How do I describe what I have seen?  Pictures seem inadequate to describe this sight.  This is my 3rd mission trip to the Philippines and nothing has brought tears to my eyes except this trip.  People who know me know that I don’t cry easily.  But, the sight I saw here broke my heart.

 

While driving back to Los Banos we decided to pass by an impoverished area in Manila called Tondo.  I have traveled to many places in the world before and have seen poor and impoverished areas but nothing prepared me for what I was about to see or feel.  My first thought of the area as we were driving through Tondo was “What a crowded, old, dirty and poor area this is”. What I saw were stacks and stacks of housing units that went on and on for blocks and blocks.  I thought the sight of these stacked units would end soon but it just continued on for many more blocks.  It was on my left and on my right.  I couldn’t escape it.  Even if I wanted to look elsewhere the sight was the same and it just continued.  That was when I broke out in tears.  I felt an over whelming feeling of sadness, helplessness and hopelessness for these people.  I thought to myself, “God are you here in this place?  Do you see the plight of these people?  What are you doing to help them?”  Then, I imagined, somewhere lurking behind those old, dirty, cockroach infested units were little hearts crying out for help with no one to hear them or help them.  Even as I write this, those same feelings are returning and I’m crying again (glad my team isn’t here to witness me weeping again!)  Then I recalled that we have a great God, a compassionate God, a God who knows exactly how these people feel and who knows every detail of their pain and suffering and HE has a plan for their lives.  He cares about those little hearts more than I could possibly feel for them.  And, he is at work.  He is always at work to draw those little hearts to himself.  I know He is watching over them because He is able.  

 

Rose

Advertisement