Lucky Day 13

Well, Day 13, which was our last full day in the Philippines, was anything but lucky. We were supposed to go out and help with the construction of the homes at Baloc for the 5 families that are being relocated from the dump. You may recall my early post about how for somewhere around $1000-$1200 a house is being constructed for families that are currently leaving in the dump site in absolutely filthy conditions. They have to make the payments of about $70 a month after that. It was another scorcher day. Bob and Vicky had to run into San Pablo to take care of some business and that ran late. We were just loading up to leave when our lunch came out so we quick sat down for some food. After eating we drove out to the site but could not find the homes. Suddenly the truck started acting up and actually overheated on the side of the road. To properly understand this, you must realize the way the Filipino's drive makes me look like an old woman. So being on the side of the road as the kamikaze drivers whizzed by was exciting to say the least. Finally one of the drivers from the camp came to our rescue. After getting the truck resuscitated we eventually found the construction site and got to see the houses being built. The entire house is about the size of one room in my townhouse yet it is an incredible blessing to the people that will be moving in, hopefully in a few weeks.

After seeing the homes we went into town to take care of some errands and headed back to Santa Nino. The dark cloud of dread of the last night get together at FTC was starting to descend. Many of the students were already getting very emotional at the thought of saying goodbye to the kids. On the ride over to Santissimo the tears were flowing. We got out of the truck to find many of the FTC kids in the exact same state. I talked for quite a bit with a girl name Krishelle. She is slender girl with a huge smile and coy eyes. She somehow exudes shyness yet fierceness all at the same time. She seemed especially sad and I was somewhat taken back by the fact that she was expressing it to me. I am really amazed how fast these kids make connections. They are so hungry for tenderness and love because of the backgrounds they come from. For someone who is not used to giving of myself in an emotional way so freely it is a little unnerving. I used the opportunity to share some ICNU stuff with her and give her my motto of Students are the Most Powerful Force on the Planet. I told her that her story was an inspiration to me and others back home and that I was going to continue to share the story of FTC. We all get discouraged at times and can fall victim to the thought that what we do does not matter. Even contemplate giving up, but I told her that what they do at FTC does matter, and it does affect far more people than they realize. They are an inspiration because they have taken the opportunities God has provided and even against remarkable odds have pulled themselves up by the boot straps. I told Krishelle how impressed I was at how the FTC kids were involved in the youth services and the adult services and how they were being the most powerful force by influencing so many people. It was a cool moment, I think for both of us.

The night went on with some games that combined Americano's with Filipino's. It was a ton of fun even for a non-game guy like me. The pinnacle of the evening was a massive cake fight. Most of us were covered in cake from the shoulders up. I can't wait to see the pictures! Our students exchanged letters with the kids and most of the kids responded with letters to the students. I was quite shocked to receive a few myself. Finally, the time came for us to leave. Bob knew that this moment could linger all night long so he devised a plan to line up all the FTC kids on the way to the truck. Our students would go down the line and hug all the kids and say goodbye. Let me tell you the Wailing Wall had nothing on this firing squad of a line. I followed the last of the students down the line. I was deeply touched by some of the hugs and tears from the kids I had connected with. Even for me it was deeply emotional. Krishelle gave me a huge hug and started sobbing. She ran off to her room and caught me before I got in the truck and gave me a beautiful picture of herself on a decorated piece of paper. I can't wait to get home and email her a picture of me and my family. It will be exciting to hear updates about her and Babilynn, Jesalyn, Lonnie, Bam-bam, Peter, Rowland, Jefferson, and all the other ones I got to know.

Luckily, I convinced Debbie to let me ride in the cab of the truck on the way back to Santa Nino so I didn't have to hear Sob-a-poluza in the back of the truck. It was now time to pack up and get ready to pull out at 4am. Some of the students stayed up all night ,some of us slept for a few hours. The trip had finally come to an end. Now for the travel back!