I’m writing from my room here at the Youth With A Mission staff house in Tondo, Manila. It was quite a trip to get here this time. I arrived early at Newark Airport with my two traveling companions; my niece Kristen Grimsland and her friend from college Leah Hirsch-Cotter. Upon our arrival we noticed our flight was delayed over an hour. That turned into a 2 hour delay before we finally took off. Since our layover in Hong Kong was only an hour and a half, I knew we were in trouble. So off we flew on our 15 1/2 hour journey with a screaming baby behind us and the entertainment features not working….yes the axis of travel evil! I was very thankful for my mp3 player and noise-cancelling headphones.
We arrived in Hong Kong and, of course, missed our connection. Before I could start my rant against the airline they put us up in the beautiful airport hotel and provided us a free breakfast.
After a very smooth non-eventful flight the next morning (actually about 5 hours later) we were in Manila. For me it was like what I’ve heard women say about childbirth, they forget about the pain of labor. Everytime I exit the airport in Manila I feel like I’m right where I’m suppose to be, and I’m ready to get to work.
We hit the road running and stopped at an ongoing medical outreach happening at the permanent housing area in Smokey Mountain before we even unloaded our luggage. A few hours later we were back there helping some friends hand out gifts to elementary school children. For Kristen and Leah’s first visit to the Philippines, they are getting an early start.
I’m looking forward to the next three weeks and I will do my best to keep you all updated!
Paul Grimsland

Children of Smokey Mountain Philippines