Hello Dear Ones,
So, to continue the story…. We made it into the Philippines and through customs. I always get so nervous that my bag is going to get lost. So far though, it always shows up. Knock on wood. Once we got through customs we waited for about an hour for our ride to come pick us up. Once they arrived we had to fill out visa applications for our next month of ministry in India and then we all started saying goodbye as teams begin to split off and travel to their individual locations for the month. My team, along with 3 other teams, all had to cram into a van. Yes, that is a lot of people. Check it out:
Thankfully we only had to ride like this to a smaller airport where we dropped some people off so that they could fly to another part of the Philippines and then we were able spread out a little more. After dropping the above mentioned people off at the airport we continued on to our home for two nights in Manila. During this time we went for a wild ride, (somehow all over the world people drive like crap… and this comes from someone with a few tickets herself – I do not think that there has been one single time that I’ve gotten into a car/bus/taxi/jeep/tricycle – which is really a motorbike with a cab attached – that I have not seriously prayed for my life.) sat by the pool, drank Starbucks some more and went to orientation for our new ministry with Food for the Hungry.
After our orientation to Food for the Hungry we prepared to… you guess it… travel. Joy. I planned to wake up around 4ish because we had to be packed and ready to leave by 5. My alarm did not go off however and so at 4:45AM I woke to the news that our driver was early and ready to leave. That never happens on the race… unless you don’t want it to. So, everybody scrambled. And, good news to all those that know me and my timeliness well: I was the 2nd person in that van with my teeth brushed no less. We took about a 15/20ish minute drive to the subway station and loaded all of our gear onto our bodies… and headed out to war… at least that is what it feels like. Our first subway ride however was surprisingly not bad at all because it was so early. We were able to sit down and enjoy about 20 minutes of silence while riding to our stop.
This is where it gets hilarious/terrible/even more funny than you can probably picture. In the Philippines you have to pass through little gates (this is true in China as well) that suck in your ticket and spit it back out once you get through. The trouble is we aren’t exactly small with all of our gear on. Amie literally gets stuck every time we have to go through these gates. I turned around one time and saw a person in uniform trying to help pull her through. Sharisse, being tall, tried to just step over the gate after she got stuck straddling it. So funny. I have developed a system of charging the gate so that somehow it lets me through with only a little bit of tugging. Once we made it through the first set of gates (there are too many to even try to describe, but let’s just say we spend a lot of time stuck, trying to get free) we sat down to wait for Jackie (our new friend from Food for the Hungry) to contact us to tell us the next set of directions that would get us to her. Unfortunately these included walking through the subway (Amie and I are always in the back… you know, carrying on about how are bones are being crushed) to meet her. So, we loaded back up and started the walk. We finally got to our next stop along the subway and met Jackie and…. Horror of horrors… we realized that we were going to have to cram onto a second subway that was absolutely full. As in people were pressed up against the doors. Three trains came. Three trains left. All with us standing there in full gear… me with horror on my face… How were we all going to fit? It was decided to go one by one, train by train… and to meet up at the second to the last stop. So, a train came. Amie and Emily both went to different cars. Emily shoved herself in. Amie tried. One of the subway workers came to cram her in so that the doors would shut. As they were closing a man was helping to press her bag in so that they could take off. One train down, two teammates departed. Next up? Me. Alone. When the next train showed up I volunteered to go because I just wanted to have the ride behind me. The doors open. I decided it was a no go, shouting back, “I can’t fit!” The next thing I knew a subway worker said, “Yes you can!” and shoved me in. There was lots of movement as an entire car had to suck in more to fit me, a 60 pound bag, a backpack and airporter in. The doors shut with my face up against the window. I could see my 3 remaining teammates and Jackie waiting for their turn as the train pulled away. Around 15 minutes later my stop came. Blessed freedom. I reconnected with Emily and Amie and waited for the rest of the girls to show up one by one. And then we walked again through the subway, only to walk some more once exiting. And then we walked and walked and walked. Past the point of praying for my arms and shoulders and back and soul, at the moment I really thought I would not be able to take another step, the bus station came into view. I was so happy to take all of my gear off and sit down for a minute. We were expecting to catch a bus at 1 PM, but realized that we could catch an earlier bus at 8:30AM and so we scrambled to put all of our stuff back on and board our next mode of transportation. And then we rested and slept and read during our 8ish hour bus ride to Labo. When the bus stopped we had to reload and walk to our new home… Where we were greeted with such friendliness from two precious women that work for Food for the Hungry who have taken such good care of us since arriving.
I’ll update tomorrow about what we are actually doing while we are here.
Carrie
