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How to Survive an ICM 101 Trip

Story & Photos by Justine Maceross; ICM Trip Participant

It is easy for me to forget that poverty affects the majority of our world.  90% of people deal with corruption daily – a fact I learned in the first ICM 101 Lecture.  This truth is all too forgettable in my day-to-day routine in San Antonio, Texas, where the man standing on the corner under the expressway holding a cardboard sign asking for food is the closest I come to poverty.  But there is no hiding from the facts when you travel to the Philippines with International Care Ministries.

I got to witness all of ICM’s programs in action.  I visited Jumpstart Kindergartens and helped test the students to make sure they were learning everything they needed to know.  I taught the health portion of the VHL curriculum to a group of mothers participating in a Transform program.  I served food at a Malnourished Children’s Outreach and witnessed the joy of the women running the program as they made a difference in their community.  The common thread that ties all of these programs together is the hope that is instilled in the people who participate, including the ICM staff.

So, here are some things I learned during this whirlwind of a week:

First, forget everything you think you know about poverty and allow yourself to experience the slums as much as possible.  We will never be able to fully understand what it is like to live below subsistence level because every time we walk into a slum we know we are going to walk out.  So while you are standing in the slums, allow God to show you the beauty and hope amidst the brokenness.

Second, take note of the little details – like the placement of tires and rocks in the pathway that were supposed to help you gain more solid footing.  The wood planks, bamboo, and scraps of metal or fabric are cobbled together to provide relief from the sunshine.  I walked through the first two slum communities we visited in a sort of daze, taking in all of the sights and smells but not understanding what any of it meant.  It can be overwhelming walking through all of the different slum communities and slowly realizing that all of the people you are smiling at do not get to leave the slum to stay in a hotel for the night. 

Third, be prepared to eat a lot of chicken and rice – garlic rice is your friend! 

And finally, when facing a rickety bamboo bridge with missing planks, walk along the supporting beams of bamboo that hold up the bridge.  Try not to step in the spaces between these beams because your foot may fall through!  If you hesitate too long or start to turn back, the members of the community might laugh, flashing their beautiful smiles, and start waving you over (speaking from experience here!).  I must have looked scared but willing because a girl took my hand and gently guided me across the bridge.  Everyone I met in the slums was so kind. 

Looking back on the trip, I found myself consistently inspired.  The faith of a slum church congregation that sang and clapped praises to God for their lives, the mothers who wanted to lead their family’s towards better lives, and the pastors who committed to living in these communities in order to eternally impact lives.  Everything ICM does is geared towards giving individuals a hope that is the foundation for lasting change.

ICM Kindergarten that we visited.
ICM Transform Community where I taught VHL.

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