breathing in their death

I’m currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand. But I want to tell you about a place I visited in Manila, Philippines that rocked my world.
 
The charcoal factory in Tondo, one of the poorest slums in the Philippines. And definitely the poorest place I’d ever been.
 
My first day in Tondo, I accompanied the two teams living there on a feeding to the charcoal factory across the road. They filled me in a little about what it was like but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to enter.
 
The air was so thick and dense it was suffocating. I couldn’t stop coughing for like the first 20 minutes. Children in rags for clothing, covered head to toe in black, playing in trash and charcoal. 
 

The pastor told me that most children die after a few years of living in these conditions. Thiose that survivie go through life with health complications. As if living on a trash dump wasnt bad enough. 

And yet, through the dark, dense air I couldnt help but see it. 

I couldnt explain it. It didnt make sense. Part of me couldnt believe it. But it was undeniable. The laughter of these sweet children piercing the very depths of my heart. I was undone. 

Even in such a broken, desperate, messy place the Kingdom was alive. Hope radiating from these children's faces.