Rich Blessings

Today was my last day at Cashew and my last night at Mango. I have struggled with the knowledge that I would be leaving before the rest of the group due to the fact that I have to be at school on June 7th but it didn't really hit me until today how much I'm going to miss the people here in Payatas.

Yesterday, Tirso, the headteacher at Cashew, presented me with a Cashew Tree House/ASCF medal and card signed by all the staff members at Cashew. I will admit, the vision blurred for a few moments. Today, when we were packing up to leave, Tirso shook my hand and said how much he appreciated the work I had done over the last week. They have been the most gracious people to serve with this week. I'm not using the word "work" because never did it seem like real work.

Tonight was my last night with the Mango kids as I am expected to be on an Emirates flight to London at midnight tomorrow. Friday night devotions are simply fun and games (literally) and I had a blast playing with the kids. Just as everything was coming to a close, Christy, the oldest Mango child, called me up and asked that I sit on a stool at the front of the room. A representative from each age group (Elementary girls, elementary boys, senior girls, and senior boys) shared a few words, in English, which meant a lot because the elementary kids and the senior boys struggle to communicate fluently in English. They all finished their speech with a hug. The senior boys' rep, Christian, was very shy and needed much encouragement from the other kids to come and give me a hug. David, one of the group members, reckons Christian may have had a little crush. Bless.

As you probably guessed it, the tears began to trickle. This trickle became a stream when they started singing for me and coming up to hug me. They also presented me with a large card that each of them had signed. The tears, which had abated, were back in full force. Naturally, I had come ill-prepared so David let me steal a Kleenex from his stash. I was able to tell them how much I appreciated everything they had done for me this last week and how I very much want to come back to Mango if I can. This was met with loud cheers. I honestly do want to come back and will, if needed, move heaven and earth to make it happen. I also told them how they lived out the story of the women with only two coins (see Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4) who literally gave everything she had to the treasury. The people at Mango and Cashew have given us their home, their food, their drinks, and, in some cases, their chairs to ensure that we are comfortable, happy, and enjoying our time in the Philippines. How is it possible to not walk away from that situation without feeling overwhelmingly blessed?

A plus tard...

Kristen

A video of the kids singing during devotions. Apologies for the quality. Due to the high cost of electricity in the Philippines, they only use LED lights at Mango.

Travelling in the Philippines

As you might suspect, travelling in the Philippines is not exactly like travelling in Canada or the UK. Although there are many cars on the road, many of them familiar makes and models, our primary mode of transport has been a jeepney. What's a jeepney, you ask? Put simply, a jeepney is scrap metal slapped together in order to pass itself off as a legitimate vehicle. Jeepneys are every where and even serve as 'buses' for the public transport system out in Payatas. There are no seatbelts which is just as well as there are no doors; the driver and his co-pilot are shielded only by a piece of cloth strung up like a curtain.

While the jeepney was fun at first, the appeal has now worn off and I loath getting in them to travel anywhere. They are dusty, noisy, and bouncy. However, I mustn't complain as they have been what gets us to and from Cashew every day.

The other interesting thing about driving in the Philippines is how people appear to regard the painted lines on the road, that mark out driving lines, more as general suggestions on where to drive rather than actual fact. The horn is also used more freely - I truly believe that Filipino drivers consider the horn to be as essential to the car as the gas pedal. As Graham (our team leader) summed it up: "They honk when they turn right, they honk when they turn left, they honk when they pass somebody, and they honk at people to get out of the way." Sadly, the only thing Filipino drivers don't do is signal. Minor oversight, most likely.

The inside of our jeepney.

Kristen

The Smells of Payatas

One of things that hits you before you can even see anything is the garbage that is strewn all over the streets and other areas in Payatas. There are two large garbage dumps in Payatas and, lucky us, we pass both of them on the way to Cashew. The smell is unreal. The best comparison I can come up with is a very large diaper pail that has been left full of dirty diapers for days on end during a 30 degree heat wave. The other pervading smell is that of burning garbage, a smell I recognise from childhood when we lived in the country and Dad would burn the garbage in a barrel out behind the house. Both smells turn my stomach and make me pray for the ride to Cashew to be completed ASAP.

Unfortunately, Cashew is located very close to one of the garbage dumps so we cannot escape the smells while we are working. If the winds are right and you happen to be near a window, the stench can nearly bring you to your knees. The smell intensifies after a rain which tends to happen almost daily and in large quantities. As Gemma (one of our group members) puts it: "It just chucks it down."

The best part of the drive home is when we begin the descent towards Mango; there are no dumps around Mango so the air tends to be quite clean and scent-free. Occasionally, the smell of burning wafts our way but it is nothing like the smell around Cashew. Sadly, most of the drive takes place in and around the garbage dumps which leaves me no option but to put on the iPod, close my eyes, and pray Eddie drives just a little bit faster that day.

Kristen

First (and second, and third, and so on...) Impressions

After 5 full days in Manila, I (and the group) have managed to settle in and acclimatize as much as possible for 7 people who grew up in the Western world. While the humidity still knocks us to our knees at times, we have become increasingly accepting of it and now don't even notice it until something happens to draw our attention to the clothing clinging to our bodies. For the most part, sleep has eluded us thanks to the heat and humidity. Last night, I had the best sleep I've had since arriving in the Philippines - a slumber that would be considered decent in the UK and therefore considered a gift from God in Manila.

Our primary purpose in Manila is working with a charity called Asian Students Christian Foundation which is actually based in Camberley. ASCF runs a few projects: Mango House, a children's home; Cashew Tree House, a nursery school; Papaya Academy, a primary school; and the Grapevine Project, a Saturday education program. We have been working to paint Cashew and have done a bang-up job thus far. The downstairs walls are a terracotta colour while the baseboards and doorways are lime green. Upstairs, the walls are lime green with terracotta for the baseboards and doorways. Some members of our team were delighted with the colour choices; I'm of the belief that they were chosen by someone who either: A) Has not been blessed with the gift of sight, B) Is colour blind or C) Has no taste. Quite possibly, it's a combination of all three. I must admit, it's turning out better than I expected. We have been joined by many members of the Cashew Tree family, i.e. parent volunteers. They feed us a hot meal at lunch and then give us treats in the afternoon. Friday it was caramelised bananas while today was sweet potato fries (covered in caramelised brown sugar) and coconut jam (sugar cane syrup mixed with coconut milk). The Filipinos like their food sweet, salty, and fried. Despite this, I've seen max 4 fat Filipinos in the last 5 days.

The people here have treated us like we are royalty; I rather feel like a visiting dignitary than a Canadian coming to sling some paint on the walls. However, for these people, our presence means the world to them as it means their school can receive a much-needed facelift. Words like "we are honoured" and "we are so blessed to have you" are oftentimes how we are greeted when meeting people connected with ASCF. And, you know they mean it. We are currently staying at the children's home and have had every need looked after. The Filipinos think we're slightly mad for drinking so much water but hey ho. Little touches have meant so much. For example, the night we arrived we were taken to the water to get some water. I noticed a jar of Cheez Whiz (!) on the shelf and got very excited. Friday morning, we get down to the dining room and discover that someone has put Cheez Whiz on the table for me to have with a piece of bread. It appears every morning. All we have to do is express interest in something/someone and the next thing we know, it has been made available to us. The children all try and give up their seat for us and love holding our hand/wrist/arm. Physical touch is very important to the Filipinos and they are very free with their hugs - they wear their hearts on their sleeves and have done so since the first meeting. The kids refer to me as "Ate (ah-tay) Kristen" which is a term of respect for an older female. Men are referred to as "kuya" (koo-yah); however, for some reason the kids have referred to the male members of our contingent as "uncle". It's very sweet, though, and I love it. Every night we meet with the kids for devotions and after it's all finished, the kids give us hugs before going to bed. Tonight's hug session lasted a looooong time. However, it's the best part of devotions for me.

Today, Craig, the executive director of ASCF who grew up in the UK but has lived in Manila for 27 years, took 4 of us to visit a family who live in the slums near Cashew. The other 3 in our group had gone Friday and today was our turn. Cashew is next to a mountain of garbage (it's sickening how large the hill is) and many of the kids come from families that depend on the garbage dump to eke out an income to support their families. All of the people living in the area are squatters (including Cashew) and have been threatened with eviction. Craig said he hopes he has put enough measures into place to save Cashew should anything happen.

We visited the Capuz family who have 3 beautiful girls: Jireh, Angelika, and Shakinah. They lived in what could (generously) be called a shack. To be honest, the words I want to use are NSFW so I'll just leave it at that. When we arrived, the girls were playing in a bathtub of water - it was close to 35 degrees today - and full of smiles and giggles. They ushered us into their home (it's a home more than it is a house) and we got to talk to them and ask them questions. All three girls are in school and all three girls have marks I wish I could have; Jireh's lowest mark was 84 in CLE (Christian Life Education). I fought back the tears the entire time I was there and indulged in a bit of cry once we were walking back to Cashew. I couldn't believe that anyone, let alone children, should be made to live in that type of squalor. Their roof is full of holes that lets in rain (more like acts akin to a sieve) and since the rainy season is beginning, it means they live in water. Shakinah is a little genius (all three girls are brilliant) and would like to attend the local private school but is unable to because of the exorbitant school fees: 10,000 PHP for tuition/year. This is about £300 or $450. All I could think about were the children at my school back in England and how they routinely whine about how miserable Kings is, how much they hate it, etc. Here, I'm meeting kids who want an education more than anything but can't have it because their father's only source of income comes from scrounging for goods in a garbage dump. It made me feel nauseous just thinking about it. I had to fight back the tears when all I wanted to do was weep and ask God a classic: "How can you let this happen?!" question. The pictures below are of the three girls and their home. The girls go: Jireh (on the left), Shakinah, and Angelika (on the right).

I do believe I will sign off now and head to bed. The alarm goes off at 6 AM and it's a serious struggle to get out of bed. I tend to stay in bed and shower last; a wet bathroom floor (our ensuite is a wet room) is a small price to pay for 40 extra minutes of sleep!

I do have access to email so feel free to drop me a line (or more!).

Love

Kristen