My stay here in the Philippines has been a unique experience. I have
met some of the most beautiful broken and poverty stricken people in the
world. And yet in the midst of the struggles that they face it’s not
all that different from the struggles I and so many others face at home.
As we’ve been
working in this community we’ve been so grateful to have a translator
come with us. Even though many Filipinos speak basic English it is a
blessing to have someone come with you who knows the culture and to help
with the language barrier.
She is a 28 year old bundle of joy and giggles, has five children and is
a very dedicated mother and wife. She has worked with us over the past
month translating, as we went door to door throughout the community’s
walkways and alleys. Many times we would encounter a vicious dog or an
angry drunk man and she would put herself in harm’s way just to make
sure that we were a little safer. She was willing to walk all over her
own neighborhood and talk with people who she knows personally, on our
behalf. She probably knows that her neighbors will come to her later and
ask her for money just because she’s friends with the “rich
foreigners”, and yet that doesn’t phase her one single bit. That doesn’t
keep her from going out every day making sure we are in the shade so we
don’t get too hot or too tired. Filipinos, in general are very
courteous people and generous, oh so generous. If they have it, it is
yours. Our connection with Mari Lou was different though, she was
personally invested in our well being. She would ask first thing in the
morning if someone was missing from our team. I often wondered why she
cared so much. What made her care for us as if we when her own family?
And then I realized – we listened to her. We prayed for her. We became
friends who cared about the deep struggles in her life and showed
affection and concern as we prayed for her situations. We couldn’t offer
her much; we couldn’t change the struggles that life has thrown her way
but we could listen and we could point her to the One who can.
There are so many stories here and
so much starvation. People are hungry and thirsty, literally, but there
is also a much deeper and much more urgent hunger for affection. Part 2
will introduce you to a boy named Manny, who captures the heart of
everyone he meets, yet still carries that hunger inside him…
