Good morning everyone, at least it is morning in Manila. 5:45 am to be exact.
Metro Manila is an interesting place. It is a collection of 16 highly urbanized cities. It has a population density of approximately 112,000 people per square mile making it the most densely populated city in the world. It is a total of 245.46 square miles and has a total population of well over 13 million people. In contrast, New York City Metropolitan area is 4669 square miles with a population density of over 5900 people per square mile and a total population of of 20 million people. With all these people crowded into such a small space and yet I don’t think I have seen more than 1 or 2 traffic lights. The intersections seem to be a combination of first come, first go and whoever pushes their way through first. But it seems to work well for them. Just something that I found interesting.
We spent all day yesterday at the Access Center, each of us doing various tasks. From leading devotionals, science experiments illustrating the Gospel, assessing roof and gutter leaks ( please pray for these repairs), playing sports with the kids, bagging up food for the kids, Bible study with the kids, just to name a few but almost everything was centered around these children.
They come early and ring the doorbell, yelling from the gate “Ate (“AH-teh”) Maddie, Ate Maddie. Ate means sister. Maddie and Jaydon have already made such a huge impact on this community. The children are so excited to come. They listen and behave well during the classes, they are constantly smiling. They are joyful and energetic. And the staff, the staff are amazing. Ate Beth, ate Rachel, ate Mariam and ate Weene are all so dedicated to these children. You can tell that it isn’t just a job for them, they want to be there.
By the time we got back to the apartment we were all exhausted and smelly. Even though December is the coldest month here at 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit the humidity is very high. But the kids make it worthwhile.
We be back at it again in a few hours. So again, we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support.
May God Bless you
Derek and Melissa
Buchanans in the Wild
4 Responses
I hope those kids are in good health, that they’re safe, all that good stuff.
Unfortunately, they are neither in good health or safe.
Did u get my text message earlier about my Priest?
Yes. Sorry, it’s been busy here. We will pray for him.