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.

Day Dreaming...

I wake up in the morning. Time for another day of work! I sigh and get out of bed, grab a quick bite to eat and then go to my 8-5 job. It doesn't pay that well, but it keeps food on the table. If I had my choice I would be doing something else, but I don't really know what that would be so until then I am grateful for this job that keeps me going. It is a gift from God.

When I get home I'll either call up some friends to hang out, maybe play a game of chess, or basketball or just hang out. A lot of my neighbors drink, but I try to stay away from too much of that. My weekends are pretty full with church activities, I enjoy worship music so I help with the worship team when I can. I will be leading at the end of this month.

That's my life, I'm happy and God has given me the grace of his salvation. What else could I ask for?
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Who is this? Is this me in Los Angeles or Mark in the slums of Botocan?

In the midst of the differences... the similarities are striking.

Thoughts?

Ariel - A Character Sketch

If you were to enter Botocan and weave through the tricycles, the makeshift market, the unclothed kids waiting for the laundry to dry, & turn into an alleyway right before the road veers off to the right-- then you would cross a small bridge covering the "stream" [read: open sewer] that runs through the community. Past the stream you would take a sharp right, cutting between two houses and find yourself in front of a house, the squealing of pigs in the background and face to face with Ariel, the inestimable pig farmer.

Ariel sits in his house watching TV, cracking jokes & talking to those who come by. His wife Luna is usually there as well, if she is not out talking with the neighbors or playing bingo for some pesos. Right behind thehouse they have the pigs, 12 babies right now and one mama sow. They can breed four times a year and sell the babies when they are grown for 2,000 pesos each (approx. $45). Ariel also rents two places out.

When we visit Ariel he always welcomes us in. He loves to talk & loves a good pun, & he has a lot! Quick wit & quick mind, he is a delightful host. I visit with Aaron & since I speak so little Tagalog all I can do is smile & laugh. He always points that out, "daniel, he likes to laugh. That's good, it's the Christian thing to do. " I don't even know how serious he is. They want to invite me over so that I can learn more tagalog, so that I won't rely on Aaron translating for me. Ariel says, "Usually Filipinos are very hospitable, we would give you the very best. But because you're here to experience the life of the poor we will feed you rice and dried fish." He says this in mock seriousness & then laughs. Who knows what I will be fed come thursday night!

The War of the Roads

Aaron likes to walk...

He must have grown up a 'walker' because not often do I find myself taking public transportation, but rather, we walk. We travel through the city by foot, eschewing the horde of jeepneys, tricycles, motorbikes & taxis, all vying for his piso. And so I walk with him, taking just one Jeepney in th emidst of running errands to three locations, walking over 4 miles.

He has the scars to prove his mileage, right on his calf from a tricycle running into his leg. I can see how as the tricycle taxis whiz around us, their two-stroke engines a sharp staccato, like machine gun fire as they push & shove their way between jeepneys. Jeepneys, who think they are motorcyles cutting in and out of traffic, even into the opposite lane to get ahead, blocking traffic going both ways for a block. Interspersed the lone Toyota Camry (2008!) and Mercedes Benz owned by the rich who somehow keep their vehicles scratch free. Perhaps their windows are bullet and scratch proof. Aaron has told me of a company which rents out bullet proof vehicles for use by the rich, mostly chinese-Filipino familyies, for protection against kidnapping. Some 200 kidnappings a year, some kids getting kidnapped multiple times... routine extortion of money.

Aaron and I continue walking, though we wioll take one Jeepney back towards Botocon, where home is. Bent low in a short seat as we wait for our stop passing money between the driver and the passengers; the driver doling out change with one hand as he drives with the other. Aaron yells out our stop and he swerves to a halt and we continue on our way. Walking.

Aaron likes walking.

24 hour count down

Here is a prayer request e-mail I sent out. If you would like to receive updates by e-mail of my time in the Philippines let me know!
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Hey everyone! At this time tomorrow I'll be standing in LAX, waiting in line to check baggage in for my flight to the Philippines! It has been a whirlwind month and a half as I've pursued this opportunity to return overseas. I remember when I first began considering going to the Philippines an option. It was actually pretty exciting for me to even consider going back overseas. As I began to pursue going as an option, I was blessed to have different things fall into place without too much in the way of any problems. I see it as God opening doors.

As the day of departure looms I sense in myself that the initial excitement has passed and has been replaced with the reality of going as well as a deeper hope in what God seems to be doing in my own soul and spirit. As I have lived out the past month, the purpose for this journey and trip has shifted slightly. Where before it was primarily a "fleece" to test to see if I should go overseas (e.g. "God, i'm in the Philippines. If you're calling me here, you can tell me now!") now I am seeing it as a time to sit and listen to what it is that God actually wants me to hear. And more than anything, I want to be able to return to the U.S. with the voice of God being the primary voice I hear, rather than my friends (though I love all of you!), family, or --as is most often the case-- my own voice, which often speaks words of indecision, comparision, angst, and fear of failure!

All that said, below are some ways I can see you all praying for me! I'll bold it, for all of you who wanted to get to the meaty stuff and just skimmed up to this point. ;)

My posture coming in: Pray that I would be able to come in, not as a doer, but as a Learner, a servant, an intercessor and a friend. These are the roles that the internship encourages and I know that as I focus on learning from the people already there, putting things before God, and focusing on relationship, that I will receive the most.

Sarah and I: This will be the longest Sarah and I have been apart since we started dating. :( Please pray for a mutual trust and intentionality and care for each other as we explore God's calling in our lives in two very different areas.

A sensitivity to God's voice: Most important to me is that I would continue to grow in a sensitivity to God's voice and a trust in His guidance in my life. That I would trust in His sovereignty as well as His grace and love.

Okay, I'm not sure how often I will be able to write these, so here is what I know for now. I'll try to e-mail later with contact information and updates but I make no promises! :) Thank you all, again for your care for my life. I appreciate that this group represents a cross section of my life that includes Thailand, Oxy, InterVarsity, and Fuller. God has truly blessed me with good friends.

Take care and blessings,

Daniel

The count down begins

Nine days until leaving. The Lord is at work in my life and I sit in that truth as I prepare to go!

So much has been swirling through my head and heart the past few days. But reading my friend's posts the past few days has definitely challenged me and encouraged me to write!

Yesterday I had about 10 people over at my house to pray for me as I prepared to leave. We gave a little space to listen to God and people begin praying. I have to say that every prayer that was prayed resonated in a specific way and I realized at that moment the blessing of having community come around you, see you and lift up petitions on your behalf before God.

I feel covered by prayer and ready to go.

I am ready to go and receive. I am realizing how much deeper my confidence in God needs to press into my soul, that I would have a freedom in my life to know that God, in his sovereignty, has my best in mind and as a wise mentor has reminded me, I can't f-- it up. There's a lot in that statement that is still very difficult for me to believe. And in that fear of making mistakes I abdicate to the opinions and desires and vision of other people to the point where my own desires and vision is masked, repressed and lost. Perhaps Manila will be nothing but sitting and letting those deep things float upwards. And if it is nothing but that, I will come back content and satisfied, proclaiming the goodness of God.

Pray that over me my friends.

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Notice a new blog on the left bar called "moments". It's a blog of Steph Wong's past year teaching. It comes to you highly recommended!