I am sitting in a comfortable lawn chair on the rooftop deck of a nice (but cheap) hostel. It overlooks the city of Manila and the beautiful city lights, and it gives me a clear view of the night sky. The weather is absolutely perfect as I lounge in my shorts and t-shirt, with my shoes kicked off to the side.
Yet it feels uncomfortable.
This morning, I woke up in the slums of Manila on a cardboard-thin wooden floor with a bug net and a leaky tin roof over my head as the countless roosters crowed for the fourth hour in a row. That was my reality for a week. Living by a contaminated river in a dirty, smelly, poor slum where you can find three or five families living in a 9x18ft apartment or nine people living in a small 6x8ft shack. We trekked up “Trash Mountain,” held and prayed for a malnourished baby, assisted teachers in school, fed and played with kids, visited a hospital and prayed for every single child and family in the pediatric room, and helped the local church that was hosting us.
There is something beautiful about the slums, and I cannot quite describe it. There is a special light in those places, and it is a light like no other. The slums of Costa Rica, Cambodia, and The Philippines might be miles apart but they are united by something so much greater. In these slums, faith is stronger. In these slums, smiles are more genuine. In these slums, love is more powerful. When people have nothing, they have everything. Their hearts are filled with other things. Yes, there is a thirst for money and financial stability. Yes, there is a need for better healthcare and education. But they rely on Greater things; things unseen. There is strength, endurance, and perseverance that nobody else can comprehend. They live with more hope.
These people rock my world every time.
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