Philippines goodbye

One of the last sites Katie took me and her intern to was a place northwest in Manila, which is a shantytown built on garbage heap. It's a strange mess of shacks built next to each other. There are cement walkways hung perilously by some kind of wire backbone that connect most of the shacks. Yet the last area is connected by narrow wooden beams.

We were the most exciting entertainment for the locals to watch as we balanced our way across in a circus act. But while they laughed and stared at the white troup unfamiliar to their "town", I couldn't laugh but was scared to death after peering below into the dark, oily, polluted waters. Actually compared with the alternative of falling into the sickeningly smelly waters below, I thought to myself that death would be preferred.

It bothers me that living in that wasteland is a normalcy for the people squatting there. It bothers me that children are left roaming around and can fall into the not only disgusting, but chemically detrimental waters that sit beneath the housing. Most of all, it bothers me that the church allows something like this to go on.

Yet transformation from sin into the new life of Christ is not an overnight change, but a slow work. Food for the Hungry's ministry is heartening in that light, because as they come in with child developent programs and microenterprise projects, they are transforming the community from inside out. The women that we met with had started a savings group and had already begun to see the benefit of saving and putting money aside - and wanted to continue the program the next year. Slowly, ever so slowly, is change being made. And my hope is not in any one of the programs that churches are partnering to do in that community, but rather my hope is in a God with the power and ability to transform lives. People will fail and the work can be frustrating, but God never fails and HE is the one at work. That is my hope.

Katie's doing a great job in Manila and it was hard to say goodbye, but it was really encouraging to see her toil and labor be going to do so much where it is direly needed. What a blessing and priviledge to see God work through her there in the Philippines!