26 & 27

Update 26

At 9 am we left our "resort" in the back of a truck driven by the house parent of CG.  We dropped our stuff at our new "condo" on our way to CG.  Bekah had sent me learning websites so I loaded a few and showed the CG teacher, Nordeth how to use them.  Several boys got hooked right away.  Chan & I taught English off & on till 2--then we went with several CG staff & kids to the gov't run facility.  We brought 2 large bags of clothing and a huge pot of sticky rice to donate as it seems the gov't doesn't give them enough $$. Boys were cutting wood for cooking as they didn't have $$ for propane for their stoves.  Chan went with Sharon to minister to the abused girls.  A deeply moving hour for them.  I went with Nordeth to where they kept the street kids brought there by the police.  Parents can pick them up after 3 days--but most don't.  The staff there was amazingly caring & often let the kids stay until  they found an orphanage (often CG) for them or they wanted to return to the street--many in search of their family.  When Nordeth prayed with them she asked them what they'd like to pray for--all said to return to their family.  Heartbreak.  Nordeth asked me to play games with them so we played Doggie, Doggie, Bluebird and Duck, Duck, Goose.  Such joy filled the room.  Then Nordeth gathered them and read them a story.  She was so animated and read with such expression adding much background to each page....the kids were completely captivated!  I had chills...in spite of the hot, humid weather.  Each kid then got a coloring page & a few crayons, 2 suckers and a note from a Pennsylvania Sunday school class who had sent them along with a care box to CG.  Several of the CG boys played basketball with kids who were there because they'd been caught stealing.  Sharon is so wise to realize giving to other is often the most healing of all experiences.  Sharon shared many of the boys stories & her experiences while eating later as we treated her to dinner out later.  Then we shopped a bit to stock our new home that they boys had all set up for us when we returned.  Beds were made up & floor mopped.  A few cockroaches liked it too!  Home, sweet, home.

Update 27

Another day so full of emotional moments. I'm exhausted.  How can I capture these moments when they pile up on each other so quickly that I've hardly absorbed one when another one happens.  kind of like huge ocean waves pounding my heart time after time.  Johanna telling me with tears streaming down her face that her Dad left her & later cursed her for her beliefs...how since her parents had been one Muslin & other Catholic...she didn't know which God to choose...how she has never felt loved... til now.  she hugged me & thanked me for giving her strength & love.   And the cook here who is a single mom & feels she is glorifying God by cooking here & hopes to do it the rest of her life.   Irvine who so wished his older brother could find love & peace in Jesus like he has. life. And the most poignant, Daryl who's prayer was that he could visit Taclabon again...the typhoon area & his former home and then turned to me and said, "Mammy, what does BE mean?"  I asked how the word was used and he said, "BE hopeful.  It's in my bible."  Wow.  How do you explain that to a kid who has lost so much and lived on the street as a bigger for years?  I only hope my explanation brought him hope.

We met a few more volunteers today...know a 5 now & 4 are American other Australian.  All long term and all with their own special faith journeys.  Rog spent most of today & yesterday with a crew of boys eager to learn and pitching in whenever they could.   They replaced screens & walls, fortified shelves & patched holes.  He also does tutoring between jobs.  Chan & I continue with our English & reading lessons and showing kids computer learning games.  I went to a big supermarket (Meijer style) to buy fruit for the boys.  It made the cook's eyes sparkle when she told the boys we had a surprise for them.  Fruit is a real treat for them.  But the real treat came when they surprised me with a birthday cake & sang a beautiful song accompanied by JP on the guitar.  Now it was my turn to tear up!  I got lots of tight hugs & high fives from each one.  Chan & Rog were the master minds behind it...and everyone loved...especially me.  At 8 pm, devotions started led by the former house parents.  Though we could understand little, the sincerity of their voices as they sang & prayed spoke clearly.  Two boys told their story (which was translated for us).  Again I'm struck by how horrid their lives have been and how strong their faith is now.  I honestly don't think I have ever felt God's love as overwhelmingly as they do--my comfortable & relatively easy life "shields" me from it...but having the opportunity to see it here...and in many other places we've traveled...to get a glimpse of that is such a blessing and through it, my faith deepens.  

24 & 25

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!