Summer in Manila 2006

Summer 2006 was the summer I innocently stepped into Manila, Philippines – unaware of what I as getting myself really into and having no clue to what God would show me and teach me. I lived in a squatter community called Pajo. The living conditions were tough. The nasty weather, the type of bugs that easily cause a freak-out reaction, bucket showers, squatty-potties, hungry and merciless mosquitoes, rats… were just some of the things that made life there difficult for me. But through all this, I was able to rely on God for comfort and help and even get over some silly fears I had as a privileged girl who pretty much lived in clean and comfortable situations all her life.

My team and I partnered with a local church in the Pajo community. My team consisted of Annette, Julie, and Mark. Annette is from Rice and I knew her previously from the STIM program. We lived right next door to each other in Pajo. Julie is from North Carolina and has a huge love for the Philippines and its people. She will be in Manila for the next five years serving as a missionary. Mark is from California and was the translator, gentleman, and entertainer of our team. I saw my team everyday for my entire summer. I went in seeing my team as the only people who would “be there” for me (especially after coming out of an “ideal” leadership team) but was disappointed later on to find that my teammates did not go into the trip with the same mindset as I regarding team dynamics. I found loving my teammates to be hard when I thought they would be the easiest to love because of how relatable they could be with me (i.e. language, American culture, etc.). I actually now regret how I handled the situation with my team but did learn how to better approach any future teams, what true love calls for, and how God provides community in places I usually don’t seek.

The church we partnered with is called Living Springs Christian Church (LSCC). We served this church by helping out with the youth group, children’s ministry, and prayer meetings, doing special numbers like singing and dancing, interceding for the church, visiting and praying for church members at their homes, and leading worship. At prayer meetings is where I heard prayers prayed out of utter desperation because that really was the state they were in when it came to issues like health and lack of funding for proper healthcare. It struck me the sense of desperation they called out to God with – something I rarely feel or experience due to my privileges as an American. Also through serving, I was stretched by doing different types of ministries that I normally never have the opportunity or courage to do. Serving LSCC was also a great way to share community with the church members and become friends with them. We had so much fun doing ministry with them! I think 75% of the time I spent in the Philippines was of laughter and fun through games, aerobics, shared meals together, dancing, singing, worshipping, talking, and hanging out. And even in the midst of the physical ugliness of a slum community, I constantly saw beauty in the people of Pajo.

Before this trip, I was worried about feeling useless or that my summer would be wasted time and to be honest, we really didn’t “help” or “do” that much for LSCC. God surprised me though because I actually enjoyed the “being” part of the trip more than I thought and the humility that it brought was restoring to my spirit. I assumed “being” would be hard for me because of my personality however it was comforting for me to know that LSCC and its work will be just as good without me there. God definitely showed me His omnipresence and how He was working before, during, and even now in Pajo.

LSCC also refined my beliefs on the role of Christ’s church. LSCC is a holistic ministry, meaning Christ’s love transforms not only their spirit but also people’s lives and the way they live thus transforming every aspect of their lives. For example, once they became a Christian, they would stop littering and throwing trash into the river, and instead encourages recycling by establishing community-oriented junk shops. They strived to live wholly for Jesus, improve the physical brokenness of their community, and generously help their neighbors and community. Another thing about LSCC’s ministry was the church was run by not missionaries but “the poor” themselves (or people living in Pajo) who were an integral part of LSCC. Although LSCC was originally started by a missionary group called Servants, this missionary group’s ultimate goal was the empowerment of local people to eventually take ownership of their church and community.

LSCC also located themselves right in the middle of where people needed Jesus the most. Instead of waiting for people to come to LSCC, LSCC went to the people, the lost and needy. To further elaborate, during visitor’s day, I tagged along with Annette to meet up her college classmate, Timmy, who is an international student and lives in Manila. His family took us to Japanese buffet and boy was the concept of a buffet so beautiful that day :p! Timmy comes from a devout family of believers who are active in a Baptist church in Manila. Timmy’s father shared with us one of the ministries of their church where they minister to a slum community right in the church’s backyard. This ministry changed the way I saw church and how it’s the church’s responsibility to use its gifts to further God’s kingdom. If you speak strategically, this church is much more efficient and possesses an advantage at sharing the gospel due to their foundation in Tagalog (language), resources, and connections than a foreign missionary group would have. What would it look like if churches in America reached out to those around them and helped to fulfill the needs of their nearby community?

Pastor Wenchee Tan is the pastor of LSCC. Our team became close to the Tan family and they were so much fun. The Tan family showed me a completely different picture of generosity and love between family, church community, and friends. Their family shared everything they had with others and lived purely out of the joy they found in Christ Jesus. Man, what a beautiful family they are, just look at them!
Part of the trek involved living with a host family who housed us, fed us, and cared for us. The trek encouraged us to build trust with our host families and regard them as our own family whom we should love, care, obey, and be respectful to. I became really close to my Ate Emma, my host mother. She has a Job-like testimony where God removed everything she had in her life when she was poor to begin with. I learned so much about what faithfulness truly is and how she is able to be faithful because God has been so much more faithful to her. She was also an example to me of what a life lived sacrificially for Jesus and her sons looked like. I wish I could adequately express and explain the deep, deep respect I have for her. I miss her a lot.

I had two host brothers. My younger brother, Kuya Jo-Bert, was shy about talking to me. My older brother, Kuya Jo-Mar, is cleverly named after Ate Emma’s first boy crush ;). The first conversation I had with Kuya Jo-Mar started out with me bawling and in uncontrollable crying. I was angered by the physical ugliness of the slums, confused about how a place like this could exist if I believe in the sovereignty of God, and thought that God had forgotten and didn’t care about the Pajo community. I turned to Kuya Jo-Mar and asked, “Does God care about you?” He answered, “Of course God cares about me. I know it.” With that simple conversation, no matter how embarrassing it was that I completely lost it, it struck me that God really did care deeply for the Pajo community. Not only that, he cared about them in ways I cannot and in even deeper levels of physical, emotional, and spiritual care that I could never provide or give.

During my free time I would hang out with people in the community. I became friends with all types of people. Filipinos are hilarious and have a great sense of humor. I spent a lot of my time with a local gang called CUG. CUG was known within the community for stealing, drinking, doing drugs, and getting in fights – many of the community members were fearful and despiteful towards them. Most of the guys were unemployed and since both of us didn’t have anything to do, we would sit around and people-watch, sing, talk, and just hang out. While I was there, one of my gangsta friends was shot and killed in a gang fight. It was a hard time for me and I’m not really sure what clean conclusions I have for it. I still grieve this loss today. All I know is that these guys are good guys and I think their participation in a gang is part of poverty’s vicious cycle. The CUG guys are young, lively, and clever but because of their lack of opportunities concerning education and employment, they have nothing else to do but join a gang. It’s odd though because I still find myself hoping and dreaming for them – I believe God has a plan for them. In addition, my Kuya Jo-Mar is ministering to them and is just another example of God working there.

I honestly went to Manila having little hope for the world and questioning God’s presence in things like poverty and social injustice. I thought I only saw God’s presence within the Christian bubbles I was part of in America like in my fellowship and church. But after going, seeing, and experiencing God’s heart for the world and His creation, my hope has been restored. God graciously showed me his redemptive power through the physical redemption of a completed road outside my squatter house and most importantly, the spiritual redemption of God’s children in Manila. Redemption is now something I believingly pray for. Also, poverty was redefined for me and I now solidly believe poverty is the result of sin – something God did not intend to create and something He wants to redeem. My summer trip left me more in love with God, on my knees in worship, in awe of God’s glory, and hoping and praying for God’s kingdom to come soon. What a truly blessed summer God gave to me…