Rest House

Today the team got to experience, first hand, what it is like to live like the native philippino's live. We have been staying in a home with windows, tile floors and fully insulated walls and a roof. A lap of luxury. Most every home within the barrio of Anda was made up of dirt floors, bamboo walls and a partial covering with a tin roof. Running water and flushing toilets are a novelty! Cooking is done outside over a coal burning stovetop, and a well can easily run out of water if naive missionaries take a slightly longer shower. So on this day, the team went over to thier new temporary home, and "set up camp." The men slept in a tent outside of the house, and the woman made thier beds on the bamboo floors. The women drapped mosquito netting over thier blankets and pillows, as there are many mosquitos out during the evening. Some areas of the philippines are known to have mosquitos that carry the disease malaria. Although this barrio was not known to have that problem, the team decided not to take chances with disease, or any uncomfortable itchy bites. For a team of 9, scrunched into a small tiny hut, it was easy to see why the philippino people were so physically close to one another. In there culture, it is not uncommon to have friends walking down the street holding hands. Many of the locals would walk shoulder to shoulder with us just to be close to us. A very sweet, family and God centered lifestyle. To show love in a real and tangible way was very apparent here, through visible interaction alone. That night, God hushed us to sleep with the soft, gentle tapping of rain upon our tin roof. Continuously, watering our souls, never leaving us in a drought. God is so GOOD! Unfortunately for the men in the tent, they were learning a deifferent lesson. Long suffering, and self sacrifice. Their tent was slightly saturated from the rain and got to wake up in a puddle of fresh rain water! Praise God in all circumstances! The women thanked the men for thier sacrifice, and giving them the dry and safe shelter. Noble, loving and God fearing men always do! The team then woke the next morning, and thanked the Lord for another day of life, and a better understanding of how blessed we truly are for the things we have, and do not have.