Time is starting to slip away as I am back from my trip and I want to share my thoughts at the end.
The rest of our days we spent times sitting with the bracelet makers that were at the resort. We let them know that we pray for them and what we do when we sell the bracelets. We shared about our lives and they did about theirs.
We talked to a lot of the vendors that were also out there trying to sell us their goods. Many of them were Muslim. We told them they were invited to the Chapel. When the one gentleman told us he was Muslim, we told him that God loved Muslims too!
I thought it was interesting when I came to say goodbye on Thursday morning to the bracelet makers, several of the vendors gave me hugs and the one gentleman said God Bless you. I think they felt the love we had for these women and Jesus shone through us on that beach.
We spent time at the Ministry Center and saw the women come and turn in their bracelets and receive their wages for their work. Then they pick out their thread to make more bracelets. We realized that some ladies make certain styles and the women know who braids which ones.
Once the bracelets were brought in then they are scattered into a huge pile made up of thousands. Several women were counting out 100 and then putting the rubber bands on both end. The reason they scatter the bracelets of everyone is so that when they bundle them they have a good variety of the different styles.
We had a little down time and went to White Beach which is just down the road. It is kind of the party area. We went there for all the vendors. They have t-shirts, jewelry, sandals, etc. The prices are very reasonable.
Wednesday was our last day (March 27) and Alex took us to see a few sights on our last day. We went up to a very high elevation on a mountain which is called the Ponderosa. We went up to the look out and had breath taking views of the area!
Then we went to Tamaraw Falls which was a little bit of drive. Especially since the road to it was very curvy and made almost all of us a touch car sick. The falls were awesome though! It was a great time to bond together in the back of Alex’s Kia also. ;-)
Wednesday night was Prayer service again at the Chapel. We watched a movie and then had to say our goodbyes. I cannot say how much The Matienzo family feels like my Filipino family! They have such a dedication to the church, to the congregation, and to God!
We got up on time on Thursday and headed out to get on the Ferry back with Alex and the Kia to Manila. We headed back and Alex dropped us off at Crystal’s place (Marilyn’s daughter.)
They decided to head out and meet up with some people from Faith Academy, where Crystal works. We went to go see The Pilgrimage. Millions of Filipinos walk to a church in Manila. The church has some special meaning to them. They believe that they are suffering like Christ and that is how they can make themselves right with God. There were millions of people! Streams of people kept coming some walk from their homes which can be 6 miles or more away. However, I could tell that many do this walk, just to do it and it has no spiritual meaning to them. I say that because many of the young people had lighted bunny ears on their heads and were goofing around and not appearing to take it serious. I thought to myself that they do not have to suffer this long journey because Jesus already was crucified to death and took our sin upon himself.
We then went back to Faith Academy which is in a higher elevation than the city of Manila. We sat and watched the lights of the city for awhile.
We headed back to Crystals and got ready to be on the way to the airport at 3 a.m. Our trip back home went smooth!
Brandon Heath has a popular song right now that just seems to sum up my feelings about my trip. Here is the chorus which is the heart of the song:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the brokenhearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah, Yeah….
I need God’s eyes to help me see the way he would see people. The Filipino people were so friendly and it was easy to bond with them. I left a part of my heart in Puerto Galera but in the bigger picture, the Philippines. Salamat (thank you in tagalog) for your support and I was so enriched for this experience. I will be back, God willing!
