It's been a week of ups and downs!! Some great highs (approximately 800+ vertical metres), but it's come at the price...there's been some sinking lows. It was inevitable that I would get sick at some point, happens to everyone in their first few weeks! But I was setting the record - the most healthy visitor to CCM so far - the title got to my head and I was soon humbled...bleurgh!!

I promised myself I would write a blog each week...well, I've failed that already, but today is dfifferent. Unlike my last novel, I will try to keep this blog short and snappy!!

I'm writing this part lying in bed, feeling very sorry for myself. I've drunk gallons of Gatorade and barely eaten so as you can imagine, I'm full of sympathy for my poor self. Don't worry, I've been reminded by my brother to "MAN UP!!"...aww :')

Well last week was the first time I properly visited the slum areas. There's 1000's of slums in the Philippines, so it was quite an experience to go and see them with my own eyes! For some reason they felt familiar, like I'd been there before...I suppose that's what happens when you watch too many documentaries or look at too many photos. Deja Vu.
I went with just one of the social workers and when we came to the entrance, I was surprised at how narrow the alley was. In fact, I (for the first time in my life) felt very tall as I had to duck all the way until we reached the home we were visiting first. As I was walking, I noticed that it was very dark, a bit like walking through a mine...but people actually live there. They build their houses linking off the main walkway through the slums. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get many photos of this, but I'll have many opportunities in the future to do this.
We soon reached the house where I would be leading a Bible study and sharing my testimony with a few adults and children who wanted to listen. The room was very cramped, people kept piling in and we were soon squashed like sardines. Thankfully I had a translator with me, so they were all able to hear me as I spoke in tongues. JOKE LANG!!! ;) Just keeping you on your toes!! It was a really great opportunity to speak about storing up treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy. Quite appropriate for the setting we were in! They were all very grateful for the message and asked many questions. I felt very encouraged by their openness ... please pray that God would use my weak efforts to have sown a seed in their hearts.

I was able to stay around and chat for a while and was taken up to their bedroom where 17 people sleep. 17!!! I was genuinely shocked, not only because of the cramped living space, but how they could possibly fit 17 people in the space they showed me. Wow!! A massive wake-up call, we are truly living in luxury. We then moved to another part of the slum to stay for a while at the house of some friends from church, Ida and Ikit. 2 very resourceful and hard working girls.
Finally we walked to another slum called Kamias, which is built alongside a big river. In the rainy season (June - July), this river floods the entire slum, washing away everything these people work hard to maintain the rest of the year. We can't even imagine how we would recover if this happened. But there are no complaints, they pick themselves up, and start again. (Mrs Drion would be proud!!). We visited the house of a girl who is sponsored by the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) run by CCM. If you've seen the video, you'll remember her story! They were all very sweet and welcoming, offering me food and telling me how 'guapo' I looked...cringe!! A great way to get in with the Filipino's is to start talking about Manny Pacquio (the most famous thing to come out of the Philippines in decades) or take photos of them. They love it! It was great to be able to share fellowship with them and chat with the children.
Well, there's lots more to say about this, but I have many more things to inform you of. You'll just have to look at the photos instead!

Hiroshi. Well, he's quite some guy! Think of Bear Grylls as a Japanese dude and you're not far off. This man worked in London for 12 years (correct me if I'm wrong) to save money so he could travel the world. He is currently on Country #no. 55 in just 4 years of travelling. Impressive right?! Well, he's come to visit Manila for a month or so before he sets off again, and we were able to spend some time with him as we went on a hike the next day. Previous to the hike I'd been feeling very sick with a dodgy stomach...all the symptoms point to food poisoning, so we're convinced I must have eaten something I shouldn't have, or drank dodgy water! However, this didn't put me off from going on the hike.

It was a 3 hour car journey from CRBC and by the time we reached the base of the mountain it was 10pm. I'd mentioned in my previous blog about going on a hike...this was just a random plan of someone from the church to walk up a mountain and camp overnight...we were to walk halfway up the mountain on Friday night, camp overnight and then finish it all off the next day. Some members of the church have done this before, and they call themeselves the 'Sinai Mountaineers' (I felt privelliged to be part of the crew!) ;) There were about 14 of us in total. It was a struggle on the first night. I was having severe stomach cramps and vomiting. Thankfully ate Mabel was close by to help me (she's a qualified nurse)...so by the time we reached the campsite she was probably fed up with the amount of times I would shout "Ate Mabeeeellll" every time I needed sympathy ;) I managed to get a small amount of sleep that night, but I didn't have a sleeping bag or a roll mat which made it slightly uncomfortable...this is nothing in comparison with Hiroshi who decided that he would live out his Jungle Book dream and sleep in a tree...the whole night!! Yeah, I won't tell you much more, about how he was doing handstands at the top of the tree or doing backflips as his morning exercise...grr!! Yeah, my thoughts exactly (I'm not jealous) ;)

So, I led the morning devotion for camp Sinai the next morning and thankfully I felt slightly better. I spoke about how we, as Christians, need to be lights in the darkness. Salt & Light. We soon set off up Mount Baluteo with our rucksacks on and the sun beating down on our necks. I was a target to the sun and I was gradually getting fried while I walked. I felt the pain the next day, ouch!! We soon reached the summit (approx. 811 metres) which is almost the height of Mount Snowdon in Wales. However, Mount Baluteo was a lot closer to rock climbing than hiking. I would have loved that if I was feeling fit and well, but I found it pretty hard going. Watching ate Mabel trip over every 2 minutes cheered me up though. Oops!! The scenery was incredible! I've never seen such amazing views in my life. The mountains and valleys and fields and sky...ahh, just everything!! My camera couldn't even capture how stunning it looked. I was in awe at God's creation...no way was this on account of chance. This was design at it's finest!
As we neared the base of the mountain, we were all sweating like mad, but it felt like a great achievement. We stopped off for Buko (Filipino coconut) which was masarap! They cut the top of the coconut off and you would use a straw to drink the juice. On the way back we went to a small cafe where we all shared some Bone Marrow soup...oh and some rice. Of course!

The next day I felt even worse. Not only did I have a dodgy stomach and kept vomiting, I also had sunstroke and my ears had swollen...paying the price for not putting on more sunblock. But it was the Lord's Day and I wanted to attend church. I'd completely forgotten that I'd agreed to go to San Pedro for the day to the church which Matt Gamston attends. Many of you will know Matt through GBM...he's been a missionary for 10 years in the Philippines and has been someone who has inspired me to come since I was very young. It was great to be able to chat with him properly for the first time, in 3 weeks I hope to be staying with him for a short while, so it'll be great to ask him some of the questions I have which he could answer as a Brit! ;) Sovereign Grace Christian Church has undergone some massive changes recently, if you have been following, you'll understand why. They've moved building and grown dramatically in the last couple of years. It was great to be able to worship there on Sunday and have fellowship with some godly Christian men and women. In the afternoon there was a discussion group on 1 Peter 2:4-12, so the church divided into small groups. I was with the boys (as you would hope) and I found it very helpful. After the service we were invited round Matt Gamston's house for dinner, where we had gravy (amongst other food)! Yes, Matt is trying to introduce some British food into the Filipino household...apparently we weren't important enough visitors to be offered the horseradish sauce. Gutted.

Well, the good news is, I'm picking up many phrases...I was tested the other day and I knew 32 Tagalog words/phrases on the spot. Beats what I knew last week...I now have an extension of my vocabulary, I can say more than just, "This rice is delicious!" (Not a phrase I've had to use that often...grr!) I'm also feeling more acclimatised to the heat than I was a couple of weeks ago, I've started pointing with my lips and doing the peace sign in literally every group photo. It's the effect the Philippines has on me...turning me into a typical tourist!! ;) I was shown a book the other day 'You know you're Filipino if...' - Oh how true it is!! Sad news is, I'll be mkoving out of Damascus Boys Home on Monday evening and transferring to live in Cubao Baptist Church. This means I'll have to cook for myself and won't have my 5 buddies around to keep me company! :(

I need to bring this blog to a close...this is getting ridiculous!! Hang on in there dedicated reader! I've been working in the offices, switching from Notre Dame to Masinag and leading the devotions in both the girls and boys home. My message was about Standing Out From The Crowd - the story of Daniel. I also hope to be starting a devotion series with the girls looking at the message of Ecclesiastes. Those who know me, know that this is one of my all time favourite books in the Bible. If you haven't read it, get reading...you're missing out! Once again, I would really value your prayers as I plan these devotions and that they would be taken to the children's heart. Pray for that they would look to Christ as their source of hope!!

Finally, on Tuesday, Kuya Xander (social worker from Notre - also a Manny Pacquio look-a-like), Sophie and I went on an EAP Visit to Tondo, a poverty stricken area near Manila. The slums are the worst that I've ever seen and there is poverty like you can't imagine! We had to ride many jeepneys and tricycles to get around the area, but as we were coming back on the tricycle, suddenly a fight broke out right in front of us, involving a lorry driver and a young street child. Apparently this boy had tried to smuggle himself onto the back of the vehicle and steal some of the goods. I was sat on the back of the motorbike at the time, only a couple of metres from them, so it was a dangerous situation to be around. This is not uncommon...many drivers carry guns around and are known to be 'trigger-happy' (especially when they're drunk). Praying for safety is a daily need!!

I said something about this in my last blog, but this really did hit home during this particular visit. One of the slums we visited used to be a rubbish tip...but now they have built their homes on top. As you can imagine, the dirt and smell are still part of it. When we were being taken round to meet the families and chat to the kids I was asked whether I would be able to live here. My initial response was "No way!" Now I'm known to give anything a go...always up for anything! But the slums are real places. Day after day families will wake up to this as a reality. In fact...a family I met will spend the whole day filling just one sack of onions to earn just P60 (60 pesos = 95 pence) for their day's wage!! Just think about that, we should be so, so grateful for the opportunities and privelliges we've been given in our country. We don't have to sacrifice our education, our friends, even our luxuries, in order for us to survive. Life for the people who live here is difficult, in the real sense of the word...Praise God for an organisation like CCM who practically live up to their motto day in, day out: "How can we share the love of Christ without showing them something of that love?"

This coming week, please pray for me, that I would have a full recovery and that my condition wouldn't worsen! Thank you for your continuing support :) Next week I will be on a Youth Question Panel, going to the memorial park with the children from the homes to play 'soccer' ...whatever that is ;) and moving into CRBC...no doubt they have many more surprises in store for me!

This isn't exactly the short and snappy blog I was hoping for. Yes, I know what I said...I was there when I wrote it! (all those years ago) ;)

So, for your patience...2 gold stars awarded to each of you.