Note: 12 year old Taylor Richmond (Rush Jackson U13 Girls Nike) and her father David Richmond, traveled to the Philippines. Her feelings and reflections are below. 

12/31/2011

The last day of 2011….

This was a good day!! It was full of emotions. Emotions like love, happiness, anxiety, sleepiness, and fun! At 7:45 after a long day of traveling yesterday half way across the world we met in the lobby in Manila. We had breakfast with Mauro and Bing.  They are friends of ours from Manila. They know Tito John and Mauro sits on the Filipino Board for the Lingap Center. They are so nice. Who knew I would have a friend the age of my grandparents half a world away???! Breakfast was good, our last American type breakfast for a week! We took a cab to the airport and then we were off to the airport!  We had a nice flight to Cebu and then an agonizingly long drive to the Center. We arrived at the Lingap Center around 5 p.m. The kids sang wonderful greeting songs for about half-an-hour. They performed dances, presentations and an individual song.  After this we went to our rooms to take our luggage and put it away. I am not a family with room 5 girls. The girls in room 3 were sad/mad as I have stayed there the previous two years; off to dinner we went where I gave all my food (except the rice) to my roommates. Room 5 is made up of Elvira, Aileen, Jade, and several others. They were surprised that I don’t eat much (little do they know….) but were grateful for the extra food. We went into room 5 but the boys wanted pictures. I shared my iPod and phone and they played my games. They really had fun with them; then a houseparent said it was time to celebrate New Year’s Eve and to go outside. It was the noisiest New Year’s Eve I’ve ever heard, little trumpets blowing louder than thunder!!! We talked until quarter to 9 and then we all fell asleep.

Taylor

P.S. It was really hard to sleep because there were fire crackers (1/4 sticks my dad said) going off all night and people yelling and screaming along with lots of loud music and singing. It was a wonderful day!!!

1/1/2012

The first day of the New Year…what a great way to spend it! I had a long and fun day today. I ate breakfast (rice).  Room 5 was still confused why I did not eat. Half an hour later Gene Marie, Jacqueline and I washed clothes (by hand) and then we ate lunch. After lunch we had a Christmas party for the street kids and Lingap Wards. Someone had donated presents (one stuffed bear – I think Queen’s bible school-made, and a used toy or action figure were their presents). American kids just don’t get how lucky they are.  Presents were an after thought of this party. There was food, dancing (lots of dancing) and really loud music. They played games and just spent time together. For the street kids many said it was their first present for Christmas ever! When they handed the presents out most of the kids waited until everyone had one (about a 20 minute process) and then they all opened together. The party lasted about 5 hours and they did presents for only about 5 minutes. The rest of time was spent just hanging out together. The street kids are really nice kids and extremely grateful for the food and gifts.

After the gifts they did karaoke and they got me up on stage to sing. My heart sank but I really liked it. Afterward I was so tired…from the heat, humidity, and all the fun we had.  I stayed awake until 8:40 and then I passed out! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

1/2/2012

We went on home visits today. They are an emotional time. My dad says it is good to see where the kids lived and where they came from but it is also difficult to see the circumstances they had to endure. We don’t know how lucky we are in the USA. Most of my friends have never had the experience I am getting to see the world like this, unfiltered and as it is. So my friends don’t have a clue what it is like. We hear about the poor and poverty but I have seen it. My dad and Mr. Drake say this is only one face of poverty as some is much worse and others not as bad. To me this is so different from what we are used to in the USA. Things we take for granted like a bathroom, running water, a house that doesn’t flood, and the ability to refrigerate food. I have never worried about these things and yet here it is normal not to have any of it. There are no nets here…if you get sick and are poor (can’t afford care) you die. It is that simple. It is so different from what we have and yet I think we don’t get that. I am grateful to come and see. They sung a song today…that Fr. Geoff taught them…Open my eye’s Lord so I can see, Open my ears lord so I can hear your voice, open my heart lord…I am so grateful that I get to come here and see and feel; even though it is hard.

I don’t want to tell you they are sad…it is bad things they have to live with but they are not sad…they are happy even though they don’t have anything. They are willing to share what they have. They invite us into their “home” and want us to come in. They want their picture taken…They are such warm people. We saw poverty today that my books talk about. There are people and faces behind that word…but they are still people. In many ways they are more advanced than we are…they don’t have games, TV, and other things to take their time so they talk, play games with each other, and build friendships. I love the Lingap Center and I love coming here.

1/3/2012

I was starving for pancakes but I got rice. We watched movies, slept, did our nails (the adults from the USA went to the store to get supplies), we played bingo and they yelled and screamed! It was quite fun. We ate lunch and took a nap…I slept all the way until dinner!

1/4/2012

At breakfast I was so nervous but it turned out to be an awesome day….why was I nervous…I went to school with the kids! I went to TNVS (Toledo National Vocational School) in the morning and I went to St. John’s around 1:15 for the afternoon. The teachers were very nice. I really liked it. I was bored out of my mind though because it was mostly all review. Between the two schools I came back to the center to eat. I stopped into my dad’s room and Father Geoff saved me with some almonds and my dad gave me a protein shake. I was so hungry. I can begin (just begin) to get an idea of what it would feel like to not eat. Here it is my choice because I am picky and don’t like the food but many here can’t afford food or cook it outside and if it rains they cannot cook so they simply don’t eat. It is very sad.

Good news is the Carpentero twins who were a week from death last year on my trip in January are healthy and one is even a bit chubby as an 18 month old should be. Last year I could not bear to look at them as she lay dying in her despicable surroundings, feces and garbage all over and a child alone, without a parent, dying of starvation and today they are healthy and normal. It is a miracle. If the Lingap Center did not exist those two would have died…they were literally saved.