Epiphany in the Philippines
Photo Credit: Photo of Audrey Russell and Philippino Children
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May 19, 2010 • Audrey Russell, Editor
Filed under Clubs & Teams, Feature
November 21-30
Today we were in Tondo, one of the poorest cities in the world. I can’t get my mind off the eyes and faces of these children I met today. I had never pictured a place where three cement made rooms with aluminum roofs could teach over 40 children. Probably around 40 in each room now that I think about it. Being in this country has opened my eyes to how much more there is out there. When we were leaving the school some of the kids asked me when we would be back, I choked up. I didn’t know what to say. I had no answer. Not knowing is what killed me the most. As we started to walk outside some of them were grabbing tightly to my arms thanking me for just being there for the short time that I had walked around. I found out later that they were thanking me by taking my hand and placing it to their forehead. I felt myself reaching out just wanting to take them home with me. Today I realized I have so much…I also learned a couple words: good morning, good evening, and good night in their language. Magandang umaga, magandang tanghali, and magandang gabi. Everyone is really polite.
Thanksgiving break had always made me think of scrambling in Walmart for a straight week trying to find turkey and pumpkin pie crust. In some ways, it still hasn’t struck me that this past year mine was thousands of miles across the world with rice and adobe meat (pig and chicken combined…somehow) as the main entrée. Being in another country had changed my life in so many ways than just my eating habits for a week. Sometimes thinking back it feels as if it never happened, but I know those memories will last with me the rest of my life. The memories of the time that I spent with people on the other side of the world.
The streets, the smells, and of course the food all brings me back to an experience I am grateful to say I have had. One that I wish everyone had the opportunity to see and feel. Describing this to you can not even paint the whole picture of the other half of the world to you.
The Manila City Jail has to have been one of the greatest experiences of the entire trip so far. We entered a jail with no cells where each of us were escorted by guards through a network of small huts and cabins that housed thousands of prisoners. We spent the afternoon in a barbed wire protected room where some of us shared our stories of our faith, hope, and personal relationships with Jesus Christ with men who were broken from drugs and alcohol, to men who were serving time for anything from murder, rape, and theft. I’ve never seen men so willing to love and change with all their hearts. I hope that one day people can know this strength. Before we left one of them told me that I looked like Avril Lavigne. I don’t see the likeness.
Throughout the week I found myself not only growing accustomed to the humid hot weather and the food, but to the genuineness of the people all around me. Towards the end I felt that I had seen everything. Their version of Mcdonald’s, the bargaining shopping in markets, the confidence they had in their extremely scary driving (no one used the lane markers), the vendors selling Coke in Zip-locks, and even the drastic change from cities to slums from one block to the next. One of our last days we went to the cemeteries. I learned I hadn’t seen anything yet.
Mausoleum takes on a whole new meaning when you find out your family has been living in your own tomb. I found out because of overpopulation of Manila many families had moved into this cemetery to live with the bones of their ancestors. Even the tombs are overpopulated. As we made our way through coffins and makeshift homes we stepped over bags of bones strewn on the ground. It took me a while to realize that they weren’t white rocks. It felt like I was in a movie. Nothing hit me as real. As we walked through, kids were climbing and jumping from stacked coffin to coffin. Not one kid seemed to think of his circumstance, but just enjoyed every moment. I saw open cuts and bruises on their legs and arms where they had fallen from apparently jumping so much. No one there thought of their home as a cemetery. True gratitude.
These are only a few of the moments that changed my life. These are the memories that make me thankful. When I went to the Philippines to give hope and help, I only received from them. My life felt different. I’ll remember the thankfulness of the little kids in being able to have an education. I’ll remember the gratefulness of the simplicity of having a roof over one’s head. I’ll remember the willingness to have faith and love even when in the worst circumstances. I am blessed in knowing that God will never let me forget.
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