I'm not gonna sugar coat it. I'm just going to get down to it. This month has been HARD. And when I say hard I don't mean mixing concrete and digging holes kind of hard like last month. I mean hard to see the poverty and hopelessness of the people in San buena village. But even harder to travel a few minutes down the road to one of the many fancy malls in Manila. The level of disparity between the poor and the wealthy is greatly accentuated in this.
This month, we have been living in San buena village, a small squatters village just outside Manila. It's so great to be fully immersed in the community, as we are living with Ati Thelma (aka mommi) and her family in their small tin roof and cinder block house. Naked children play in the streets, roosters crow at all hours of the day (and night) and there is zero alone time or personal space. We are so blessed to have electricity, but do not have running water. Everyone in the village has been so welcoming and friendly. Children follow us through the streets. Neighbors invite us over for snacks. We are asked to speak at church and perform "special musical numbers." I can honestly say that I've never felt more loved and accepted! We have also been so very blessed by our new Pilipino friends, Emilson and Estella who have treated us poor missionaries to 3 meals, took us to Tagatay (a volcano lake) and brought us goodies from back home!! It is so great to see that hospitality runs in the blood of all Pilipino people, despite social class or background 🙂
Now, back to the difficulties I've experienced this month, highlighted through materialism. Silly me, for some reason, I thought only America dealt with a society revolving around material possessions, forgetting the true meaning of Christmas and turning a blind eye to those in need.
From the looks of the zillions of malls decorated for Christmas here, it appears that materialism fever has gotten ahold of many here as well. I have really been challenged by and have struggled with not coveting all the cute clothes or fancy things on display at the malls. This year, on the World Race, I have been called to abandon the material, pack a few choice items into a 70 liter pack and set out across the world to follow Jesus.
I have been reading Radical by David Platt recently and have gleaned some great biblical truths about what stewardship of our money and possessions should look like. One challenging question he posed, was "what if we began operating under the idea that God has given us [Americans] excess, not so we could HAVE more, but so we could GIVE more?" There is nothing inherently wrong with having nice things, but what if we set a cap on our lifestyles? What if we decided that we only needed a small portion of our salary (like $15,000) per year to live and gave the rest of it away? This year, I have quickly learned what I really need versus what I just want. I only really need about 50% of the items in my pack- the rest is excess. I know living with 35 liters of stuff is not the norm, but it has caused me to start thinking about what is a NEED versus a WANT.
Before ya'll think I've gone way off my rocker and am advocating selling EVERYTHING to follow Jesus, as he tells the rich young ruler in Mark 10, I just want to make it clear that it is not a sin to have nice things or even to want nice things. It is a matter of learning stewardship and how to share your wealth and blessings with those in need; those who live on less than $1 per day and barely have enough to feed their families. So, as Christmas approaches, I am going to be looking for ways to share my wealth- the little I have, with those around me here in San buena who have even less. My challenge to all of you: what do you really need? Are you able to sell or give away some of your material items so that you can bless someone with a meal? Even though Jesus likely will not call you to give up everything, if He did, would you be willing to do so and follow his call?
