“There is no better thing to do than to wait on Jesus Christ,” Pastora Marivic tells her children all the time. She smiled and laughed when I asked her if she lived close by to the church where we were seated. Extending her arm a mere 12 inches to her left, she raps on the church’s back wall. “My home is the other side of this wall.” I only talked with Marivic for a few minutes at best, but I was enraptured with how this beautiful lady spoke about her Lord. Had I earnestly tried, I could not have changed her mind from thinking of anything but Jesus Christ. No matter the topic, she turned it back to somehow include the Lord! I was flabbergasted at her faith. There are few people in this world that love like Marivic does.
Her t-shirt read: “Keep serving the Lord…the pay isn’t much but the retirement is ‘out of this world!’” How awesome is that? It’s not cheesy; she truly believes it. And she lives by it. After starting to minister in the trash dump community at 23 years old, she’s now 50. If I joined her today, it would take me 27 years of service to catch up. What a woman of God!
Pastora Marivic
Our team went to the dump community with a few other guys from the States who were able to bring in medical supplies and many medications. None of us knew anything about being a doctor or a pharmacist, but in the last four days we’ve helped hundreds of patients. While we were at Marivic’s community, the doctor saw 200 patients over several hours (most of them children) and the team counted and distributed tons of medicine at the doctor’s order. A few of us also served many dishes of a hearty soup, while some gave out a new donated piece of clothing to each child.
I asked Marivic how often she received help like this. “Do many people partner with you?” She told me they’d had a medical clinic back in 2002. 2002?! Then she remembered one in 2007. She was still beaming, thankful. I was appalled. Five years apart; a newborn in 2007 would be starting school in 2012. Despite the lack of outside help, Marivic presses on. When she doesn’t have something, she prays for it and the Lord provides.
The church building’s back wall is covered in an array of photos, some dating back to the 1980s. Marivic chuckled as she pointed to one small girl; “she’s all grown up and married now!” The other walls proclaim the Lord’s glory through scripture verses and song lyrics. There isn’t a spot left undecorated. In the corner, behind the rickety pulpit sits a speaker and ancient microphone. When we first entered I was overwhelmed at the number of children able to pack into a room of that size. We were told to sit up front, the kids just looked at us as we looked at them. After a while I realized I had my “deer in the headlights” look on as I anticipated serving all of these people…then I decided to start smiling and waving at individuals.
Soon after we arrived the music started up and a huge grin naturally appeared on my face as I heard them singing old hymns like, Just A Closer Walk With Thee and Rock of Ages. They prayed for us, thanked God for the help and then we started dishing out soup.
Maravic’s community was one of three that I was able to visit this week. These communities are built on the garbage dump sites, literally. The people are scavengers. They work by going to the dump and digging for plastic, metal, or anything to make money. I was told today that the men would receive around 100-135 pesos each day. That translates to about $3.20. Many of the children often have coughs, rashes, decaying teeth or other health problems because of their status of living.
I wore tennis shoes on the first day because I wasn’t sure of how bad the sanitation would be. There were often muddy spots or makeshift wooden bridges over a small “river”. I don’t fully know where the river came from or what floated through it. Trash was obviously everywhere, on the side of the walkways and streets, around houses, underfoot. It took the place of where grass would be in any normal neighborhood. On one street I noticed some interesting fences set up around different houses, later I realized they were nothing but rusty old mattress springs tied together. It’s hard to understand the deficiency of color and life when you’re in it because the surroundings become familiar so quickly, but once you leave to pass by the local golf course and country club on the way home with it’s lush green holes and pretty palm trees, it becomes quite easy to spot the vast difference.
The dump is a world of its own. Poor villages in India and some of the Gypsy communities of Eastern Europe compare to this. Still, despite their physical circumstances I have never seen people so happy. Those that came to the church for treatment were patient and polite. They said thank you, happily received prayer, sang songs and laughed along with us. None of the kids pouted or returned their clothing despite the fact that some pieces were simply too big for their small bodies. I could not spot a dissatisfied face among hundreds as we served the soup. No one turned his or her nose up at the meal (that’s probably due to our awesome cooks, but kids can still be picky at times). I had a few hours yesterday to sit at the prayer station and talk with the kids while their medication was prepared. We got to talk about our favorite colors, books, sports and everything else. Angry Birds was an easy conversation starter as 1 out of every 6 kids was wearing something with the logo on it. I taught a few kids how to thumb wrestle and play “rock, paper, scissors”. The pictures we took are hilarious. These people are just full of spirit, even if they’re not full of health.
I thank God for how He has allowed me to see His people this year. I’ve seen young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick; I’ve seen His children, my family. I thank the Lord that He has shown me what really matters. While I may get a chance to visit the Mall of Asia next week, the biggest supermall in all of Asia, I don’t want to tell you about that when I reach the States. Instead, when you ask about my trip you better be ready to hear about Marivic and those like her who continue to blow me away with their unshakeable faith in our Lord. People and relationships are the point. Well, Jesus Christ is the point, but pointing people to the point (Jesus) is what I’m trying to point out to you as the supreme point. You get all that? Shopping, souvenirs, good photos, good food, travel, adventures, they’re all worthless if you miss the people along the way.
Lord, help me to see Your people as you see them. Forgive me when I judge by people’s circumstances or get overwhelmed at the filth and oppressiveness. Help me to lean on You and trust in You as Your saints do. Grow my faith even if you don’t grow my comforts in this life. Help me to follow You anywhere, Jesus.
