My first week in the Philippines has been wonderful! It feels so good to finally be on the Race! We’ve spent our time adjusting to living 13hrs ahead of home, receiving training and teaching from the World Race leadership, reuniting and bonding with our teams, and traveling to our ministry locations for the month. Just a few highlights so far: worshiping together as a squad, taking God at His Word like never before by praying for a dead woman to be raised (John 14:12 Jesus says, “he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do”), swimming at a beautiful waterfall, and a Starbucks mocha in Manila.
About that mocha….
Our second day in Manila the team and squad leaders headed out to buy SIM cards for our cell phones. After our errands & checking out a mall in the Philippines a few of us stopped at Starbucks. Some of the leaders of the World Race came in and we were chatting. They mentioned they were planning to go out the next day to look for a little 4 year old boy who a former racer rescued from sex slavery. She had found him during her race and BOUGHT HIM for $60 from the people who owned him (you can read her story here http://marisabanas.theworldrace.org/?filename=michael-angelo ). I was shocked at this. They assured me, yes, you can buy these children out of sex slavery for $60.
$60.
My mind was spinning….it still is. I can’t forget about it. I don’t want to forget about it. How did I not know this before?
I started thinking of all the things I’ve mindlessly spent $60 on…
A month of cell phone service
