The Last Slum of Makati

You will probably hear it before you see it.

If you are listening, amidst the towers, the parking lots, the banks and coffee shops of Makati you will find it.

If you are listening... the sounds of cars, people, & construction will give way to the crowing of a rooster, in the center of the financial & commercial sector of Manila.

And if you are truly listening enough to care you will look up from the ground in front of you and peer beyond the trees growing so perfectly along the roadside and you will the corrugated rooftops of the last slum of Makati.

It stubbornly sits there, wooden creations, a spot, a blemish on the face of the otherwise clean and spotless Makati exterior. Laundry hangs out the windows to dry and an older man lounges on the third floor just in view over the tops of the perfect row of trees, which worked so hard to mask the existence of such a place.

The blemish, meticulously hidden yet betrayed by the cocks crow is there to stay. A miracle in many ways, perhaps God preserving the homes of the few, a symbol of his care for his people in the midst of an unjust opulence. Maybe His judgment, an indictment against the superficiality of Makati's prosperity that is striving to hide the abject poverty that lurks below the surface that is the backbone of the construction of the grand and soaring skyscrapers that tower over the miracle blemish.

And perhaps it, in this moment, is God's word to me... pleading with me to have his eyes and his ears for his people. To listen for his voice, even if by such mundane things as a rooster's crow.

Ate Luce

This isn't really finished, but I haven't posted in a while... so i'll go ahead and post it for you all. A too short sketch of Ate Luce
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Amongst the Sari-Sari stores of Botocan most people know of Ate Luce's store. The most variety and the cheapest alcohol make it a common location for all people in Botocan to drop by, sooner or later.
If you were to drop by you would meet a kind but quick, hospitale & sassy mother of two, the central piece of the Sarmiento household who pile into the upstairs of the store every night, all eight of them sharing the space of a small studio apartment in Los Angeles. There's Mom & Dad Sarmiento, Ate Luce and her husband Guya Weng, there are two kids, Dart (short for Dartagnian of Muskateers fame) and Basti (short for Sebastian, though his real name... long story). Finally, Luce's two brothers, Nielsen and Ken, round out the mix. It is a close & loyal family, true to each other & committed to their mutual success.
Luce is always available to talk amidst dealing with customers, caring for Basti, or taking a break to smoke. She is quick to smile and quick to invite you in for some afternoon meryenda or a late dinner; especially if you are an awkward and slightly befuddled American "missionary". She is proud of her brothers, both who are studying at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and is devoted to her husbands and sons.
"Where were you Daniel?" she chides me after a day away. "Next time you need to eat with us!"
Recently the twinkle has disappeared. One peels back a layer and underneath the quick smile is a sadness, the weight, worry, and anxiety of a mother concerned with the future of her children. Less than a year ago her father had a stroke rendering him unable to continue his work as a mechanic. The household now survives on three jobs, Luce's mother's job washing dishes, Guya Weng's job as a pizza delivery man, and the store. Luce is thinking of going back overseas. She is not sure if she can afford her children's schooling. She loves her kids and wants to make sure that they have opportunities. So she is applying to go back to Japan again. Last time she went as an entertainer. She called her family every day because she missed her family so much. But because of her love for her children, she is willing to leave. To leave for the love of her children, the most tragic love of all.