It took a 15 hour flight, followed by a 9 hour layover in China, another 3 hour flight, then a 16 hour bus ride, 3 by ferry, then a final 2 hour bus ride and our team finally made it to the city of Tacloban, Philippines. Needless to say it felt like we were in a constant time warp of travel. However I cannot complain because the bus we were on had wifi and AC with gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside, but the constant stop/go and swerving in the road was making me sick. Sleeping was not an option until we made it to the port for the ferry and by then it was about 2am. We arrived exhausted, but very excited for what we would be doing here the next couple weeks. Lighthouse is a part of Kids International Ministries (K.I.M) and twice a day, six days a week the drive into the community serving a warm meal to children and their families. Racers joke about having one of two kinds of ministries: beach or bush. Beach means more of a plush set up for the month with such amenities as showers, a place to do laundry, and beds with good food. Bush refers to the more rough it ministry in the less developed areas with no electricity, giant bugs, and no real way to shower. We definitely got the beach ministry this month, literally. Our house is just 200 yards from the beach and behind us are the misty palm jungle mountains. Simply breathtaking.
Recently the Pope was in town and because of that all the roads were shut down so Lighthouse couldn’t drive into the village to do their meal runs, instead we’ve been spending the last few days bagging relief supplies for a nearby city called Namar on another island 6 hours away. Total count is over 1,500! Come Monday and Tuesday we’re making the drive out there to deliver them. Namar was devastated during typhoon Ruby and the people are in desperate need of help. Our team was excited we could be a part of the relief efforts to get people things they need.
Speaking of typhoon, I want to take a moment to sort of set the scene for what Tacloban has been through from typhoon Yolanda back in November 2013. It’s because of this devastation God began tugging at my heart to step into missions finally. Upon arrival you could see debris still scattered around the roads and in the rivers. Trees were bent and almost stripped to nothing. Ruins of cement buildings stuck out of ivy patches that looked like remnants of a city struck by war. I had the privilege of speaking with someone who survived it and what they told me rocked me to my core, and I must warn you what I am about to describe is not light reading:
“They came. They came as three black demons from the sea. Each one carrying people in them swept up from around the islands. Most already dead, and some trying to survive. The wind was blowing so hard it made my ears hurt and I still cannot hear very well, and to get anywhere you had to crawl on your stomach otherwise the wind would carry you away. Over 30,000 perished. The aftermath was horrific. Bodies everywhere, even in the trees. There are mass graves around the city. People would wander the roads naked and in shock mumbling for they had lost their minds. Even now when a storm comes some children cower and cry terrified it will happen again. But we are proud, and our God is greater. We rebuild again.”
How does one even begin to process that? She told me a lot more but even when I sat down to journal about it I took my time trying to process the weight of what she just shared. During our bus ride I asked God what he sees when he looks at these people, and he gave me one word, resilient. That could not be more perfect. This country has been through a lot in the last century, and every time they pick up, rebuild, and press onward. “No time for sadness.” As one person told me, and they laughed. Not in a way to hide the pain, or deny all that’s happened, but to be joyful in what they do have, and living it to the fullest. Their smiles are infectious. I see so much of God’s strength in them, and it gives me courage.
It’ll probably be a while before we have Internet again, but I have some pictures to share and I seriously can’t get over how gorgeous it is here. So far my favorite memory is playing with a group of girls at the beach. They were ages 12-15 and freaking adorable. They liked my tattoos and kept playing with my gauges. We jumped around in the water for a good hour and what really made me laugh is when they asked if I had a boyfriend and I said no. That was a huge shock to them lol. One girl was like “the fools! You are so beautiful!” Can you see why I love it here? Haha, seriously though they were so smart and full of life. One gave me her hairpin that had red jewels in it and said “to remember me.” I almost cried. Later this week we had a movie night for a bunch of kids and they watched Aladdin and it was precious seeing them crack up during the movie. I had a message prepared for after and the moment the ending happen edging there was the fastest mass exodus of children I had ever seen. So there’s that lol.
Funny side notes:
1. Filipinos love cheesy love songs from like the 80’s and 90’s and know them by heart.
2. They’re very blunt and point out things like “you’re fat” or “you’re white” but not in a way that’s derogatory, just obvious.
3. When we went to see the Pope we were making our way through 2 rows of people and they started cheering. Thinking he was coming I turned around with my camera and saw nothing, then our host said it was for us simply because we’re white and American.
I have more to share but that’ll have to wait :). Thank you everyone for helping me get here! It’s been incredible and I will be in touch. Catch you on the flip side.
