What five words would you use to describe your first month? This is a question one of my squad leaders asked me after my time of ministry in the Philippines. My answer: container, hot, community, friendly, Streetlight. I wish you could have seen our faces as my team looked at our “home” for the first time realizing it wasn’t some horrible joke our host was playing on us but that we would actually be living inside of a legit shipping container (you know, the kind on the back of a semi-truck). We were all pretty flabbergasted. I’ll admit I was a bit of a negative Nancy the first couple of days not really wanting to be there. First off, I am not a camper so living in a shipping container, squatting in the woods, sweating profusely in the hot, Philippine sun, and inhabiting the same space with basketball sized spiders was not my idea of a good time. By day two or three into our month though, my team made a vow not to let our living conditions bring us down or use them as an excuse to be mean towards or get frustrated with one another. We did an amazing job at exuding a positive attitude and even played the “I’m thankful for…” game that we learned at launch.
The mornings were the hardest for me because the heat would suck away my energy and the last thing I wanted to do was go out into the field to move rocks. I had to really push myself to go out there. Looking back on the month, I wish I would have gone out into the field more than I did, but on the days I truly felt like I couldn’t I tried to make myself as useful as possible. Our host wanted the shipping container, a.k.a. 123 Redbox, to be painted green so green I made it, with the help of the amazing women on my team. We also bought lots of fly strips to make our “dining room” more bearable and found some sick pleasure in watching those pesky creatures get stuck and squirm. I’m not saying we lost our minds or anything but when a fly gets stuck and you start laughing at its plight and buzzing in its ear to give it a taste of its own medicine, it makes you question your sanity a little bit.
My two favorite times of day were when my team would drive to and from ministry in Cagayan De Oro and the time we spent getting to know the kids of Streetlight. I loved our car rides because it was a time of community for my team where we could be goofy and deep and sad and crazy. We got so close during those times and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Every night to pump ourselves up before going back to the container we would belt out Celine Dion’s version of Ava Maria. It’s silly, but I will always remember those times. I loved our time with Streetlight as well. There are so many amazing, strong women who run the ministry and the kids are great. I will miss Daniella’s sweet face, I will miss Ricky’s thoughtfulness, I will miss Jun-Jun’s silliness, I will miss Lyn-lyn’s wonderful cooking, I will miss Joy’s wisdom, I will miss PeeVee’s friendship.
I will miss the Philippines. Everyone was always so happy and smiley no matter if they were living inside of a cardboard box or hadn’t eaten in a few days. The women across the field from us epitomized everything I believed a Filipino to be. They had a heart to serve their new neighbors and make us as comfortable as possible. Thank you Ate Evangeline and Ate Mila for your wonderful cooking and allowing us to be a part of your lives for the short time we were with you.
I can definitely say with absolute certainty that my team’s first month of the World Race was hard but freeing. Even though the living conditions weren’t ideal, there were spiders the size of basketballs scurrying around, and almost all of us had dysentery, I wouldn’t change our first month for the world. I know that sounds crazy but my team was able to bond on a more intimate level than had we stayed in a cozy beach house because of the dependence we had on each other. Our true selves were revealed almost immediately and that took away any pressure of being on our best behavior in front of one another. Being able to see each other’s struggles deepened our bond because we were able to help give support and encouragement to one another and call each other to a higher level of greatness.
