Update 24
Tidbits:
Manila is home to 12 million locally & about another 12 in the towns surrounding it and 6 million showed up for the Pope's mass on the Sunday before he left!
Many of the street kids & families ere taken to a "camp" while the Pope was here
Most pedicab drivers rent the pedicab for $3 per day and their rent for one month including elec & water is $375
Gotta love the fans on the front of many pedicabs--made out of plastic pop bottles.
It was time to get out of Manila...so we called a cab...first guy told us he would charge us P1700 (way more than we'd heard) When Rog tried to bargain he said no one would use meter...if we found one he'd do it for free. Rog walked up the street & talked to another driver who agreed to use his meter but charge p100 more... he told us to bring our luggage to him (probably didn't want to be confronted by first driver). The ride to Antipolo took us in and out of wealthy and poor areas...and sometimes through areas which were a mixture of both. We'd book a 4 bedroom at the Real Cove Resort & we're a little apprehensive when we arrived and found no other guest. Rog & Chan checked out the room while I waited with the luggage. They came back busting with laughter. Turns out we'd misunderstood. 4 bedroom-actually meant 4 beds in one room. And since the 4 bed room's bathroom had no toilet seat & was dirty...we settled into a 3 bed room--should say squeezed as only 1 person at time can leave their bed to get to the bathroom. Cold shower means short shower and no mirror means you just don't care what you look like! BYOT here means Bring Your Own TP and Bring Your Own Towel. On the plus side, we have 4 chilly pools all to ourselves. After our fit of laughter, we went in search of lunch first and then Children's Garden...the home for street boys we'd plan to help at. After asking around, we found both and were warmly welcomed by Sharon, the founder & spirited leader. She gave us the nickel tour introducing us to the boys along the way & then with gusto told us the story of Children's Garden (CG). In 2004, she and a friend roamed the streets befriending street kids...her heart ached for them so she began to pray for a way to help the boys become good men so they could be good husbands & fathers and thus break the cycle. In 2006, a lady gave her a building and her dream began to blossom. She said she has remained very close to God because she must lean on Him all the time...for money and direction. The boys decide on their own to come and leave as they will. Most leave at least once but most come back. Sharon welcomes them back with a forgiving heart, like the prodigal son. They are like a family where love of God & each other is strong and education is important. Now some of her "first boys" come back to work and minister to the new ones. All of them go weekly back to the streets, to a joil, hospital, and to a home for abused girls...to spend time loving, encouraging hope & praying with them. Inspiring! It was almost 5 by now and some boys asked us to play a card game which was a great way to get to know some of the boys. We left in time to pick up a few groceries at a fairly large grocery store & got a ride back to our "resort" where we sat on our beds & ate. Opening the cheese slices proved to be an almost impossible task as the cheese was so thing we literally had to scrape it off the plastic...which brought on more laughter.
Update 25
Day 2 in Antipolo started by riding a tricycle that chugged up the mountain & swerved around the sharp turns in and out of the traffic...a real live Disney ride! Breakfast was sugared pig fat--not to be confused with bacon-- and fried eggs. Rolls came with my meal so I told the waiter I'd asked for toast instead--he took my rolls & quite a while later, he returned with my same rolls...toasted! As Chan said, you just can't make up these stories. Soon after we got to CG we were surrounded by boys eager to learn from the books I'd brought with me. The rest of the day we were all teaching someone something. One guy practiced his guitar & played a song Chan loved so she sang along with him. A bit later, an older boy asked her to go with him to escort a younger kids to school. He held her hand and said, "They are all looking at you but don't be confused." Sharon invited us to stay in a rental condo nearby CG. It was newly built with only a sing & bathroom. She plans to let the boys over 18 live there with Billy, a USA volunteer who was staying for another year. Look like a better deal than our "resort" plus a lot cheaper so with help, we carried 3 mattresses, a fan, bucket, broom & a few dishes to our new home. We set out looking for dinner...found a Chinese restaurant and way over ordered. Stuffed ourselves & still walked out with a big left-over bag which we soon gave away. After another tricycle ride, we each fell into our our beds...Papa bear, Mama Bear and Goldilocks!
