Dreaming? A more accurate word would be reminiscing, because I visited the Philippines on a mission trip with my students over spring break. The experience opened my students' eyes to a world they've never imagined.
On the trip we visited slums and passed out food, orphanages and played with kids, and shared the gospel through street evangelism. One of the four orphanages we visited was a home for boys that was connected to a small community church outside of Manila. The pastor's family support and care for the boys at this home with the help of the families who also live nearby. Our team's heart went out to this ministry because we were appalled by what we saw when we visited.
Getting off the bus the first time I visited the home I couldn't really even tell if we were at a building or not. On the street level, I saw a desk in an office (lacking four walls). To the right were some stairs; I carefully made my way down. At the bottom of the stairs I turned to the left, and entered the church. There was a big room, that was lit beautifully with sunlight. In the back of the room there was a large table with wooden benches that could probably seat 16+ people. In the front there was a small stage containing a lectern, a green chalkboard on wheels, and a piano. Facing the stage were four or five rows of wooden pews that were half full of people who were in the middle of choir practice. At first thought, it didn't occur to me that this room I was standing in, that was a little bit bigger than twice the size of the bedroom I grew up in at my parents' house, was their sanctuary, narthex, fellowship hall, classrooms, and any other part of a normal church building. Neither did I realize I had direct sunlight shining on me.
Finally, when I opened my eyes, it was glaringly obvious that a large chunk of the roof is missing. In the current season, with 80 degree F weather and beautiful sunshine, this little detail isn't a problem. However, the members of the church are very worried for the rainy season to come. When it rains their church will be flooded.
When my students were informed of this legit concern for the church, their hearts were moved. They asked how they could help. The pastor of the church said that the roof would cost 12,000P (Filipino pesos) which is equivalent to $300. The next day we collected money from our students. Our group of 21 students and 7 adult leaders easily found $315 that we donated to the church. We couldn't go get more cash from the ATM or have the students go ask their parents for more money. The money that our group raised came straight from the spending cash they had brought on the trip. I was moved by the generosity of the students!
As I sit here in my bed on this rainy day in Korea, I am reminded of the church I saw in the Philippines and because of the willingness of my students to respond to what God put on their heart that day, the boys who live there will also be able to stay dry when the rains come.
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