a little bit deeper
Posted by Sara Stuart on Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Under: a new adventure ... philippines
Yesterday's post was a very short one just to let you know about my activities here in Manila with IT Tender. Now I want to give you more.
Sunday:
The first day I arrived, I was feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement. I was nervous for how I would find Karin, my wonderful host who was picking me up, and how I would fit in here with the Filipino culture. As it turned out, these worries have been for nothing. Once I stepped out of the airport, Karin started jumping and waving. I went and met here and Ate Lorna (a very kind and caring woman on staff with IT Tender) and we got a taxi home. It was really humid and hot even though it was only 8 in the morning. It was a nice drive from the airport to Karin's appartment in an air conditioned van. As Karin pointed out where the IT Tender center is, the communities where their clients come from and other places I would need to know in the area, I had many memories from Bangladesh flooding back. There is a specific smell about the South East Asian nations, maybe it's their sewage systems, but I found myself thinking of my time in Bangladesh and the wonderful team I was with.
After getting to her appartment, I unpacked a bit and took a shower and changed. A few short hours later, once the adrennaline began to wear off and jet lag began to hit me, Karin and I went to the other side of town to a very western looking and feeling out door mall. It was here that I met the Witt's for a short bit. It was so nice to see them, familiar faces in a foreign place. Seeing them made my trip feel more like a dream than reality, but it was such a blessing to see them. When Karin finished her afternoon service at church we all went for dinner. My stomach was still on Ontario time so any food was making it feel sick. As Karin and I rode the bus, jeep and trike to her appartment, I was nearly falling alseep; once we got back to the appartment, I changed and basically passed out on my bed.
Monday:
After a somewhat restless night's sleep, the next morning Karin had a meeting, so I spent the morning with two sweet girls from Great Britain who were just finishing up a 2 month stay, Lizzy and Megan. We went to the mall so they could get some souvenirs and so I could buy some food for my time here. They found a place to print pictures, but it took at least 45 minutes, so we were sitting and waiting a while. While Megan was waiting at the counter, Lizzy and I had a random and slightly awkward encounter with a gentleman who was using a computer. At first he told us he was a bishop, then he handed us his card and said he was a para-legal. He asked Lizzy if she was in MI6 and said he would help us if we ever needed anything.
After this we had lunch and headed to the IT Tender office for the team meeting. I finally met John Coffey, the team leader, and he was very welcoming and seemed excited to have me here. I was officially welcomed by the rest of the team and the three of us girls sat and listened as they discussed upcoming events. John kept apologizing that the meeting was taking a long time, but I was just happy to be able to the inner workings of IT Tender and see everything that goes into each event. After the meeting, Megan and Lizzy stayed back to order pizza for their going away party that night and Karin and I went home to rest a bit. Within two hours, everyone on the IT Tender team came to Karin's place for a really fun despidida (farewell party). We enjoyed pizza, cake, each others company and a fun game of trivia. Then the team said final words and prayed over the two girls. It was so touching to see how much of an impact they had on the team and to hear of the impact they had on the clients, kids and youth in just two months. I hope I can have a similar impact here and that this experience has a deep and lasting impact on me.
Tuesday:
After a better night's sleep, only waking up once, we at Karin's appartment woke up slowly and the girls began to pack. We had a special breakfast of pancakes as a celebration of their last morning in Manila. As we were eating, the girls gave me a few tips, listed their top 5 and shared some final thoughts. It was cool to hear their insight from being here for 2 months. I only wish that I could be here as long. Then Karin took me to the IT Tender Center to have my orientation with John. It was so nice to sit and listen to him share all about this organization and to hear the back stories of everyone who works here. It is so clear that he has a passion for what they do and I know that he is a blessing to the team here. I only pray that when I find my path for my future, that I will be as passionate about what I am doing and everything my team stands for. After, I went downstairs to help some of the kids make Christmas cards that will be sold in Ontario at the International Marketplace, hosted by Ontario Christian Gleaners in November. Ontario Christian Gleaners provides some of the food that IT Tender uses for their feeding program with no required payment of money, just pictures and stories of how their gift is helping children in Manila. John mentioned this event in my orientation and said that he cannot make it but that Greg Reader, his contact with our home church, would be there. He also mentioned that they were looking for one more volunteer. I gladly offered. It will be such a cool opportunity to be able to sell the cards that I helped the kids make and to be able to promote this wonderful organization that I have the privilege of working along side this summer.
After the cards, I helped divide up the food Ate Lorna had made for the feeding program "Food for Life" that evening. Then we had a bunch of free time. During that time I helped Jam, another staff member and John's fiance, keep working on the cards. They're really pretty. Then it came time to go do the feeding program. We transported the supplies and set up. It had been raining much of the day so the night went slowly. We had 26 of the 49 kids come and they slowly trickled in. The kids were measured for height and weight and then they participated in a craft, then they played games as they waited for food (duck, duck, goose and doggy, doggy, who's got your bone). Then the kids lined up, prayed, got a serving of vitamins and food. After eating the ran around and played some games. One girl fell and hit her head, but after a bit of panic and the eagle eye of Amanda (an American trained nurse), she was deemed fine. After the program, Karin and I took the dishes home to be washed to be used the next day.
Wednesday:
Today I woke up nice and early, 6am. The sun rises much earlier here, around 5:30am and sets much earlier as well, around 6:30pm. So I tried to fall asleep again, but the effort was in vain. Karin left at 7:30 for her tagalog school, and Ate Lorna came to get me and take me to the Center at 8:30am. We took the feeding supplies with us so we can refill them for tonight. I joined Cecille with the Simula Learning Center. It is a pre-school program for the local kids from ages 4-6. Cecille was once a client of IT Tender and discovered her passion for teaching while volunteering with them. When she became full time staff she became the teacher of this program and has continued to prepare the children for school. She ash recently received a generous gift from an anonymous donor to pay for her college degree in pre-school education. She is seriously a miracle worker with the kids and can command their full attention and silence with just one syllable.
After the program, she took me to see the community that most of these kids come from called Napacor. Most of them live just behind the Center in tiny huts that are all built around an electricity tower. Many of the children also gather under a nearby bridge for shade and a place to take a nap. Under the same bridge is where Cecille's family has a little shop that sells snacks, cigarettes and shirts. Cecille goes to work at the shop when she is done classes for the day and both she and her family spend many nights sleeping there. The government has made it illegal for shops to be set up there and for people to live there, but both Cecille's family and the many others who live under this bridge have no where else to go. It was an eye opener as to the conditions of such an overpopulated and impoverished city like Manila.
After this I came back to the Center and helped Jam make another card design for the Marketplace. After a while, John and Ate Lorna came to get us to go eat lunch. We had barbequed chicken, filipino pancakes and rice. This was my first real filipino meal and it was delicious! It was really fun to go around the corner to the Center and buy it from the locals and then to sit down with the team and share a meal and community together. I am really loving this experience, and I just may come back at least for a longer short term trip to see if this is where God has called me. I love the values of IT Tender and the obvious heart and soul that all the team members put into everything they do here. Tonight we have the feeding program again, which should be rowdier because there has been no rain today.
Please keep praying for the IT Tender team as they go about their daily tasks and do everything they can to provide and empower those they serve and minister to. They are being the hands and feet of Jesus here in Manila.
Sunday:
The first day I arrived, I was feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement. I was nervous for how I would find Karin, my wonderful host who was picking me up, and how I would fit in here with the Filipino culture. As it turned out, these worries have been for nothing. Once I stepped out of the airport, Karin started jumping and waving. I went and met here and Ate Lorna (a very kind and caring woman on staff with IT Tender) and we got a taxi home. It was really humid and hot even though it was only 8 in the morning. It was a nice drive from the airport to Karin's appartment in an air conditioned van. As Karin pointed out where the IT Tender center is, the communities where their clients come from and other places I would need to know in the area, I had many memories from Bangladesh flooding back. There is a specific smell about the South East Asian nations, maybe it's their sewage systems, but I found myself thinking of my time in Bangladesh and the wonderful team I was with.
After getting to her appartment, I unpacked a bit and took a shower and changed. A few short hours later, once the adrennaline began to wear off and jet lag began to hit me, Karin and I went to the other side of town to a very western looking and feeling out door mall. It was here that I met the Witt's for a short bit. It was so nice to see them, familiar faces in a foreign place. Seeing them made my trip feel more like a dream than reality, but it was such a blessing to see them. When Karin finished her afternoon service at church we all went for dinner. My stomach was still on Ontario time so any food was making it feel sick. As Karin and I rode the bus, jeep and trike to her appartment, I was nearly falling alseep; once we got back to the appartment, I changed and basically passed out on my bed.
Monday:
After a somewhat restless night's sleep, the next morning Karin had a meeting, so I spent the morning with two sweet girls from Great Britain who were just finishing up a 2 month stay, Lizzy and Megan. We went to the mall so they could get some souvenirs and so I could buy some food for my time here. They found a place to print pictures, but it took at least 45 minutes, so we were sitting and waiting a while. While Megan was waiting at the counter, Lizzy and I had a random and slightly awkward encounter with a gentleman who was using a computer. At first he told us he was a bishop, then he handed us his card and said he was a para-legal. He asked Lizzy if she was in MI6 and said he would help us if we ever needed anything.
After this we had lunch and headed to the IT Tender office for the team meeting. I finally met John Coffey, the team leader, and he was very welcoming and seemed excited to have me here. I was officially welcomed by the rest of the team and the three of us girls sat and listened as they discussed upcoming events. John kept apologizing that the meeting was taking a long time, but I was just happy to be able to the inner workings of IT Tender and see everything that goes into each event. After the meeting, Megan and Lizzy stayed back to order pizza for their going away party that night and Karin and I went home to rest a bit. Within two hours, everyone on the IT Tender team came to Karin's place for a really fun despidida (farewell party). We enjoyed pizza, cake, each others company and a fun game of trivia. Then the team said final words and prayed over the two girls. It was so touching to see how much of an impact they had on the team and to hear of the impact they had on the clients, kids and youth in just two months. I hope I can have a similar impact here and that this experience has a deep and lasting impact on me.
Tuesday:
After a better night's sleep, only waking up once, we at Karin's appartment woke up slowly and the girls began to pack. We had a special breakfast of pancakes as a celebration of their last morning in Manila. As we were eating, the girls gave me a few tips, listed their top 5 and shared some final thoughts. It was cool to hear their insight from being here for 2 months. I only wish that I could be here as long. Then Karin took me to the IT Tender Center to have my orientation with John. It was so nice to sit and listen to him share all about this organization and to hear the back stories of everyone who works here. It is so clear that he has a passion for what they do and I know that he is a blessing to the team here. I only pray that when I find my path for my future, that I will be as passionate about what I am doing and everything my team stands for. After, I went downstairs to help some of the kids make Christmas cards that will be sold in Ontario at the International Marketplace, hosted by Ontario Christian Gleaners in November. Ontario Christian Gleaners provides some of the food that IT Tender uses for their feeding program with no required payment of money, just pictures and stories of how their gift is helping children in Manila. John mentioned this event in my orientation and said that he cannot make it but that Greg Reader, his contact with our home church, would be there. He also mentioned that they were looking for one more volunteer. I gladly offered. It will be such a cool opportunity to be able to sell the cards that I helped the kids make and to be able to promote this wonderful organization that I have the privilege of working along side this summer.
After the cards, I helped divide up the food Ate Lorna had made for the feeding program "Food for Life" that evening. Then we had a bunch of free time. During that time I helped Jam, another staff member and John's fiance, keep working on the cards. They're really pretty. Then it came time to go do the feeding program. We transported the supplies and set up. It had been raining much of the day so the night went slowly. We had 26 of the 49 kids come and they slowly trickled in. The kids were measured for height and weight and then they participated in a craft, then they played games as they waited for food (duck, duck, goose and doggy, doggy, who's got your bone). Then the kids lined up, prayed, got a serving of vitamins and food. After eating the ran around and played some games. One girl fell and hit her head, but after a bit of panic and the eagle eye of Amanda (an American trained nurse), she was deemed fine. After the program, Karin and I took the dishes home to be washed to be used the next day.
Wednesday:
Today I woke up nice and early, 6am. The sun rises much earlier here, around 5:30am and sets much earlier as well, around 6:30pm. So I tried to fall asleep again, but the effort was in vain. Karin left at 7:30 for her tagalog school, and Ate Lorna came to get me and take me to the Center at 8:30am. We took the feeding supplies with us so we can refill them for tonight. I joined Cecille with the Simula Learning Center. It is a pre-school program for the local kids from ages 4-6. Cecille was once a client of IT Tender and discovered her passion for teaching while volunteering with them. When she became full time staff she became the teacher of this program and has continued to prepare the children for school. She ash recently received a generous gift from an anonymous donor to pay for her college degree in pre-school education. She is seriously a miracle worker with the kids and can command their full attention and silence with just one syllable.
After the program, she took me to see the community that most of these kids come from called Napacor. Most of them live just behind the Center in tiny huts that are all built around an electricity tower. Many of the children also gather under a nearby bridge for shade and a place to take a nap. Under the same bridge is where Cecille's family has a little shop that sells snacks, cigarettes and shirts. Cecille goes to work at the shop when she is done classes for the day and both she and her family spend many nights sleeping there. The government has made it illegal for shops to be set up there and for people to live there, but both Cecille's family and the many others who live under this bridge have no where else to go. It was an eye opener as to the conditions of such an overpopulated and impoverished city like Manila.
After this I came back to the Center and helped Jam make another card design for the Marketplace. After a while, John and Ate Lorna came to get us to go eat lunch. We had barbequed chicken, filipino pancakes and rice. This was my first real filipino meal and it was delicious! It was really fun to go around the corner to the Center and buy it from the locals and then to sit down with the team and share a meal and community together. I am really loving this experience, and I just may come back at least for a longer short term trip to see if this is where God has called me. I love the values of IT Tender and the obvious heart and soul that all the team members put into everything they do here. Tonight we have the feeding program again, which should be rowdier because there has been no rain today.
Please keep praying for the IT Tender team as they go about their daily tasks and do everything they can to provide and empower those they serve and minister to. They are being the hands and feet of Jesus here in Manila.
In : a new adventure ... philippines
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