I woke up to my alarm at 5:30 this morning. By 7 o’clock I had changed three, explosive, poopy diapers, constantly had an infant in my arms and had already become numb to the sounds of tears and red faces. I also may or may not have mastered the art of the one-handed dirty diaper swap, wipes ready in the free hand, praying over an orphan infant whose parents must have been Filipino acrobats or ninjas judging by the amazing flips and elusive moves that took place on the changing table.
It’s a quarter to five in the evening and I just received a hand-written note from a prisoner I met yesterday afternoon, Kekem, at the Maybaylay prison. It has over 72 verses written on it for me to memorize for our bible study I organized to take place next Tuesday afternoon, the next time I can get back to the prison.
This is my ministry for the month in the Philippines. We have four full weeks here in Malaybalay and everyday of them will be consumed with the beautiful orphans we are caring for, or the surprisingly joyful prisoners at the local jail.
Today was my first day of ‘baby duty’, one of three eight-hour shifts (6am – 2pm, 2pm – 10pm, 10pm – 6am) we are covering to relieve the full-time house moms while we are staying at Mount Moriah Camp. I love babies. I have written of my adoration of them in past blogs, mostly how I enjoy spending the time I want with them, then returning them to their rightful owner(s). So…I wasn’t too sure how eight solid hours with a sick 9 month old, almost 1 year old, two 2 year olds (one also sick) and two three year olds (sadly, another sicky) was going to go. It was awesome. They were the only ones who cried, and I love what God is continuing to teach me about the beauty of His Creation. Even if it has a snotty nose and just threw up on me.
My past two afternoons have been spent at the jail. We were able to have the women and minor prisoners released to the outside visitors’ area from 2:30 – 4:45 p.m. We started off with relational conversations, getting to know you, and their stories. Most everyone we talked to, men, women and minors, are in for drugs. Some wrongly accused, some rightly. I was introduced to a simple but very amusing game that involves throwing one of your shoes at an aluminum can standing upright. If you miss, you go stand on the other side of the throwing line by your shoe. If you hit the can and knock it over, you still go stand by your shoe but everyone else who is waiting by their shoes are free to run back across the line. Someone is ‘It’. ‘It’ has to tag a shoe thrower in the midst of their running back and forth. It’s really more fun than it sounds, and one of my favorite things about visiting foreign countries. Some of their entertainment is so simple, cheap and fun.
This is how I met Kekem. He’s an ace at the shoe throwing. If it weren’t for him, I certainly would have been ‘It’ a few times. I introduced myself after one of our games got rained out and told him he spoke great English. He opened up to me quickly. Arrested at 16 for possession of ‘highly illegal drugs’ (he was caught selling drugs to an undercover officer), he came to jail not knowing God, as a rebellious teen who used to be cutter, the deep scars still clearly visible on his upper arms. Two years later, he spent the last hour and a half of my visit yesterday afternoon speaking life into me and finding verses in my bible for me to read out loud to us for encouragement. Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 7:21-23, 28:19-20; Exodus 20:1-17, his verse recall is impressive.
Kekem allowed Jesus to become part of his life soon after he was locked up. Since then he has dedicated his life to knowing the Word like the back of his hand. His dream is to travel the world and share the gospel. I am encouraging him to start a bible study for Cell 6, the minor cell. I told him even though I am outside preaching the Word, he is just as important, if not more, because he has access inside to the hearts and minds that most missionaries can not make it to. For now, I am going to dig into the plethora of verses he’s given me to study for the week and see where God takes us Tuesday.
