What better way to gain appreciation for life than to cradle in your arms a baby orphan? I had the best day of my trip yesterday. We went to an orphanage called Gentle Hands which rescues and takes in abandoned, malnourished, and abused children, mostly from a squatter village nearby. www.gentlehands.typepad.com They take photos of the children when they come in for their file and when you look at pictures, then at the kids now you can hardly recognize them. We took out all the children to a park near the orphanage. A woman who lives next door pointed at a little girl Taylor was holding. She was shocked to see this little girl now, because she had seen her when she first came in. She said the girl was so skinny before, but now she has a chubby belly, praise God! Gentle Hands is an incredible place. There are so many kids there to hold and love and play with. One little boy in particular got attached to me. He would cry every time I put him down, and eventually I didn't want to put him down at all. When I did so that he could eat, as soon as he was finished he sat there on the floor and looked for me. So when he found me he came crawling over and reached up to be held. Ugh it just melted my heart! When I was holding the babies, I kept thinking how natural it felt, and how easy it was for me in those moments to show love to some really special kids. It is one thing for me to say "this child has no parents", but when I'm holding him in my arms and he lays his head down on my chest, it hits me that he has no mommy, and he has no daddy. I don't know what to think, but all I can do is just hug him and kiss him. I hope we go back soon.
We were all tired after the long day. It was the best work I've ever done, but it was draining. This morning we woke up with plans to go over to a garbage dump where people live, and kind of observe what it's like there. But after talking with our Filipino friends it turns out it's too dangerous for the team to go, partially because we're white so we stand out, but also because of Dani and I being women. It was disappointing, but it makes sense. And there wouldn't be a whole lot we could do that's beneficial anyway. So instead we went to Greenhills! We got on an airconditioned bus that took us straight there. It's a big, huge mall with some stores but mostly a ton of market stalls. I can't describe how many there are haha but basically there's a lot of stuff. I got lost a couple times in the maze of stalls and booths. I bargained for everything I bought. I got a big, beautiful pinkish pearl necklace (genuine pearls) for 400 pesos, ten dollars! It was supposed to be 800 so I was pretty pleased with myself :) You can tell if the pearls are real or not by rubbing them on your teeth. If it feels smooth, they are imitation. You want it to feel like sand against your tooth, and then you know it's real. I got a few other pearly goods and some t shirts and shorts. I was only there for a few hours but I really enjoyed myself.
So now it's 7:30 in the evening and I think I might go over to the church and see what's going on over there. Tomorrow is my fasting day (every friday) so you can keep me in your prayers! God bless, love you!
ang.
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