This month my team along with four other teams is staying in MalayBalay, Philippines. The Philippines consists of several islands, and I’m on the second largest island this month. The Phillipines is an amazing place, it reminds me of Hawaii only significantly cheaper and no tourism. The filipino people are extremely nice, and shy. They love Americans, and I am loving their culture.
We live at an orphanage with 26 kids, ranging from 10 months – 14 years old. The leaders have made up a schedule for all 32 racers to rotate shifts on a 24 hour basis. I managed to escape week one without the dreaded 10pm to 6 am baby shift, but on the second week I was not so lucky.
My first overnight baby shift consisted of me entering the babies room at 10 pm, and told that we received one new infant and a new toddler today. I asked how we just ended up with two kids? I mean does a mom just drive up and drop the kid off? Sadly that’s pretty much what took place, and probably usually does for most orphans. Before the race and even during the race I never had the desire to work at an orphanage. The idea that I formulated was that all the kids would be in sub par living conditions, and contain behavior issues due to the type of living situation that he or she is in. I had all these preconceived notios of how horrible life in an orphanage would be, but I think its only by the grace of God that I was corrected in the errors of my thinking.
When playing with these children, they are like any other kid who of course wants attention. They are disciplined, they do chores, and eat exceptionally well. They have their own clothes and a few of their own items to call their own. While hanging out with them for the first time they were clean, happy, and wanted to play like any other kid. My perception of an orphanage is wrong here, because the Lord is involved. Yes these children were given up and abandoned by the people who brought them into this world, but there is a staff here who have been touched with so much love and patience from the Lord that you don’t see the difference of a kid from an orphanage or a kid from a home with two parents.
I don’t know how the staff people are able to care for so many children 24 hours a day 365 days out of the year, but the Lord gives them the strength. I don’t know how the staff is able to remain healthy and work while the children pass around whatever sickness they acquired at school, but the Lord blesses the staff with health. The Lord provides for those who does his will , if it is of the Lord then all will fall into place. In this place I expected the worst and was corrected, because this place is of the Lords will, and the people working here are his chosen ones.
We also do ministry in the community. Everyday we have a group of people who go to the local jail and visit the inmates their. Some racers go play basketball three times a week at a local rec center, I am one of the loudest cheerleaders for them. Two times a week we go to the state university and hold small group sessions with college students. On Wednesdays we go out on the streets with a big tub of food and feed whoever would like a warm plate of goodness. The possibilities of helping in the community is endless. There are so many types of people to minister to, that I can forsee this being a wonderful month of learning and trying new things.
