The Blog

So this was my first time in the Philippines, and let me tell you I loved every second of it. Every person I met, every toy I gave away, every picture that was taken. It all impacted me in a way I never thought was possible. One night service, while we were in Escalante I was outside talking to the kids. (That is where you would find me most of the trip, with the children)
But there was one girl who stuck out to me, this whole trip and her name is Joy. She is a 3 year old beautiful girl. And as I was outside talking with the kids, she caught my attention because I noticed how big her shoes were. I notice shoes, and all the other kids had shoes that fit, but not her. So I started to ask around, ask a little about her and boy I did not expect was came out of a little girls mouth.
The girl must have been about 12 and she began to tell me the story of Joy. That when she was 1 year old, her mother passed away, she is an only child and shortly after her mother passed away her father moved to Manila to work. Joy was being raised by her aunt, which was only 11 years of age. They lived in the alley on the side of the church.
Hearing this broke my heart; I couldn’t help but cry as I was being told her story. I pick her up and just begin to talk to her, as tears run down my face I finally hear her voice. Her voice has such fear in it, she did not want to talk and it took even more effort to get her to smile. You could see in her, even though she was only there. There was so much hurt and pain in her life, she guided her heart well and that made me even more sad. I had the chance to play with her and hold her and teach her how to fly the flyers. Most importantly I spent quality time with her, showed her love and compassion.
As we left, I handed her a purple bracelet and she wore that with pride, showing it off to all her friends around her. Getting into the van I couldn’t stop the tears, I just wanted to be with Joy. To take care of her make sure she had food and a safe place to stay. That night I lost part of my heart, because it is still there in Escalante with Joy. I pray for her every day and think about her so much. Hoping one day I will get to see her again. This is honestly a night I will never forget and a girl that probably doesn’t know it, but she changed my life, forever!

A blog by Ariel Siufua