Saturday, June 4, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Fire victims of Gruar
Yesterday we went into a basketball court to visit with around two hundred people who have nowhere else to live right now. A fire broke out in their squatter village a month ago and took what little they owned. It happens to be the same squatter we do a program in on thursdays. One of the Danish girls provided me this picture that you see above, of a woman and her bed. (Her baby is sleeping next to her on that pillow.) Since the Danish are still with us they did some more dancing for the kids, which they loved! They also did a few drama's, and then Pastor Ding whipped out this awesome, passionate sermon, which I didn't understand at all haha, but definitely got the idea. When Pastor Ding gets fired up it's impossible to ignore him. What a champ! 30 or 40 people raised their hands to accept the Lord following his message, praise God! I pray that they aren't satisfied with just being saved, but that they have a hunger for more- for a relationship with God daily
Today was SUPERKIDS Saturday!!! One of my favourite days of the week :D I sat with some of the same kids that I used to sit with last year- Nicole, and Renz, Jean Paul, David, and of course tons came to sit on/with me whose names I don't know yet. It was so fun!!! Shouting out prayers and bible verses, playing games, singing songs, watching a special dance by a few of the kids... it's all awesome. Then our feeding portion of the day commenced, which of course is organized, efficient, and loooong haha. It takes a long time to feed 450 kids! I wish I could explain every part so you could understand how complex it is! But maybe it's just something you have to see. It always feels crazy and overwhelming but in the end, we get all the kids fed and they leave with full bellies and hopefully smiles! It was so much fun, felt so great.
I'm pumped for tomorrow- church and youth group. I feel so much love here. I love these kids, and take ownership in a way. i know them, they know me, I want to look out for them and make sure they are okay. Well, better than okay.
Angle.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Round two!
I've been back for one day.
The plane landed in Manila at 9:30 yesterday morning, June 2. I am not in the least embarrassed to confess that I cried tears of joy as I saw the Manila harbor coming into view, completely overwhelmed. The humidity hit me like a wall, no suprise there. I got through customs, brushed my teeth and changed in the washroom, and headed out to grab a cab. He brought me to the church instead of to Treesa's- she wasn't going to be home and I decided I'd rather go and see all my friends first rather than crash in an empty house. I had the driver stop one block away from the church so that i could walk in. So much has changed... Anyway, I walked through the door to find the Danish team painting away, and just past them I saw Ate Rona! So I followed her into the church, dropped my bags, and we proceeded to hug with lots of squealing and crying on my part. I was actually shaking! Ahh. It's so good to be back.
As it was thursday, most of my friends started to trickle in. One by one I got to hug the youth of this church who I LOVE. I should explain for those reading who don't know, on thursdays we make a butt load of rice and ulam (yesterday our ulam was soup) and then bring it to Gruar, a squatter village nearby. We gather all the kids together and sing songs with them, dance, do a drama or tell a story with a biblical message, and then we pray and hand out the food. Since we have the Danish team here, they were our entertainment yesterday. They were wonderful! The kids especially liked when they performed a hip hop dance haha. Typical for them- dancing really grabs their attention. I recognized a lot of kids, and some of them remembered me. I saw Mae Mae. She was the girl who ran at me and jumped into my arms the very first time I went to Gruar, she had no idea who I was but she decided to just run at me! So since then we've been good buddies. I walked up to her and Ate Beth called her name, she looked at me kind of like a deer caught in headlights haha, and after a few seconds she LIT UP! We hugged, and pretty much kept hugging throughout our time there. I held up a few of the smaller kids so that they could see the Danish team's program, saw all kinds of things I'd forgotten I'd see... things that make me sad... But being back in that squatter village confirmed so much in my heart and in my spirit. God uses me there. God uses me here. I can LOVE these kids and it can make a difference in their lives! Not because of me, but because of Jesus in me. Awesome :)
So we finished up at Gruar, a fulfilling and blessed time, and headed back to the church. Pastor Ding and Ate Mona drove me over to Treesa's house. Only Mike was home, so he took my bags and we went to the kitchen where I tried to eat as much as I could, considering that it was 4 or 5 in the morning as far as my body was concerned! Treesa came, tried to feed me more, (lol) and we chatted about her daughters upcoming graduation, and how crazy everything has been getting ready for that. At about 8:00 I went into the room I'm staying in to get ready for bed and almost slept in all my dirty clothes haha, I could barely muster the energy to shower but I felt a lot better after I did. I slept SOLID, it was wonderful. All the way till 8 when Treesa woke me up to take me over to the church.
So that's where I am right now, 9:46 am, typing away on the church computer. Today we go back to Gruar, not to do our big program but to visit with some people who had their homes recently burned down- again. (Squatter villages are vulnerable to fires, with burning garbage and homes made partially of cardboard...) So we're making pancit, I'll help with that and maybe wander around Sunset Drive in the new grocery store and check out some of the newer shops.
Will write again soon, much love!
Ange.
The plane landed in Manila at 9:30 yesterday morning, June 2. I am not in the least embarrassed to confess that I cried tears of joy as I saw the Manila harbor coming into view, completely overwhelmed. The humidity hit me like a wall, no suprise there. I got through customs, brushed my teeth and changed in the washroom, and headed out to grab a cab. He brought me to the church instead of to Treesa's- she wasn't going to be home and I decided I'd rather go and see all my friends first rather than crash in an empty house. I had the driver stop one block away from the church so that i could walk in. So much has changed... Anyway, I walked through the door to find the Danish team painting away, and just past them I saw Ate Rona! So I followed her into the church, dropped my bags, and we proceeded to hug with lots of squealing and crying on my part. I was actually shaking! Ahh. It's so good to be back.
As it was thursday, most of my friends started to trickle in. One by one I got to hug the youth of this church who I LOVE. I should explain for those reading who don't know, on thursdays we make a butt load of rice and ulam (yesterday our ulam was soup) and then bring it to Gruar, a squatter village nearby. We gather all the kids together and sing songs with them, dance, do a drama or tell a story with a biblical message, and then we pray and hand out the food. Since we have the Danish team here, they were our entertainment yesterday. They were wonderful! The kids especially liked when they performed a hip hop dance haha. Typical for them- dancing really grabs their attention. I recognized a lot of kids, and some of them remembered me. I saw Mae Mae. She was the girl who ran at me and jumped into my arms the very first time I went to Gruar, she had no idea who I was but she decided to just run at me! So since then we've been good buddies. I walked up to her and Ate Beth called her name, she looked at me kind of like a deer caught in headlights haha, and after a few seconds she LIT UP! We hugged, and pretty much kept hugging throughout our time there. I held up a few of the smaller kids so that they could see the Danish team's program, saw all kinds of things I'd forgotten I'd see... things that make me sad... But being back in that squatter village confirmed so much in my heart and in my spirit. God uses me there. God uses me here. I can LOVE these kids and it can make a difference in their lives! Not because of me, but because of Jesus in me. Awesome :)
So we finished up at Gruar, a fulfilling and blessed time, and headed back to the church. Pastor Ding and Ate Mona drove me over to Treesa's house. Only Mike was home, so he took my bags and we went to the kitchen where I tried to eat as much as I could, considering that it was 4 or 5 in the morning as far as my body was concerned! Treesa came, tried to feed me more, (lol) and we chatted about her daughters upcoming graduation, and how crazy everything has been getting ready for that. At about 8:00 I went into the room I'm staying in to get ready for bed and almost slept in all my dirty clothes haha, I could barely muster the energy to shower but I felt a lot better after I did. I slept SOLID, it was wonderful. All the way till 8 when Treesa woke me up to take me over to the church.
So that's where I am right now, 9:46 am, typing away on the church computer. Today we go back to Gruar, not to do our big program but to visit with some people who had their homes recently burned down- again. (Squatter villages are vulnerable to fires, with burning garbage and homes made partially of cardboard...) So we're making pancit, I'll help with that and maybe wander around Sunset Drive in the new grocery store and check out some of the newer shops.
Will write again soon, much love!
Ange.
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