“Welcome to my wonderful mansion!” Perla said. “Please, come, have a seat.” Her face glimmered and she smiled full as she walked inside her small house made of bamboo and palm branches. “Oh… I don’t have any chairs.” Only a woman with this much joy could forget that she doesn’t have seats for her guests.
Perla and her husband Jimmy are members of Manta-angan Full Gospel Church in the Philippines. Pastor Robert Nunez and his wife Virgie led us around to several members’ homes for the afternoon. We talked briefly, prayed for their needs and moved on to the next of many bamboo shanties.
“Look at my beautiful stained glass roof,” Perla said with a jesting smile. I looked up past the large rat running across the beam just above my head at the blue tint showing itself between branches – a tarp. What a beautiful mind this woman has. I looked back at the rat as it crossed above Krystle’s head. We exchanged looks of disbelief.
A lady passed by outside carrying delicious looking fried bananas. I noticed that I was getting hungry.
Perla’s eyes followed mine outside. “Oh! You guys want fried sweet bananas?” she asked emphatically. I figured this must be her daughter and that this was one of their sources of income. I couldn’t take it, but the smile on her face told me I had no choice. She proceeded to pass them out not only to the other three of us, but also to the entourage of five children following us around for the day. While we ate I looked up to thank Perla. She was paying the banana woman.
We all thanked Perla and Jimmy and left. What a beautiful woman.
