There is a boy who has my heart. I introduced Mak Mak in my last blog, but I really want to expound on who this boy is and what he has taught me. Mak Mak is four years old and lives with his mom Melda, his father Daniel, and his baby sister May. The family lives in an itty bitty shelter across the trash heap from where we serve food. Melda and Daniel are very caring parents who are so grateful for Mak Mak and I’s friendship. Mak Mak is unlike any four year old I’ve ever known. We have so much fun together chasing each other, playing with a random ball or video cassette we find, or doing our acrobatic tricks, which consists of me throwing him up in the air and spinning him around. We are quite the talented duo. Last blog I talked about Mak Mak’s smile and what a joy it is to hear him laugh. Mak Mak also has a serious side to him as well. He often becomes quite pensive. We have such an understanding in one another that there really are no words needed. He just acts and I follow. Mother Teresa in her book, “No Greater Love”, speaks about the poor and dignity. She says, “Poverty doesn’t only consist of being hungry for bread, but rather it is a tremendous hunger for human dignity”. I never fully understood this until I met my boy. Mak Mak doesn’t live in the garbage dump, but his own conditions are not much greater. Whenever he comes to the dump to receive food he overwhelms me with his compassion for people and his desire to help them to maintain their dignity. When we feed the families we serve them in Styrofoam cups and plastic utensils. After they are finished eating they just leave their cups and cutlery on the ground- after all they live in garbage. Mak Mak won’t have this. We spend several minutes picking up the cups and spoons and then we run them over to a garbage heap that is not occupied. He throws them as far as he can as if to make a statement that he can make a difference. Even after we return to playing if he sees a spoon on the ground he will pick it up and we make our trip to our mound. He has so much love for people. Every time a child cries he is the first to react by trying to find something that could satisfy their needs. It is beautiful to see this boy love people.
The last day under the overpass we had a baptism ceremony and I had the privilege of baptizing Mak Mak’s dad, Daniel. It is amazing to me that playing ball with a four year old would lead to building a relationship with his parents. I also had no idea that I could learn so much from such a little guy. When I left him I gave him a picture album of the two of us with a letter that he will hopefully be able to read when he learns English one day. I also included Ephesians 3:14-19, my prayer for him, written in Tagalog. I doubt I’ll ever see or even hear from Mak Mak again, but I am excited to be able to lift him up in prayer throughout his life. That boy is going to be used to do great things and I am blessed by the opportunity I had to get to know him and now intercede on his behalf!
