Tondo, Manila, Philippines

One of our first excursions in the Philippines was a two-night stay in Tondo, which is one of the most impoverished places in Manila, Philippines. Our ministry host hyped it up by saying that it was everyone’s favorite part of their stay, living in trash, not showering, getting sick for their entire trip, and my team was unsure of what to expect, to say the least. Our host said he doesn’t let any of the usual teams stay overnight in Tondo, but his experience with other World Racers made him confident that we were built for it. He was thrilled, even giddy, to have a team able to stay longer and build deeper relationships with the people and ministries there on behalf of Kids International Ministries (KIM). All the arrangements were made, so we packed the bare minimum and hopped on a train, ready to see what the Lord had for us there.

I have never even seen pictures of the kinds of poverty in Tondo, let alone witness them. I can’t even say I had imagined this level of poverty before. We went on an outreach into the community sharing food (the ministry calls it a “feeding”). We carried a huge pot of champorado, which is a sweet and chocolatey rice porridge, down these muddy, littered, narrow paths in between people’s homes carved out of the garbage. This community actually lives in a dump, with everything that comes with that. Their front yards are mud, their homes are made inside the trash, their livelihoods depend on what they can salvage from the waste. This is everything they’ve ever known. This is where their grandparents grew up, it’s where their parents grew up, and now it’s where these kids are being raised.

Kids International Ministries strongly believes that poverty is not about how much money you have, but in where you find your identity. So if you believe your identity is in this dump because that’s where every generation of your family has lived, then you can’t hope to break that generational cycle. But if you are shown a future and a hope, then you have something to move towards. That’s what KIM does. They show these people a future and a hope through their children’s homes, pregnancy clinic, schools, youth group, and community outreaches like feedings.

I can’t even put into words the sheer impact it had on me and the little kids when I could get down on their level. I looked this little girl in the eyes, and had the privilege of telling her you are beautiful and you are loved and you matter so much to your Father in heaven. I could see the words taking root in her eyes, like maybe that could really be true. I could see the gears turning in every little boy I was able to speak life over, like he was hanging on to every word. These kids with ailments I’ve never seen before, clusters of spots on their skin, rotting teeth, bulges in their necks, discolored eyes. These kids who run barefoot through the murky water outside their homes, who have never known anything different, they have to hear the Good News! They have to know their identity is in Christ and who He says they are! They are priceless! They are worth dying on the cross for! To God, we are all worth that, so that’s what He did for us! So I did all I could with the hour I had there to share this Truth. My team and I filled any containers they brought us with champorado, shared a Bible story, danced with them, prayed for them, talked with them one-on-one, shared the Gospel with them. We poured everything out that God gave us for these kids.

As we were making our way out, I knew it was important to have a smile on my face and look everyone in the eye that we passed, no matter how I was feeling with what I was seeing. This would communicate respect even without words. We passed an older woman who saw me and told me I am beautiful, and I responded by telling her that she is beautiful, too. And I’ve never seen anything like the reaction she had to what I said. Something as small as that would be met with a quick thank you where I’m from, but to her it seemed like she’s never heard that ever. Her gaze fell to the ground, her brow furrowed, and she looked lost in thought. All because someone told her she is beautiful. Afterwards my squad leader, Elijah, emphasized to me how huge that really must have been for her. I’ll never forget that.

To be immersed in this was to be overcome by the need for our Savior. Overstimulated by the deep poverty all around me. Overwhelmed with questions for the God I know. Why does this even exist? Why were they born here and I wasn’t? Why does Your provision for me look different than Your provision for them? Where are You in all of this? And to be honest, I don’t have answers for all these big questions. Just that He is Lord, He is good, and He gets to decide. One question, though, I do have an answer for.

I was sitting in prayer that night reflecting on the day asking God, “Why did You bring me here?”. Why am I here? I can’t change this. I can give them a hot meal now, but that doesn’t help tomorrow. I can share Your Gospel with them now, and they can choose to accept You, and that can change their eternal life, praise God, but what about this life right here right now? You still call them to wake up here every morning. So why am I here if I can’t change this? And, as if it was my own thought, I heard, “Jesus, who is God Himself, did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but instead humbled Himself to take the form of man”. That’s a paraphrasing of Philippians 2:5-7. In that moment, something clicked, and I understood that God brought me here to show me how Jesus Himself came to earth to love His children well, how He entered into my world to love me, so that I can love others by stepping into their “worlds”, too. I can only love because He first loved me (1 John 4:19). If the God of the universe is willing to give up all His glory to live among His created beings as one of them, then He calls me to give up my comfort and step out into new places that I’m unfamiliar with to love those who God places on my path.

I can only imagine what living under these circumstances does to your mental understanding of yourself. He’s calling me to seek these people out who don’t look like me, who don’t talk like me, who don’t have the same life experience that I do, and love them all the same. Literally, go and make disciples of all nations, and don’t you dare forget to love in everything that you do. If God Himself is willing to walk with me, then I sure better be willing to reach out to those who the world tries not to see.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:1-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We had the chance to go back to Tondo for a few days, just before our trip to the tribal village. In some ways, it felt like returning home to see old friends, and in others it was still stretching. It was awesome to stay with the same people, our girls in the girls’ home and our boys in the boys’ home. These homes are open to teens and children who need it, and that can mean a number of things. In the girls’ home with us were a woman in her 20’s who is the head of the house, two teenagers, and a nine-year-old. When we returned during our second stay, there was also a little six-year-old girl. To build relationships with them was one of the sweetest blessings to come out of our stay in this country. To have fun with them until late into the night, to talk about each other’s life experiences, to teach and learn from each other at the same time. What a blessing!

During our second stay, our team led a women’s Bible study and afterwards we each sat with three or four of the women and prayed for them. Their prayer requests weren’t what I expected. Here in Tondo, I can see that they go without a lot, but their prayers weren’t for material provision. Their requests were for strength for each day and health for their families. One woman even had her cell phone stolen earlier that week and asked me to pray for that person’s heart, that they would come to know Jesus, and that she would invite them to this Bible study group. The love that poured from this woman after something was taken from what little she had already was incredible. The forgiveness that was already pouring from her really put me in my place. Forgiveness should be this quick, and this radical. Her heart reminded me of the widow who gave two coins to the temple in Mark 12 and Luke 21. She didn’t give out of her abundance, she gave the Lord everything she had and trusted Him to provide for her. That’s the kind of life this woman is living, and what a privilege it was to meet her.

We also had the opportunity to attend their youth group during both of our stays there! It felt like a little taste of home, of my youth group from high school. For our first time there, our team was invited to preach and to share testimonies. I volunteered to share a testimony and spoke about my experience of my boyfriend, Adam, passing away and how I’ve learned that God still has a plan for a future and a hope for me, like Jeremiah 29:11 says. One of the youth leaders wrote me the kindest note, saying that she was really touched by my story. That note will stay in my Bible, right next to Jeremiah 29:11, to remind me that God is still working everything together for my future even when it feels like that’s not true.

Transformational is an understatement. God is definitely moving in this place and in these people. To be invited into it, even just for a little while, held blessings and lessons I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life.