All over the Philippines there are groups of amazing people who give of their time and finances to impact the world around them and live out their faith in a practical way.
Rosemary and her team of volunteers are one of those groups who meet every Saturday to cook and feed a nearby community.
Dae Mang Mission Church are one of the local churches who see value in this project and support the group by giving them access to their kitchen to prepare the meals.
I was connected to Rosemary on my 2nd visit to the Philippines after meeting her husband through the work that we were doing. Rios wife Rosemary was a missionary in Thailand at that time, but now is back in the Philippines leading this local initiative.
The routine Saturday mission starts at 10am visiting local markets to buy food enough for a couple of hundred children. This time we were able to spoil the kids and get a few toys which were lovingly packaged in to gift bags for all of the children by the volunteers.
The team spend several hours cooking at a local church, having lunch together, practicing a few songs and an encouraging word.
At 3:30pm we loaded up the van and headed out to the main highway. Hidden under a bridge over the Abacan river there lies a community of squatters, many of whom have been pushed from area due to development and have no where else to go. Under this bridge are families with literally hundreds of children who were excited to see the team, partly because they knew they would receive a good hot meal.
We spend a good couple of hours feeding, singing and talking with the locals. It doesn’t take much to put a big smile on these little faces.
This is one of many places like this, with people who live in filthy squalor and kids who don’t know any different. You can tell by the smiles on their little faces how any little ray of sunshine makes the world of difference.