It’s humbling when you see a child’s excitement over receiving an apple, knowing the number of apples you’ve let go bad over the years or simply not eaten because you could have something else.
It’s inspiring when you see a child yell with joy because they find a toothbrush in their package.
We simply have no concept of what it is like to live day to day. Most people in the Philippines only buy something when they have the cash to do so. Almost everything comes in individual sizes, because people only buy what they can afford and often just buy enough for the next meal. An entire day can be filled with getting up, taking a bath, eating a small portion of rice, perhaps that which is left from dinner the night before, washing clothes, going to the nearest store, shopping for food to prepare for lunch, cooking lunch, eating, cleaning up, taking a nap in the heat of the day, going to the store to buy food to prepare for dinner (if you have money to do so), cooking, eating dinner, and preparing for bed.
Meanwhile, the person in the family who is blessed to have a job might ride a bicycle all day long, transporting others who are going to do all of the above. For pennies a ride, he will pedal miles each day to provide enough money, perhaps no more than a couple of dollars a day, to buy rice and laundry soap.
But that is why we are overjoyed to celebrate our Christmas this year by sharing the little bit that we have. It has been so much fun providing gifts to over 300 kids here.
May this work continue for years to come and may many families be touched by the love of the Father through ouTside the boX, coming to an understanding of what Jesus did for them.