This month my team is working in Tondo–a small district in Manilla. Tondo is one of the poorest areas of the Philippines. We are working with pastor Ramil and his church-“God’s Power and Grace” church.
Tondo is unlike any other city we have been to so far. The poverty here is the worst I have seen, but its incredible to see that even in one of the most seemingly hopeless places-there is HOPE.
Our days start around 4am with “dawn watch.” About 5 ladies come to the church every morning to pray for about 2 hours, and this month we get to join with them. It is an incredible way to start the morning singing songs of praise and worshiping the Lord through prayer. Many days I think this is the only way I make it through the day! 6-7 is usually quiet time/personal time, although no time in Tondo is “quiet.” I think I have forgotten what silence sounds like! If there aren’t roosters crowing and dogs barking, then somebody is either singing karaoke or building something or shooting off guns or fireworks. I think this is the real city that never sleeps J. Our afternoons consist of hospital visits, or feedings in the dump sites, prisons, or just in the community. Each time we do a feeding we have the opportunity to share the gospel with everyone around. In the evenings we have bible studies and prayer meetings with members of the church. It’s amazing to see how God is using such a small church in this busy community to make an impact on so many lives.
New Friends 🙂
Streets of Tondo
(The two children above live on a mountain that is a giant trash heap now covered in dirt and bushes.
I look around and see them running through the paths with no shoes and glass all around, the air is thick with a dusty charcoal smell, and most of them are without clothes. I wonder how they are so happy and playful and laughing, but then I remember they are just kids. This is all they know. This is their home.)
When you walk out the door of the little green church or our lovely turquoise home, about 5 kids are at your side instantly. They want to know your name and they want you to hold them and carry them and love them. And they are so easy to love. They are absolutely beautiful and they think we are all movie stars. It’s quite comical most days. I think they’ve told almost all of us we look like some famous actor or actress. We have so much fun with them, and there is so much joy here in this dark place, but at the end of the day we are just praying that the relationships we build with the men, women, and kids are just open doors for Christ to enter their hearts. We love them because He loves us. We just want them to know Him, and to love Him, and to have an eternal joy that comes from knowing Him and that will last way beyond the day we have to leave.
Thanks for you prayers for Tondo! Also, thanks to many of you, we have raised enough money to do several feedings and to celebrate Christmas with kids everywhere in Tondo! Look for more blogs and updates after Christmas 🙂
