I’m in the Philippines! We arrived in Manila on Sunday, completely skipping Saturday because of time differences, so that was pretty neat. The entire squad stayed at the Manila Kids international Ministry site for a few days to rest from our jet lag. Then Tuesday morning, my team and Team Solid got on a plane at 4am to travel to Mindanao which is another island in the Philippines. We arrived at 6am and by 7am we were white water rafting! It was a surprise to us and so fun! We all kept saying is this our life? Rafting in the Philippines? It is so incredibly beautiful here. The mountains are breathtaking and the temperature is hot but there is a nice breeze. Since we are in a tropical climate we get spoiled with fresh pineapple and mango in our meals.
Filipino people have proved to be friendly and warm. We were told that in the Philippines people are very family oriented and simply want to live in harmony. One of the first questions I get asked about is my family. However traffic is crazy! There are cars, jeepnies, trics, bikes, and scooters buzzing everywhere. We asked Donald, our ministry contact, about it and he said traffic is like a river, it just flows. It’s so true, although I think its nuts I have yet to see an accident and people don’t get angry. If people drove like this in America everyone’s blood pressure would rise. I suppose it’s the Filipino culture to not get worked up about such things.
My team has been getting the royal treatment at the Kid’s international Ministry. We are sleeping in a room with bunk beds, a bathroom and an attached balcony with a beautiful view. We are working at New Faith Family Children’s Home where we work with kids ranging from 8 months to 14 years old. Most of these children are orphans and have dealt with a rough past. We help the kids in the morning get ready for school and do their chores and then after school we help them with homework. Our teams are also responsible for caring for the toddlers and infants around the clock which is no problem with me, they are so cute J Along with hanging out with the kids, our teams will be doing other projects such as painting the outside of the home, weeding the soccer field, helping out in a new home for juveniles, and going to jails to do ministry.
It is a little overwhelming to be across the world and being thrown into this different culture. But my heart is already growing for Filipino people. I am excited to be working in such a great place this month!
team high five!
just floating in the clean river. haha
this is the view from our balcony.
