Travel to the Philippenes:
Our squad of 39 left Atlanta for LA around noon on Tuesday, October 9. A 12 hour layover at LAX gave us enough time to visit Manhattan Beach for some tacos and sunset by the pier before the 14 hour flight to Taiwan. After a 3 hour layover in Taiwan and one last 2 hour flight, we landed in Manila around noon on Thursday, October 11. From the airport, the squad split up into teams of 6 or 7 and went their separate ways. Kuya (Brother) Rudy picked up my team of 7 and we made our way through the crowded city and up into the mountains where we finally arrived at New Beginning Community Church Camp and Learning Center where we met our hosts Pastor Roldan and Mama Jo and their daughters Jen and Dawn.
Week 1:
We spent the first day recovering from jet lag and getting our bearings by walking around the local community of Pintong Bukawe. Even though the average height of a Filipino man is only 5’4”, basketball is very popular here. While we were near the market, a group of local guys challenged us to a game of 3 on 3. Later we took our first jeepney ride to a larger market in Cogio to stock up on supplies. Jeepneys are the main form of public transportation in the Philippines. On Friday night our friend Pastor Rhayan brought 5 boys from the streets of Manila to the camp to spend the weekend.
On Saturday we went to a nearby river to with Pastor Rhayan, the 5 boys from Manila and a few more boys from the Pintong Butawe community. It was a long hike but well worth it. We spent the day enjoying the cool water, sandy beach and hot sun. Later in the evening we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows. It was pretty awesome to see the street boys come out of their hardened shell and just be kids for a day.
On Sunday morning we went with the boys to Pastor Rhayan’s church. Most of the service was in Tagalog (the local language), but they sang English worship songs that we all knew. After church Pastor Rhayan took the boys back to Manila. It’s hard to imagine what kind of lives they went back to but we were glad to give them a weekend free from the hardships of the streets. For dinner on Sunday our team cooked spaghetti for our hosts.
Week 2:
After the weekend was over, we got into a routine that looked something like this:
- Wake up around sunrise – some days we would hike up to the top of the mountain to watch
- Breakfast cooked by Mama Jo – she is an amazing cook and made us authentic Filipino food
- Walk about 40 minutes to work on building a house for Kuya Rudy – we hauled buckets of dirt to level the floors, built walls out of hollow blocks and made lots of cement for the mason that was there directing construction
- Walk back to camp after work was done in the afternoon and have some time to clean up/rest before dinner
Other Highlights:
- One night we went with Pastor Rhayan to show a Filipino Christian movie to a group of local families.
- One evening, Mama Jo got balut from the market for us all to try before dinner. Balut is partially developed duck egg. It’s a Filipino delicacy. Google it! Everyone ate one except Theo – he’s a vegetarian.
- On Saturday, there was a worship festival at the camp with other local churches. Probably around 100 people attended. Lots of great worship music and dancing!
- On our last day, we attend Pastor Roldan’s church service at the camp. After church we took Mama Jo and Dawn to the mall to do some shopping – a trip they usually make only once per year.9
Late Sunday night, we packed our bags, said our goodbyes and headed to the port in Batongas. I cannot say enough about the hospitality of the Lago family. They treated us so well and although we were only there for 10 days, we built relationships that will last a lifetime. I wrote most of this on the ferry ride from to the island of Mindoro. We are going to be in Mindoro for the next 2 weeks. Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow my teammates blogs to learn more about what God is doing on our trip!
