During our past debrief, we had a few team changes. My team gained an amazing woman, Jen Goeking! With these team changes, my squad went from 9 teams down to 8. So upon arriving at the airport and meeting our contacts, the ministry location for my team changed from Tent City to Tondo.
The first 24 hours were overwhelming.
We drove straight from the airport for an hour packed into 2 vehicles with the other team that we would be doing ministry with for the month. Upon arriving at our ministry site, we piled out of the van only to get bombarded by dozens of kids grabbing at us and a smell hung in the air that made us all want to gag. We filed into the steaming church where we felt like giants since we had to duck to keep from banging our heads against the beams. (The floor of the church had just been raised 3 feet because at night, when high tide comes, the sewers flood over into the streets and that used to include the church. Praise Jesus the church doesn't flood anymore since 1 team would be sleeping there at night. Until they are able to raise more money, the ceiling is now too low for the raised floor.)
After being led through a tunnel of houses to check out the place where my team was supposed to stay, we found out that renting it for the month was no longer an option. We thought we would have to cram 15 people inside the little church. But God provided another house with a family only 100 yards away from the church. We were given a brief overview of what ministry would look like the next day, but all we could think about was sleep. We had just come off of 40+ hours of travel…but we were informed that our day would start at 4 am the next day with what they called Dawn Watch, a time of prayer and encouragement at the church.
I'll admit my first journal entry the next day was one filled with a lot of fear and dread of the coming month as I was overwhelmed with exhaustion and the newness of the impossible heat, the constant dead fish smell, and the bombardment of noise from people, dogs, roosters, motorcycles, and the karaoke bar all hours of the day and night.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
But once again, God allowed me to grow in my dependance on Him and He gave me a joy and love for the people living in Tondo, especially the kids. So much has happened this month and I've been so blessed to be a part of the ministry that takes place everyday here. For now, I wanted to just share some of the things that I have loved and been so thankful for here in the Philippines.
2. Being escorted by a mob of kids every time I walk the 100 yards from the house to the church.
3. My hands never being empty. One day, I was thinking I was wish I had 5 more hands to hold all of the little ones grabbing at me. Then I realized I could fit 3 little hands in each one of mine.
4. Serving meals at the Charcoal Factory…and the joy of holding and loving on all the kids. When I hold them, the awareness of my shirt growing black from their dirty feet and hands and the sweat rolling down my back until I'm drenched doesn't matter at all. This is my favorite place so far!
Picture by Emily Chant
5. Bucket showers. I love, love, love bucket showers. I'm so thankful for the cold water that I get to dump over myself.
6. Sweet ladies who cook for us at the church and wash our dishes and guard the entrance of the church. The first day as we ate our lunch, they stood in front of us and fanned us. It was such a sweet gesture of love that caused me to fall in love with them immediately.
7. Jeepney rides with our teams. So fun! It's like riding in a limo…kindof.
8. Returning home after our day off at the mall…and as soon as I step onto the sidewalk, being bear-hugged by a little boy yelling out my name! This same little boy had walked me to the jeepney that morning and waved goodbye. Made my heart jump for joy!
9. Dance party with 50 little kids after church in the dark on the street.
10. Margaret-the sassy, spunky, adventurous little girl who follows our team around. God has such plans for this independent child!
11. Pastor Ramil and his wife Jenny. They pour out and pour out their lives for the poor. Pastor Ramil is so tenderhearted! He wept with thankfulness when he saw one of my teammates give a little necklace to a little girl, thanking her for loving the poor. And Jenny is so passionate about the truth of the Gospel being shared and us understanding how blessed we all are.
12. My team! My sisters are such a blessing and a safe place to share all things with honesty. One morning, we gathered together and I mentioned something about the pain of homesickness hitting me that day, and immediately 3 other teammates shared how they had already broken down and cried that morning about the same thing. Then we all burst into laughter together. Then we sang Christmas carols. I love my team!
13. Fans! They make the days a little more bearable.
14. Ice! Sometimes, the ladies will add ice to the bucket of drinking water. Of course, it melts in about 10 minutes, but it's so great! Then one day, I couldn't find my water bottle anywhere, and then I discovered that the ladies at the church had stashed it in the freezer for me!
15. The joy and daily sustenance God is so sweet to grant.
16. God's full acceptance and love even on days when I don't feel "on". His grace is still sufficient.
17. My bed and pillow. Who knew I would love my little camping mat so much!
18. The worship songs on my iPod that block out the sounds around me for a little while.
19. Christmas in the Philippines. This country loves Christmas! There are decorations all around town and you can hear American Christmas songs playing in houses and in stores and on jeepney rides.
20. The calmness of the night at 4 am.
21. Church services outside as the sun sets.
22. English speaking people! It's been so much easier to communicate here than I thought possible.
Please pray for me though. Some days it's easy to count all the things I'm thankful for, but I also feel the enemy's fight so strongly this month. Please pray that God will continue to provide joy and that I will learn to operate out of His love, because my love is not enough.
