Tent City: Sometimes it's Good When the Church People Don't Show Up!

White shelter box tents as far as the eye can see, tethered 18" apart from each other. A laminated piece of computer paper is attached to each tent listing the surname of the families making this tent home for the past 4 months and likely many more to come. Children run about carelessly, laughing, playing as if their lives hadn't been turned upside down 4 months ago when a flood took their homes and everything in them including some of their loved ones. Truth is, there were no complaints from the adults either. While some tents were found without any furnishings, I was astonished by the ones that had been made into homes, swept linoleum lined the floor, a tv surrounded by neatly lined books on either side. Six sleep mats stacked high to make for day time seating. The seating, along with cold coke and crackers were promptly offered to the white stranger at their door. They asked me for nothing except prayer for needs and good health other than this, their response was, "We're okay, Salaamat (Thank you) for coming!"  The community that had been established out of tragedy was astounding! Alongside the pastor and youth of his church we prayed with them and invited them to a service later that day.

         Later that evening, the church was filled to capacity, so much so, the kids and youth were taken outside for an impromptu service of their own.  We had a great time of worship and intern Corey preached an encouraging message from God's word.  Even in the heat of the night, the people came forward for prayer and to commit their lives to Christ. The atmosphere was festive. Afterwards, a spagetti dinner and glass bottled cokes were served to all in attendance. I found out later that one of the families in the tent city donated the cokes from their "sari sari" (family store) and on top of that one of the other families in the tent city, already members of the church, made all the spagetti we were serving!  Unbelievable! "My kitchen is just too small!" just isn't a good excuse when this Ate (pronounced Ahh-tay, it's a term of respect for women older than yourself in the Filipino culture) cooked for over 100 with no kitchen at all!


          We gathered at the end of the evening to tell Pastor Irwin and his family good-bye as we would soon fly back to Manila, I asked him, "Pastor, how do you think it went?" His eyes lit up with excitement. "Great! I just wonder where all the church people were?" I looked at him puzzled (the church had been full) to which he responded, "Nearly every person here was a visitor from the tent city!" Amazing! So sometimes it's good when the church people don't show up, where would we have put all the visitor's! (Don't use that as an excuse not to go to church this Sunday, because if the church people hadn't shown up in that tent city, the tent city wouldn't have shown up in that church!)

           Food, Fellowship, and the Freedom that only Christ can bring! A successful night indeed.