[a quick shot of a little girl outside of the medical clinic]

After visiting CRS, we were able to visit a medical clinic being held in a local slum. Everything ICM does is facilitated by the local pastors that are already serving their communities (another reason I love ICM!). We arrived and were warmly greeted by the pastor of the church who enthusiastically gave a tour of the neighborhood. He explained that this neighborhood was known to be very violent and was the Philippine equivalent to the Bronx of New York. As we walked through the narrow, winding allies in between chanties, we were closely followed by a large group of smiling and curious children. Everyone was remarkably polite in the “Bronx” as we were warmly greeted around every turn with a smile and a “welcome to the Philippines.” Not sure how they knew we weren’t from the neighborhood as we blended right in with our expensive cameras and white skin [sarcasm].

[slum kids that followed us around throughout or tour. notice the happiness and lack of ipods]

In the middle of our tour, I was able to slip into a typical house in the neighborhood with the pastor and a few others from our group. Below is a picture of the kitchen.

I immediately flashed back to our long-term dream of owning a house in Northern Virginia. No maple cabinets or granite countertops here. No luxury of a dishwasher (or even a sink!) to think of in this kitchen. Different perspective, huh?

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