Yesterday I had yet again, another unique experience here in the Philippines. I went to a feeding with Kerry, Emily, Jeane and Nichole. Some of my squad’s ministry this month is feeding local children twice a day, 10 am and 4 pm. I went along on the 4 pm shift. What the team does is cook rice and some type of meat in the afternoon and pack it up for the evening. They cook enough to fill two large tupper ware bins worth of food.
We all piled in a car and traveled about 15 minutes away. We had to go through some pretty narrow roads, where to be honest, I shut my eyes in fear that we weren’t going to fit at times and we’d hit something (but we didn’t).
When we arrived we set up a small, plastic table and placed the two bins on top and as soon as we did kids came running from all different directions with their bowls. I started quickly scooping rice and passing it to the next person in order for it to be topped off with a soup-meat mixture. Some children brought bowls, others brought plates, some found make-shift containers, basically whatever they could find to hold food.
There really are no words, seeing their faces as they handed their bowls up to me. Some had HUGE smiles on their faces others just stared at me. I felt joyful that they were being provided a meal, but also sad that they even had to do this. What a blessing that I was able to serve these children. Still, as I write out this blog I feel like I cannot find the adequate words to express what that day meant to me and all that I saw. Later in the evening I found myself reflecting on the experience with tears in my eyes. I realized I’m never going back to okay when I return home.
