Yes, the hill was steep. No, the truck couldn’t make it up with us in it. Yes, we had to walk up and yes, my calves were burning. I’ll put a picture of the road below. Looking out the side of the truck as we were going up, the ocean looked like it was sideways. Thankfully, the truck made it up after we got out. Once we reached the end of the paved road, we parked the truck and got all the boxes out. We had food, and tons of boxes of Toms shoes. We carried all of this stuff for about 40 minutes to the village tucked away in the mountains. Now, this road wasn’t paved, or even gravel, or even remotely easy to traverse. Think knee-deep mud, and very slippery hills. I fell, well, it doesn’t really matter how many times, does it?
When we got to the village, the people were so welcoming. They helped us wash our legs, feet, and shoes, which were all well marinated in mud. After this, we each got a coconut, and got to drink the coconut water. For anyone who doesn’t know, coconut water has tons of vitamins, and more electrolytes than Gatorade. I used to drink it during swim practice. Anyway, I drank an entire coconut (probably close to a half gallon of water) and then ate the meat. After this, some of us took turns blowing bubbles, which the kids loved.
After this we started the program, which included a couple songs (complete with dances that were too complicated for this white boy), games, and a message. The kids learned about how Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. We then washed each of the kids’ feet, and gave each of them a pair of shoes. A lot of the kids had no shoes, or shoes that were very worn, or too small. It was amazing to have the honor of giving them shoes. I gained a whole new respect for Toms, after seeing the impact they have.
This was all on the last day we were on the island of Mindoro. On the first day we were there, we went to an absolutely beautiful beach, and went swimming. The water was so blue and clear, it was like something out of a movie. On the second day, we went to a cave with a pool, and you could feel the water moving in a and out with the waves. We got to get in the water. It was so cool. Because I have sisters, I couldn’t help but think that the cave looked exactly like the cave the mermaids always go to in the show H20. Then we went snorkeling over coral reefs, and we got to see fish that look like they are from a cartoon. Every color, shape, and size. Again, I felt like I was in a movie. Those two days were a great couple of days off, and a great chance to see a part of God’s creation that I’ve never gotten to see before.
Life in The Philippines is amazing. We have struggles, and some hard days, but I wouldn’t trade this for anything. The feeling I get when I get to serve God and help people is something I can’t even explain. This wouldn’t be possible without all the people who are praying for me back home. I love and miss all of you. Our team has two more weeks until we meet up with the whole squad for debrief, and I would ask for prayer that our team can keep seeking God in everything we do in that time.
