Poverty –
You hear about the extremes of it, Christian circles most of the time, stats in books that desire to convict you, but never enough to make you really count the costs (unless you read “Hole In Our Gospel”). If we were to talk about materialistic poverty from the world’s eye, reality has never set in harder than here in Manila. Amidst the wide skyline of this huge and crowded city, is a sea of one room shacks made mostly of wood, some metal, and even cloths. In that room is most likely a tiny table for food, one mattress (two if lucky), just a couple of bowls for the one meal of little food they might get, and some clothes. These past ten days have totally wrecked my view on it. If you are born this you will never get out. In America, success is based on personality, but here it’s all about your status. Last week, for three mornings I was able to go with a few Racers and a guy named Dexter and feed poor children and adults on the streets a bowl or rice that will likely be their only meal with any type of nutrition for that day. A typhoon came through back in September that had displaced tens of thousands of families, many children left orphaned, and now they live in the most broken and humble living conditions I’ve ever seen. One place, called Corporate Court, is a open basketball gymnasium that on the whole hard concrete floor is nothing but hundreds of people’s homes; homes meaning a 8×8 one room separated by a blanket on all four side, a mattress and a bowl for food. Children whose teeth are already so ruined by the age of five that dental work would only seem necessary for fake teeth. This is the streets of the Philippines, where some of our teams are working with Kids International Ministries feeding twice a day in various locations trying to give what food they can help.
In the world’s standards this would be poverty, and there’s no doubt that it’s not. But, the moment you step out of the truck with a big tub of rice and some curry you can’t see this on their faces. When you walk the streets, you’d act like they are the richest people on the face of this earth because of how nice they are and their never failing attempts to say hi and desire to get to know these white strangers in a foreign land. And as much as I want to throw out pity on them, I’ve come to realize just how much poverty there is in me. I mean, they don’t know the word plenty, but they surely know the meaning of contempt. Because they don’t have those “fancy things” that are supposed to make life “easier”, I find they have more joy, time, and love for their people. I am so poor in my brokenness, humility, and my lack of contentment with what I truly have in the Lord. How can I, as a Christian, struggle to not have things with just having a God who made the universe be enough, and these people show me the lesson of life in its simplicity. Some people give me grief because of my push to get rid of things that just take space, but why have fifteen extra blankets when you need one, and there’s many out in the streets who are cold that may be homeless? Why have a house with extra rooms, a guest room, when most the time they are empty? Two years ago a homeless man died in the cold in Lexington and my pastor at Southland said “Shame on us as Christians, this should never happen on our watch!” Why can’t I just learn to be rich in the Lord even if my house was one room of shabby wood for a family of five? I am poor because I’ve not learned to be contempt, broken, and find joy in Him.
In the world’s standards this would be poverty, and there’s no doubt that it’s not. But, the moment you step out of the truck with a big tub of rice and some curry you can’t see this on their faces. When you walk the streets, you’d act like they are the richest people on the face of this earth because of how nice they are and their never failing attempts to say hi and desire to get to know these white strangers in a foreign land. And as much as I want to throw out pity on them, I’ve come to realize just how much poverty there is in me. I mean, they don’t know the word plenty, but they surely know the meaning of contempt. Because they don’t have those “fancy things” that are supposed to make life “easier”, I find they have more joy, time, and love for their people. I am so poor in my brokenness, humility, and my lack of contentment with what I truly have in the Lord. How can I, as a Christian, struggle to not have things with just having a God who made the universe be enough, and these people show me the lesson of life in its simplicity. Some people give me grief because of my push to get rid of things that just take space, but why have fifteen extra blankets when you need one, and there’s many out in the streets who are cold that may be homeless? Why have a house with extra rooms, a guest room, when most the time they are empty? Two years ago a homeless man died in the cold in Lexington and my pastor at Southland said “Shame on us as Christians, this should never happen on our watch!” Why can’t I just learn to be rich in the Lord even if my house was one room of shabby wood for a family of five? I am poor because I’ve not learned to be contempt, broken, and find joy in Him.
He Is Jealous For Me –
I picked her up, this small little girl no more than seven years old, and in a moment she turned laying her head on my shoulder and took those arms around my neck with such a squeeze. Sitting in the Corporate Court, here was this girl who for the first time seeing me held on tightly for ages; then like a hurricane in my heart tears came. God is this what your love is truly like? Who knows what her past is, what little she lives on, or where her physical expression of love in life comes from. Am I so like this little girl that even though I snub You, God, still You call me to run to You and not let go? And You hold me……You hold me with tears at times because the power of Your love is far deeper than any seminary paper, biblical answer, great theological debate, Christian CD/DVD, best “Worship” CD, or book ever imagined to try to fathom You. Your tears are because of the love that runs deep in You, expressed through Your Son on the cross and the excruciating death, and Your heart to see Your children find freedom by quit trying. In that moment, God was showing me that I was being Jesus to her, even though I felt quite undeserving. Shane Claiborne said in his book, Irresistable Revolution, that we too often hear of “being Jesus to people” or that we should serve because, according to Matthew 25, Jesus is in those we meet. But, we never connect it as Jesus loving Jesus. This girl was Jesus, I was Jesus, and in this moment nothing else mattered but the deeps of God’s love for us.
Hope in darkness –
Besides feeding children and praying for such beautiful people on these streets, our team is serving at an orphanage here also. From babies to ages 15, all these orphans were rescued from an environment that would have gave them no future at all. In a nursery full of babies under two years of age, most of them have been sexually or physically abused already, as everyone else here! This orphanage also has a school/church called Jesus Christ Church in the Valley that gives them a good education to have opportunity. Billy, Brian, and I are going to be building relationships with the older boys for the entire month. This hasn’t been hard already as they in just a couple of days have grown to much affection. They already called me Tite (tee tay) meaning older brother. We are giving the orphanage staff a break all month of rest as we are able to invest in these kids who are not as lucky as many of us. Tonight, putting seven of my boys to bed, I laid down on the floor and red them a book while three of them laid their heads on my lap, one fascinated with my scruffy face, and then afterwards talked about life to them; only after day one. God loves these boys who have no parents, and if I can just be one for them this month, I know I wish I could be the rest of my life. Prayer for these boys, that they can see Christ in us in such a short time we have with them. Where’s the church and where am I? I will also be doing prison ministry three days a week with Billy and Danny’s team and serving inmates a lunch, playing basketball, and getting to have devotions and share Christ to them. I’ve never done prison ministry and been told is heart breaking, but it will be a true stretcher.
P.S. They love basketball here and there’s a plethora of Superman stuff also, this is a big sign!!
The Home of “Thrilla In Manila”!!! Ali vs. Frazier M-Squad Men before our much needed “Mandate”
