Well
I am officially in the Philippines and truly loving it! After 2 days of travel
which included:
hour drive (including a flat tire)–
to Singapore (with a 2 hour time change -back)-
in-between flights-
to Malaysia-
wait –
flight to the Philippines-
drive to Cainta, which is a suburb of Manila.
made for about 26 hours of no sleep!
are staying at an outreach center called the YMC that is part of Kids
International Ministries.
The director and his family are amazing and have donesuch a wonderful job of taking care of us! There is a Children’s Home that this
facility runs right up the street and they also partner with a church next door
which runs a school during the week.
to say, we aren’t lacking in ministries to work with this month. 4 teams from
my squad (N Squad) are serving here this month and then all of M Squad is here
as well- so there are about 85 world racers here total. They cook us 3 meals a
day and we also have beds to sleep in, which is quite nice after sleeping on
the ground for 2 months!
team has been doing a lot of construction, tutoring, and has been working on a
census of the community. (The one morning I tutored the children stood up and
said “Good morning teacher Monica” every time I entered the room!) There are
around 5,000 people who live in the community surrounding the YMC, so we have
been working on a census. This entails us going from home to home asking who
lives there, their names, ages of the children, and any prayer requests or
special needs. The YMC is going to use this information to better meet the
needs in this community. This has been a tedious process because we have to use
a translator (I’m pictured with our amazing translator Mar Lou below), although many people speak English here,
homes are not like homes in the US. We literally walk through a small alleyway
that might be a little wider than me off the main street and from there it is
just random shacks all built onto one another in no particular order or place.
There are no streets, just walkways that snake around turning and twisting.
These are called squatter homes. (picture below: weaving through the alleyways)
The
reason this is so complicated is because every 6 ½ years or so, the landlords
tear the homes down and bulldoze the property. If the squatter lives on the
land for 7 years or longer, then they automatically become the owners of that
piece of land. To prevent this from happening, landlords tear the homes down
and take pictures for the government in order for the property to stay in their
name. This is so sad to see because it clearly adds to the poverty level. There
is no middle class here- it is either the poorest of the poor or the extremely
well off. The other morning I was on a run and I looked over to my left and
there was a beautiful golf course (obviously for the upper class) and then I
looked straight ahead and there are 3 cows walking up the street right where I
was running. CRAZY! Ha
people here are incredible. They are so sweet, welcoming, and hospitable. The
first day that we got here in the bus, people were swarming the bus outside and
children were running around everywhere. The children are precious. They just
want to know your name and to be known themselves. Every time I walk through
the gate of the YMC into the streets they say “Hi Autie Monica” and then
immediately ask if you remember what their names are, and the same is true at
the Children’s Home. The children just want to be loved and to know that they
are important and matter to someone.
I have about 75-100 bug bites on each leg right now. The nurse thought that I
might have chicken pox yesterday because I had so many, but I’m thinking today
that they are just bug bites or an allergic reaction to something. Please be
praying that they heal and heal pretty soon because they are pretty miserable
(especially because it’s so hot here!)
