morgandesnoyers - life in the philippines!

Third country!! The Philippines has been exciting, hard, unexpected, and full of laughter all at once. It’s been a very different experience from the other countries, but some of the challenges have made life here all that much more rewarding.

My team is living in Tondo, the poorest area of Manila, while the rest of the squad is living in Cainta, about an hour and a half away. We are living with our hosts, Leomar and Inna and their three year old son, Addy, on the third floor of a big building. The house is about 20 feet long, 10 feet wide, with an upstairs room about half that size (it perfectly fits four sleeping mats). We have a kitchen, bathroom, and multipurpose living space where we eat, hangout, play games, etc. The building has 20 units on each floor (with at least 7 people in each house unit), and it is located on an industrial street filled with markets, fruit stands, jeepneys (a mix between a jeep and a bus), tricycles, and lots and lots of people. They weren’t kidding when they said Manila is the most densely populated city in the world 😅

(streets outside our building^)

Our living situation is definitely the most unique place I have ever (and probably will ever) stay in. The shower is simply just a container and a bucket of water that you dump on your head, and we sleep on the floor with sleeping mats and pillows, with fans blowing directly on us (as it is extremely hot and humid). We don’t have a fridge so we walk to the market before every meal to get fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables to cook up. Our daily schedule consists of cleaning the house, going to the market, cooking, setting up our beds each night, and so much more. It’s been so eye-opening not just seeing but actually being immersed in the full Filipino lifestyle, and participating in everything they do just to survive and provide for their families. My favorite part is that they call everything “blessing.” The house, each meal, and even chores are a blessing from God because they are relying on Him to provide and meet every need. It truly puts it in perspective of how we should view life and how we should receive everything with open and thankful hands.

(typical dinner of rice, meat, and fruit^)

(sleepover every night!^)

For ministry, my squad is partnering with Kids International Ministries which is an organization that works to break the cycle of poverty in local communities. They have many programs such as feeding events, youth labs, family outreach, christian education, birthing clinics, a children’s home, and more to not only meet the physical needs of individuals, but to encourage them in their spiritual journey. Kids International is located in Cainta, and each team on my squad is assigned to a specific program to work with, while my team is working with the smaller outreach center in Tondo. We’ve gotten to know the leaders here, and we are partnering with them to help out with the weekly feeding program and to organize outreach events such as Ministry Exposure, a youth praise party, and more. My team also does daily prayer walks around our streets and the slums, and does house visits around our building. For the house visits, where we go door to door delivering bags of eggs, connecting with, and praying for each family. In our free time, we do team devotionals and hang out with the Kids International leaders.

(Saturday feeding program^)

(Kezia with the kids!^)

On a different note, there’s been a change to my team this past week, as there are now only three of us plus our leader. Four girls have left the field for personal reasons, and even though we will miss them, they did what was best for them, and we are continuing to keep them in our prayers. Because there are only three of us now, we will be visiting and spending time with the other girls in Cainta, and eventually moving to their location. We will do ministry and live with them for the last two weeks in the Philippines to have some extra support and fellowship.