How do I start to explain what has happened over the past few days?
We arrived in Manila on Wednesday September 15th (that’s right folks, time travel is possible, you just have to hop on an international flight). We were picked up from the airport and brought to a ministry center in Cainta, Rizal where we were fed a FANTASTIC lunch (with desserts!) and then were taken off on an “adventure”. We piled into Jeepneys, which are basically supped-up extended jeeps – tricked out Filipino style! 2.5 hours (and one sore butt) later we arrived on a mountain, in the middle of what looks like the jungle, with chickens running around like they own the place only to see the most beautiful thing one could see after over 24 hours of traveling – a waterfall.
We were swimming in said waterfall.
Why did the chicken cross the waterfall?
I have no clue. But it sure is mabutay (that’s Filipino for ‘good’)!
Pictures to come, I promise, internet is just VERY slow and photos take about a zillion years to load, and I’m too sweaty to wait that long.
I could type for paragraphs telling you how amazing this ministry centre is, how kind the staff are, how welcoming and giving the Long’s are, how stunning it is to run in the mornings here, how I love that this side of the world still feels like home, how much joy the Filipino people have, how friendly they are, how I’m afraid I might become so deeply entranced with this country I will not want to leave in a few weeks, but what you should really know is that all of the amazing discoveries I have made are because of God’s love. That a few steps outside my door there are acres of slums, hungry children, dead mothers, dirty streets – but the undercurrent to all of this is love, love love love. That when I stop seeing through my eyes and try seeing through Christ’s eyes my heart is broken and filled with joy in the same instant.
We are daughters of joy.
