Today my team is going into Tondo to see where we will be serving & to start our ministry there. Tondo- is considered the lowest, poorest, and most underdeveloped district of the Philippines (literally a dumpsite where thousands of people live). It is the place where only desperate people live, and if you mention it to a local in any other part of the Philippines they will have a negative response or look on their face.
I am not going to lie- my heart is already breaking. Yesterday, as we were in a taxi ride to our hostel, as the taxi would stop in the streets (cause the traffic is crazy and the driving is even crazier !) -street kids would see us in the car and walk up to the windows looking in & wanting us to help them. It was so heartbreaking, I immediately started crying & I had to turn my head away because I could not look them in the eyes.
Just driving down the streets everywhere you look there are people living on the streets, living in small shacks they made, it is like nothing I have ever seen before. Some of the buildings are gorgeous and huge and nicer than any building I have ever seen, then just down the street is people living on the streets and wandering around, it's hard to grasp both of these extremes in the same area.
This month in Tondo is going to be extremely difficult, to be honest I am kind of dreading going to the dumpsite today knowing what I see will be hard to process & not like anything I have ever seen before. God called my team here & Jesus is our strength, He is with us as we minsiter to these people & He loves each one of them so much, this is the truth I have to hold onto, as it is so easy to see such poor & negative situations and immediately think there is no hope. The truth is, Jesus can change any life, there is nothing impossible for him. My prayer is that as I go into Tondo, God will help me to see the poverty but even more than that, that I will see hope.
Being in the Philippines is a whole new world, but I already feel such a deep love & compassion for the people here. Praying for God to do big things in Tondo, & I am excited to share the stories with you. Please continually keep my team in prayer !
Stay tuned for more blogs soon !
PS- Thank you to the annonymous donors ! I appreciate your donation SO much & am so blessed by your generosity!
