The next place we ministered in the Philippines rocked my
world beyond anything I was expecting. We split our teams into three different
groups. One group went to Davao where they ministered for the next week,
another team went to minister to some local government officials in Manila, and I went
with a group to minister to the Filipino Metro Ministries Team in Manila and then to some
people that actually live in the trash dumps.
Metro Ministries founded the kid’s outreach, Sidewalk Sunday School, that I was involved in all
last year. They basically take the Good News to kids on the streets and lavish
love on them. We decided to go love on the Filipino Metro Ministries team and
bring them encouragement. After all, these are people who give of themselves
daily in really difficult situations such as seeing children and their parents
live in a local trash dump called Smokey Mountains. During our ministry time to the Metro team, we
worshiped together, we prophesied and prayed over the staff there, and then we
served them by washing their feet. It was a special time for all of us.
When we finished our time at Metro Ministries, a couple of
their staff members took us to the trash dumps to minister. I had no idea what
to expect. My initial thoughts were simply that people gathered at the trash
dumps daily to salvage anything they could. However, I was soon to learn that
people didn’t just come daily - they actually lived there. Upon our arrival I
saw piles of dirt and trash covered with a swirl of flies. The people had
actually built their “homes” out of the trash from plywood and various other
materials. Many of the people that live there don’t know any different as they’ve
never left the trash dumps.
Soon after we arrived we had the opportunity to pray for a
man who worked at the trash dumps. He was having trouble seeing clearly and
after we prayed for him, his blurry vision was completely cleared up! Praise
God for His healing touch!
As we walked deeper into the dump, we went through a smoky
area where they burn the trash. I
realized that in the direct line of this polluted smoke were homes where people
lived. We were informed that many of them develop lung issues because of the
smoke. So that’s why they call this particular dumpster, Smokey Mountains. It is
nothing like the beautiful Smoky Mountains of Tennessee where mountains of
earth are covered by the beauty of mist and fog. No, this place is actually
covered with mountains of burning garbage…and the people who live there are
impacted by it daily. It makes my heart so sad to think of these devastating living
circumstances.
After walking a little while, we came to an 83 year old
woman’s home that was made out of plywood and hoisted on stilts. Her name was
Emily and she was immobile because the muscles in her legs were so weak. She
had also broken either her arm, wrist or hand. The exact area that was broken
was lost in translation. She cried as she shared that she was asking God to
either take her or to heal her if He had a purpose for her to live. We prayed
for her to be healed and she felt improvement in her arm. The pain lessened –
praise God! After we prayed for her she said that tomorrow she would walk and
the next day she would go to church! She had so much spunk and resilience even
in a very difficult spot. As I sat there and listened to her, I realized she
had an incredible heart of gratitude and faith. She shared with us that she
would go to the Dr. for her wrist on Monday but she didn’t have the money to
pay the Dr. or even to purchase food. We prayed for her financial needs as
well. She shared of how every time she has prayed for food, someone came along
with provision. Even with her disabilities she cared for a little baby whose mom was only a teenager. I was struck by how her daily life is full of dependence on
God’ provision for her needs at a level that is beyond anything I’ve ever
known. I feel like I can learn a lot from this woman who is full of resilience and
the ability to strengthen herself in the Lord.
When we finished praying and talking with Emily, we walked a
little further to a body of water where kids were swimming. The Metro Staff
person explained that this water served as the kids play area as well as the
public bathroom. I stood there watching them play in this filthy water and
smelled the stench of human waste wafting off the very water they were enjoying
so much. It was then that the tears started to flow. But I quickly composed
myself because we had kids to go love on. At this point, I became aware of the
fact that I was in shock. My heart for justice rose up. But I was also aware
that at the end of the day, love wins. Love always wins. I may not have been
able to take each of those kids home with me, but I could love them in that moment…that
one moment I was given with them.
So our team did just that. The guys on our team quickly
became human jungle gyms as the kids climbed on their backs and were swung
around in circles. We all held their hands and hugged them. We prayed for their
infected eyes and smoke filled lungs. We made balloon art for them and shared
smiles with them. Even in the midst of their circumstances, I found the
children to be quick to smile and many of them had life in their eyes. It was
another reminder to me of how much one can be poor in the natural but so rich
in spirit. We did a drama for the children and several of the kids accepted
Jesus as their Savior! I’m sure all of heaven was rejoicing!
It was difficult to love them and then leave them. I definitely
let the tears flow once we had left. The kids were so hungry for love. And love is what we gave them…the best gift
of all. Why? Because love never fails. As Heidi Baker says, “love looks like
something”. On this day it looked like playing with kids covered in dirt,
hugging them, and sharing the Good News with them. On another day it may look
like something else entirely different. But love always looks like something…and
love always wins. And so I will forever choose love.
All photos are compliments of one of my fellow teammates:
Heidi Fehr.
Heidi Fehr.
