June 29, 2014
The World Race provides a brief explanation of what racers can expect in the Philippines. “This Asian island nation, former Spanish colony then American protectorate, is a country in tension, trying to cross the threshold between the third and first world. It offers a variety of landscapes – beaches, mountains, volcanic lakes – and languages, with Tagalog as the national tongue. The Catholic Church is a substantial piece of the religious pie, however, and Islam is growing in the island of Mindinao. The Filipino people and culture love music, dance and community. While there, you may find yourself living with and giving hope to the destitute, caring for orphans, and challenging the growing number of Christ-followers to rise up.”
I got most of this information from the books The Phillipines, by Joaquin L. Gonzalez III, and The Philippines—Enchantment of the World, by Walter Oleksy, and the websites christianaid.org, and worldvision.org.
- Filipinos are 83% Roman Catholic, 9% Protestant, 5% Muslim, and 3% Buddhist and other faiths. Although the Philippines is mostly a Roman Catholic nation, the faith is often mixed with other cultural beliefs, such as praying to the god Bathala, the rain god, earth god, and using a spokeswoman(the diwatero) who is a healer or spirit medium. Many Filipinos also worship their ancestors—called anitos—and pray to them for guidance and protection. Some of the most devout holy events occur on Good Friday, and on that day, some men have their backs whipped or even allow themselves to be nailed to a cross.
- Filipino Muslims are part of the Sunni sect and is often blended with Filipino animistic worship of animals, natural objects, and spirits—as they are by many Christian Filipinos.
- “More than half of the population of the Philippines live in disaster prone areas, and the country is now considered the third most vulnerable in the world to natural disasters and climate change, according to the World Disaster Report 2012. The Philippines experiences around 20 typhoons a year and, being in the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, is at high risk of earthquakes. Twenty of the largest cities are situated on the coast and are most at risk of rising sea levels and extreme climate conditions.” Chrisianaid.org
- A small group of guerrillas, known as Abu Sayyaf, has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in the Philippines since the 1970s. Nearly 120,000 people have lost their lives in the fights with rebel groups and more than 3 million have been displaced. The Philippines still faces threats from several terrorist groups today. The group is involved with bombings, assassinations, kidnapping, rape, child sexual abuse, extortion, random shootings, and drug trafficking.
- The poor account for 65% of the population.
- At least one in five children doesn’t complete primary education and 11 million children are illiterate.
Please pray along with me for the Philippines! Against the injustice and terrorism, the fear and hardship of natural disasters and poverty, and that the truth of Christ will cast out all lies and distortions of the hope that they are seeking! That those who don’t know Him, will truly find Jesus and lay all other beliefs aside.
Also pray for the people that we will meet once we are there. That God will prepare their hearts as well as ours, and that He will make an impact there through us, whether it is by planting seeds, working the field, or harvesting This is my prayer for all of the countries that we will go to.
Thank you guys! God bless.
~Tori
