DW

This year, I went on the Philippines Service Trip for the second time. The second time to definitely different from the first time, in the sense that things weren't as surprising as they were when I first visited. Last year, I got on the plane not knowing what to expect. I packed around three sweaters not realising that it would be 36 degrees celcius in the Philippines. I went with the thought that all it was, was seven days of sweating, playing with some kids, getting tanned, then returning. I didn't know that I would make the relationships that I did with those children home kids. I had no idea that the labor would result in so much pain. I had absolutely no idea that I would drink bottle after bottle after bottle of water, and not have to go to the bathroom the whole day, because the water would leave my body through all the sweat.

Going back the second time, I already had knowledge about the living conditions of the community, and place we stayed at, I knew some of the children there, and I knew the intensity of the physical labor that awaited us. I knew what the weather would be, and what the food would be like.

What I didn't know, was the exhilaration that I would get after seeing the finished product of the classroom building that we built the base of. I didn't know that such happiness could exist from these orphan kids who were more than excited to see us return. I had no clue that I would be so thrilled to see kids mature from the previous year, and to continue building relationships with them.

I realised that the more we experience, the more we open our eyes to the possibilities and great achievements and awful in this world. No matter what we see through the experiences, we will gain knowledge and learn something from our surroundings.