Feeding minds and bodies

We spent much of the morning preparing lunch. It takes a while to cook for 1,100. We began after breakfast with a trip in our funny little bus to Bantayan City to purchase ingredients. We made sure to include green beans, carrots, peppers and onions since vegetables are not typically part of the daily diet. 

When we returned from Bantayan City, we went to the elementary school for another "stress debriefing" with the students. A classroom packed with Filipino kindergarteners has to be one of the world's sweetest sights. We also visited fourth and sixth grade classes. 

With local friends hired to help us (OK, we were assisting them) we prepared two entrees: a rice/chicken dish (with last night's freshly slaughtered birds) and a noodle/vegetable dish. These we transported to the school in large cooking pots and (hopefully clean!) garbage cans. 

It's difficult to described the site that greeted us at the school. The kids, who were asked to bring bowls and spoons with them, were beginning to gather in front of the school. I hope the pictures will tell the rest of the story. 

Amazingly, we had a fair amount of food left over, so we drove to a rural community about 5 minutes outside the village to see if we could find people in need of a hot, nutritious meal. None of us were prepared for what happened next. Dozens of people, seemingly spontaneously, poured out of their homes, bowls in hand. A line formed before we could even get the pots out of the bus. The adults remained on the sides, letting the children finish what remained in our pots. In all, we fed about1,300 kids, without a single complaint, but hundreds of humble 'thank yous' and bright smiles. 

We stayed in that neighborhood until dark, cutting fallen trees and giving high fives. We truly feel like rock stars as crowds gather and follow us wherever we go. Many have learned our names and call to us as we go through town. It is incredible how thankful these people are for whatever we can provide.