunteers who lodge at the Lighthouse while serving the community.
The People:
The full time staffers are dedicated to their work and all play an important role in the functioning of the ministry. Each one of them has such an awesome story and testimony of how God is at work in their life.
Kim was working in Manila but switched to the Tacloban site after the typhoon: Momma J and her family were located in Hong Kong but also returned to aide in disaster relief: she has played a huge part in making our stay here feel comfortable and at home as she prepares every delicious meal: her husband is the carpenter and mechanic (I think): Aaron and Aira are the brother/sister duo who always provide the comic relief: they are survivors of Yolanda who now work at K.I.M full time: Chris is our age and has worked here for a long time and, although I don’t know his full story, I know he is always working hard: Abby does a lot of work with finances and preparations for the kids ministries throughout the week: Beryl is a hard working young lady who leads kids ministries, women’s ministries and often makes the food that is handed out twice a day in the towns: Trex is always at work with something broken: there are always others here volunteering also.
The town people are just smitten by the fact that we are a group of Caucasian females and honestly, I have never been so gross looking but felt so beautiful all at the same time. Like last Saturday when we walked about 20 minutes in a category 2 typhoon to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis as he drove by; a group of us were walking through the masses of people and all of a sudden the crowd broke out in clapping and cheering. We soon figured out that the celebration was because they were excited to see us! Ha! What a welcome! We got our pictures taken with some police officers and random people- so yeah, we’re kinda a big deal. (hahahaha) But with a welcome of such enthusiasm, it’s hard to not love these beautiful people.
Oh yes, and we did in fact see the Pope.
The Process:
Not only are we traveling and serving but we are also given the gift of tight community through this journey. The six women I am traveling with have the amazing opportunity to bond, to learn each other and to challenge each other to become more Christ-like as we see each other for exactly who we are. This causes life change. It’s like being in a see-through pressure cooker where all of your being is revealed; quickly, often in unattractive ways, but those closest to you can see everything. It’s some sort of beautiful hot-mess.
This process is causing me to be more metacognitive (Dani T!) than ever before.
The Prayers:
-please pray that the children who frequent the Lighthouse would allow the truths they are learning to sink in and they would become devoted followers of Christ
-pray for the Lighthouse to be provided for in every way necessary as they take all they are given and provide for others
-Praise that my friend Christina was reunited with her team after being hospitalized in China with appendicitis (she is doing well- but I am so excited to see her in February!)
-Praise that my funding is already at 61%
-prayer for $6,340 to complete the funding
-praise for safely arriving at our location
-prayer for the people of Tacloban
-prayer for the workers of K.I.M to be refreshed and encouraged in the truths of God as they always serve
