Friendly’s Hostel is my home for October. Team Judah is here in the red light district of Manila with Team Libre, and there are few words to describe the reality of the community we have jumped into. All thirteen of us are crammed into a room with little else other than bunk beds. There are two bathrooms, one quite normal with a sink, shower, and toilet; the other is mostly a large shower with a toilet stuck in it. As I attempt to sleep the noise from the street below keeps me awake, but we must keep the windows open for ventilation. Our hearts break for the people around us and the lies and sin they are bound in. Marisa made us a schedule of who will cook when, and our budget, little-fuss, high-carb meals have begun. We eat on the terrace overlooking the city (see picture) and that is where I am sitting typing to you. Several of us have chosen to do laundry every night so that we can wear the same thing to the dump every day and not ruin all of our clothes. And when I say “do laundry” I mean one person washing, another rinsing, another ringing and hanging. I feel like I am on some reality show learning what it is like to live in most of the world. It seems to take so much effort simply to “live life”. But I am not complaining. After seeing the dumps I cannot complain. It has been an adjustment and we have had several, “what am I doing with my life?” moments as we dodge wet clothes hanging in the hall and throw all of our used toilet paper in the trashcan instead of being able to flush it away. My days feel long and yet they fly by. My definition of “sleeping in” has become sleeping until 6:30am. Yes, really. When the third world is up and about at 5am it is hard to stay sleeping!
Regardless of it all, we are blessed beyond what we realize. These people are all up in my junk, so its a good thing I like them. I’m sure there will be rough times, but we are learning what it means to live in community, to serve each other before ourselves. I fail at doing this every day, but God is gracious and continues pushing me into it anyway.
Hello, World Race. We’ve only scratched the surface!
