my new best friends are prisoners and gang members

In 2007, the estimated population of the Philippines was
88.6 million.  Of that, an estimated 27.6
million people live below the Philippines poverty threshold – about 27% of
Filipino families and a third of the total population.  That number has since grown.  According to international data, 44% of the
population lives on less than $2 USD a day, with food price increases estimated
to push another 3 million people into poverty. 

Unfortunately, while the poverty itself is difficult to deal with, one
of the most overwhelming aspects of the Philippines, especially here in the
greater Manila area, is the stark contrast between poverty and excess.  The Philippines has one of the highest levels
of income inequality in Asia, with the poorest 20% of the population accounting
for only 5% of the total income or consumption.  I recently visited a community of people who
live on a trash pile under an overpass – in the shadow of a major shopping
mall.  Up the road from where we are
staying is a squatter community full of families who were displaced by a
typhoon that flooded the islands two years ago. 
Across the street is a golf course and country club.  These are just a couple examples – needless to
say, the need here is huge.  Welcome to
the third world.     

My team has been given two main ministries to focus on
this month.  The first is prison
ministry.  Three days a week we go to a
local city jail where we take food and water for the inmates and we lead bible
studies.  We also get to pair our
ministry with the two most popular Filipino pastimes, basketball and karaoke.  Mike and I go into the men’s side and play
basketball while the girls go upstairs and have sing-along time.  Yes, that’s right, my ministry for the month
is playing basketball in a Filipino prison. 
It’s…interesting.  The first time
we went I felt like we were in a movie. 
We play 3 on 3 and everyone gathers around to watch – there was even an announcer at one point.  There are a few things that make this a
challenging ministry.  The first is
immediately apparent to anyone who has ever seen me play basketball – let’s
just say I’m not making SportsCenter anytime soon.  As a sub-6-foot-tall white guy, my only
consolation is that the average Filipino male is about 6 inches shorter than me,
and plays in flip flops.  The second
hurdle is that the court we play on isn’t in the spacious prison yard you are
probably envisioning.  I have played
full-court basketball.  I have played
half-court basketball.  I have now played
quarter-court basketball.  However, despite
these challenges and more (language barrier, cultural barriers, etc.) we are making a real impact there.  A previous world race team saw a man baptized
inside the prison.  I am so excited about
the opportunity to build on that foundation and see more people’s lives changed
forever. 

In addition to these main ministries, we are able to help
out with other team’s ministries which include construction, public food
distribution, community outreach, prayer, and helping at the orphanage.  Another aspect of ministry throughout this
year that I have really come to love is the ministry we have for one another
and the people we are doing ministry with. 
This month is an amazing opportunity to pour into the lives of so many
from our teams, to our squad, to the people from N squad who are also here, to
the local missionaries who belong to this ministry full time.  I will talk more about this kind of ministry
in another later blog, but it truly is a situation and community full of
empowerment, support, and love that can’t help but breed growth – both collectively
and individually.