So much has happened this past month in the Philippines. I would like to share with you some of the things I did through some pictures:
The Boy’s Home
On Tuesdays and Thursdays about five of the guys here would drive over to the Boy’s Home – a place for 17 male teens that where found on the street with no where to go. Most of them where on “Rugbee” a glue they would smell to take away hunger pains. These boys where chosen from the many because they showed signs that they wanted to change their life.
I was a bit nervous at first because I didn’t think these guys would be receptive to us because of their rough backgrounds. But they were so warm and friendly to us. I always looked forward to spending time with them. We tutored them in English and in Math. Some of them have had no education so they have been working on the basics. We also played basketball and sang worship songs with them.
I was talking with one of the boys before I left about his family background. He said that it was his mom’s birthday the day before. I asked if he knew where his mom was. He said she died 4 years ago. I asked if he knew where his dad was. He said he had no idea.
He asked me, “Where is your mom?”
“At home,” I replied.
“Where is your Dad”
“At home,” I said again.
“You have a beautiful life,” he said.
Swimming Lessons
We had the opportunity to take the kids from the orphanage to a swimming pool down the street and teach them how to swim – an important life skill that many kids here never learn.
The last “lesson” was just to have fun. I ended up throwing kids in the water for at least an hour straight. They kept attacking me from all angles and I kept throwing them higher and further.
School
Some mornings I would walk to the school and help tutor the pre-K kids with flash cards and just help tame the wild mob.
Block Party
One Saturday morning we helped another mission team that was here put on a block party for the community at the orphanage. We had over 500 kids come and many mothers. We had a live band from the church to play worship music. We did face painting, water balloon tossing, sidewalk chalk drawing, jump roping and we let the kids play on the play ground. -It was pretty much chaos and I learned a lot about crowd control. Like things we lacked – physical barriers, specific instructions, and a mega phone.
We also gave out 650 bags of food with rice, canned food, noodles, and a copy of the New Testament in their own language.
All the kids got an apple when they left- a rare treat.
The Orphanage
I also spent a lot of my time at the orphanage playing with and taking care of the kids.
Fun
We took one day off to go on a canoe trip down a canyon about 2 hrs from where we where staying. It was so beautiful. I felt like I was entering Jurassic Park. We weren’t just on any old canoe tho. These where at least 25 feet long. Three sat in the middle and 2 guides at the ends. The guides where constantly getting out to push off rocks with their feet to get us upstream against rapids. There were a lot of water falls and one big one at the end. I really enjoy the outdoors and God’s creation so this was a special treat for me.
One evening some of us climbed up the hill that is behind the orphanage. It was about a 400 foot change in elevation. It provided a beautiful view of Manila and an amazing sunset. In the picture there is a huge rain cloud covering downtown Manila.
