A Quick Update

"Warp 7"

by BernieSpeed @ www.caedes.net

This picture pretty much describes perfectly how I feel since coming back. I kind of just feel out of place in life. Everything keeps on moving around me really fast, but here I am 'snail-ing' along life. And on top of that I'm suppose to think about fund-raising and such. Yup, that's pretty much it. Reverse culture-shock. It's pretty great. It's pretty tough.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement since I have come back. And thanks for keeping up with my blog when I was overseas - I'm glad it was pretty effective with communicating what was going on!

See you next time....

PREVIEW: summer newsletter is about to hit the presses. I'll post it when the final draft is done.

Hi Again Means Goodbye Sometimes

Heading out in four hours to the Manila airport. 31 hours later I will be landing in Logan. Nice? It will be pretty great to be back home (and recovering from jet lag). It was pretty great seeing some of the teenagers from the community come and visit. Yes, very good to be spending the last day with my Filipino friends and the rest of our team.

See many of you again soon and look forward to sharing some of the experiences. Thanks for all your prayers and notes of encouragement throughout this trip.

Winding Down

Flying out in 3 days... whoa

It was great to visit Los Banos, Laguna and the ministry in Metro Manila the past few days. The rest of our team left their respective ministries and we are back at the Filipino Navigator headquarters. There are plans for some rest and relaxing in the city as we debrief our time with each other. It feels pretty strange to be talking about leaving the Philippines, but this trip has helped me look forward to another year at UMass.

Also, I personally am hoping to spend maybe one more day with a couple of older guys from our community (Ronel and Darwin) if they can visit on Saturday. That would be pretty exciting for sure... it's pretty tough leaving friends by going halfway around the world.

True Fasting

I sometimes wonder if we are connecting with people's spirituality too much instead of too little. As in we are too concerned with what bible studies we get them connected with and miss out on people's physical/emotional needs.

Here's a chapter from Isaiah that is helping me process this thought:

Isaiah 58:2-10
2For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ³'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves,and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. ⁴Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. ⁵Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? 6"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? ⁷Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

===========

It makes me think about this: to know the abundance of the Lord isn't simply to think rightly, but to also live justly.

Notes From Lunch

Jason and I had the privilege of meeting with Wency, the director of the urban poor ministries in Los Banos. I wanted to write down what I heard because I really love the vision of his ministry here.

• The ministry in Los Banos comprises ministry to the poor, high school ministry, and a college ministry (UPLB)... incorporating self-sustaining development programs, feeding programs, music ministry, and tutorials.
• The major mission points of this ministry is to: have a ministry that is able to be run by lay-people, develop real community, and be holistic - to minister to people's needs and their spirituality, speak to all of their lives with the gospel, minister to a wide array of people (H.S., college, slums/squatter areas).
• Holistic ministry is essential because people begin to follow you when you help their needs.
  
• Another reason why there are multiple ministries is because the poor in the Philippines are integrated throughout all of society - the poor and the rich mingle in everyday life.
• Being poor isn't necessarily better, though they are more ready to accept the gospel. The poor and rich struggle with the same inherent issues (sin, family structure, cultural pressures)... it is just the poor are more aware of their neediness, which is why they readily desire to connect their spirituality.
• The congregational church ministers to the community when individuals take charge of loving their neighbors (going beyond church and church activity attendance).
• The future vision is that laborers will be built up as the ministry speaks to each individual's wholeness... and they will go out to establish communities.

I am a little bit embarrassed with my broken notes, but what kuya wency and Companion to the Poor say really complement each other. I am really grateful for the hospitality of the people in Los Banos in welcoming Jason and I to visit their ministry. Seeing the ministry here helps me also process my time in Antipolo better as well.

Uggh, Need to Develop Pictures

So after three straight days of farewell parties (mine, Jon's, and Jason's) from Wednesday to Friday, I had a chocolate party with the community kids and took them out to the movies on Saturday, and said farewell on Sunday morning. I could describe more (but unfortunately there are no pictures to show you these things), but its not too difficult to describe lots of food, song/dance tributes, and a lot of good-byes. Filipinos love there dancing and ridiculous amounts of food at their parties.

Now Jason and I are here in Los Banos (two hours south) with three other teammates who we met during the first week of orientation. It's really tough leaving an awesome community, it's great to meet up with old friends and visit the ministry here.

Mix of emotions. Miss my host family a lot already.

I'm Thankful for....

To be honest I don't feel like I have actually done anything really significant other than experience Filipino culture quite thoroughly. However, I was talking to Ate Lina (the mother of my family) today and she got quite emotional explaining how she was thankful for the time that I've spent here. And when someone thanks you for doing something you are not too sure what you've done, it definitely makes you reflect pretty hard.

• I think my interaction with Ate Lina was really great since it was in the context of talking about a message Dario presented last night in Matthew 6 (Do not worry...), Ecclesiastes 12, and Isaiah 40. She also shared her story of how she trusts God with her family. It's pretty inspiring.
• I have come to a semi-conclusion that where I felt like I have done nothing, and Ate Lina was moved is a direct reflection of affluent vs. two-third world societies. The book I am reading, Companion to the Poor, has a chapter wondering why Matthew 5 says "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," as in why the poor are blessed. I think I've come to recognize that the poor need a lot less to be moved by God's provision. Where I need something pretty near to miraculous to happen before I feel significant, Ate Lina was simply thankful for my presence with her family. That's pretty incredible, seeing God's presence practically everywhere.
• Ate Lina has been praying for her family (her husband and four kids) for many years and gradually God is transforming each of their lives - when I can find a picture of the family, I will share what Ate Lina has shared with me. I am pretty excited for when the whole family can worship God and be a blessing to their neighbors and friends. If I see that day, it's going to be pretty exciting!
• I realize that truly adapting to a culture is pretty hard. Food, relating to people, noises, smells, weather, language barriers, different value systems, mosquitoes, and getting sick compound each other to make a pretty intense experience that is not like home. However, as I continue to reflect about my time here, there is one thing I'm really thankful for. I am really thankful that I got to thoroughly experience Filipino culture this time around and in this experience see the gospel transform lives (through house churches, bible studies, and conversations with my family). The poor are blessed because the hope of following Jesus is much more significant. Not only are they following in the "spiritual" sense, but they are learning to trust God with their whole lives. Seeing this process in the local communities has been pretty awesome.
• I am really thankful for my family as well. All of them have welcomed me warmly into their house and given me space to rest. They have been great. Yeah, I'm going to miss them. Here here to the last week!
  

The Worst Time to be Making Decisions

So it's pretty official that I am emotionally attached to the family I'm staying with and will greatly miss them and the neighborhood children as well. The send-off bash plans is to have a chocolate party (I'm not too sure what this means, but I think there will be chocolate) on Friday and treating some of the kids to a movie on Saturday night. Send-offs are so bittersweet.

Sunday is when Jason and I will take a few days to visit other Filipino ministries and the last few days will be for debriefing. Time flies!!!

And then back to the US for reverse culture shock......
I can't believe I'm already speaking of the end (still another two weeks in the Philippines), but the main part of this trip will be over in just a few days.

I Smell Like a Protestant

One of the things we are encouraged to do is give a fifteen minute presentation on a passage in the Bible at our house church meeting (mine being on Wednesdayn night). So I prepared a talk with all its bells and whistle. I made observations regarding John 13 (Jesus washing his disciples' feet), made some points and gave some cross-references. Finale! I threw down an application and closed with Philippians 2. Wala!!! It was a beautiful talk and would have made any seminary professor tremble a little bit. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I really prepared for this talk and I thought the delivery went pretty well.

However, upon assessing my talk, Kuya Willy was very encouraging about my thoughts; however, he said something that was pretty great. "You Smelled Like a Protestant." I think this phrase pretty much conveyed his thoughts to me as clearly as possible. It's not that my talk was bad or anything like that, but in serving the Catholic community, I was too confident in what I was familiar with. Protestants are known to love reading the Bible thoroughly, so making a lot of cross-references and closing with something outside of the message's passage made my talk kind of overwhelming for the community. I feel like there are lessons brewing from this point, but there is only one thing that is grabbing my attention right now. Strengths are only skin-deep. As well or as much as I do matters only if a number of factors are right. In the wrong social context, cultural understanding, moods, emotions, ambience, communication (all of which is pretty different in the Philippines), my greatest intentions and preparation can be reduced to mean much less. My strengths are only skin-deep. All else is grace.

Praise God He sustains our life by His grace.

Down with the Flu

I am pretty bummed out right now. I am struggling with a low-grade fever and am really tired today and it looks like I might have come down with the flu. I don't know when this happened exactly, or what my exposure has been, but it has been physically difficult to adapt to living among the poor. I have had a cough for two weeks, and last night was when I started feeling really ill. The heat, smog, and mosquitoes have all contributed to a lack of rest. Please pray that I will get the rest I need as well as our team leader Kuya Willy (I think he has the same thing). Also, since we are being sick among the poor, it would be pretty disheartening if people get sick in the community since the opportunity for proper health care is lacking.

Thanks for your prayers.

One Week Notice

So, this update is coming a little bit later than I expected, but I feel like the week has flown by that there has been no time for the internet. But here we are, some quiet = some updates. By the by, I really wish I had pictures because there are a lot of things I want to describe and it is so much better to see it. Well, here goes....

Living in the Community

It has been four days (Monday we left for our host homes). And I have found a new appreciation for showers, flushing toilets, and mattresses. I know I said this before, but the culture shock going back to the US is going to be incredible. Here is a rough mesh of what my day looks like so far (and it will probably change).

• 5AM - Get up thanks to the roosters
• 5:30 - Send the daughter (Roschel - age 9) to school - though school has been canceled because of a typhoon that has hit us.
• 6 - Do some exercise on the way back (jogging or basketball)
• 7:30 - breakfast
• 8 - Get ready to go to the mountains (on Tues, Wed, Thur) - I have a more productive day before when I sometimes wake up!
  
• 8:30 - Go to a mountain community to renovate a CR (bathroom) and plant some trees
• 12PM - Get back, have lunch - Roschel is coming back home
• 1 - Spend time with the baranguay (community) kids (referring to any age between 3-17) - they roam about in bunches
• 4 - Settled time - I can't call it quiet or alone time since neither has any chance of possibly happening... maybe reading
• 4:05 - The baranguay kids want to read with me so we read together
• 7 - Dinner
• 8 - House church at one of the communities (one each night, so that means 5 of the evenings).
• 9 - Watch Zorro and Totoy Bato (filipino soaps)
• 9:45 - fall asleep on a chair because I am exhausted
• 10:15 - Wake up, dip bath, really go to bed.
• 1 AM - A mosquite bit my toe - it's really itchy
• 4 AM - Roosters, CR

I am really thankful that our host families have given each one of us enclosed space including a bed and a curtain and a feast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as merienda (snack time between the meals). That definitely helps me cope without a mattress, no flushing toilets, and dip baths. Oh yeah, a fan at my feet blowing air over me helps minimize mosquitoes, helps in general as well.

Official Schedule

This is the last time I will type the days of the week:

• Monday - 6am-5:30pm (getting to know the community), 6:30-7:30pm (high school bible study, reviewing the gospel)
  
• Tuesday - 8am-12pm (in the mountains), 1-9pm (getting to know the community)
• Wednesday - 8am-12pm (in the mountains), 1-7pm (getting to know the community), 8-9pm (my house church)
• Thursday - 8am-12pm (in the mountains), 1-7pm (getting to know the community), 8-9pm (Jon's house church)
  
• Friday - free day, 9pm (sleepover Kuya Willy's house)
  
• Saturday - 8:30-12pm (tutorial class at a Catholic church), 1pm-4pm (spending more time with the high school bible study), 8-9pm (Jason's house church)
  
• Sunday - Go to Catholic church in the morning, spend time with the community, 8-9pm (Dario's house church)

Getting to know the community is pretty vague, but it is pretty essential in developing future relationships for more house churches to be planted and for Kuya Willy's ministry of empowering filipinos (since there culture is heavily based on shame). This happens pretty easily too since whenever I go out of my house, at least one of the children in my house (Roldo {4}, Roschel {9}, and Ronnel {17}) follow me and introduce me to their friends. And from here, I am pretty sure my ongoing presence with the children will eventually lead me to get to know other family members. Also, if I stay in the house, at least someone visits every 5 minutes so I'm pretty sure I get to know the community better through the spectrum of doing nothting-to-something.

I really want to share a lot more about all the experiences I have plus the back log of what I wanted to share the last time I posted and pictures are a must... hopefully this will happen soon. But I am going to be late for dinner and it would be good to be there relatively on time (7pm).

Please pray for my host family that they will find steady jobs and be healthy... being jobless or sick are the two biggest threats to anyone who is poor in the community. Their names are: Kuya (older brother) Rolley, Atte (older sister) Lina, Ronnel, Roschel, and Roldo - and they have an older daughter in the provinces, but I don't know her name. They have been exceedingly generous and are a beautiful family (where the parents really love their children, which sadly isn't the case for many families in metro manila)

Thanks!

Magandang Umaga Po (Good morning {respectfully}) for anyone in the states
Magandang Gabi Po (Good evening {respectfully}) for anyone in Asia

Jumping the Gun

==morning musings========
So the last post is slightly inaccurate. Apparently I have a few more days with daily internet access. It is no longer low-speed wireless, but high-speed dial up (I didn't even know this existed). I know it's dial-up for sure because every time the phone is picked up, I have to restart the router. Weird. Anyways, jet lag has finally caught up with me and I didn't know what to do with myself at 4:30 AM when everyone is sleeping. Naturally, the only light in the room that was on is this computer. So of course I have to send another update!
==musing over========

• Monday morning = official moving into the slums and probably the cutoff of daily internet access (but meanwhile, I am going to milk this luxury).
  
  
• Here's a rough look at each week's schedule:

Monday - Evening high school bible study
Tuesday - Working in the mountains during the day, spending time in the community at night.
Wednesday - Same as Tuesday
Thursday - Same as Tuesday
Friday - Team day off
Saturday - Morning tutorial session, afternoon sports session, evening at community director's house
Sunday - ???

• The Navigator ministry where we are staying takes an insider approach. Our community director, Kuya (older brother) Willy, has established a relationship with the local Catholics*. And his vision is that people who follow Jesus will share Christ's love with their local community, naturally attracting neighbors/friends to know God. This ministry is very young (5 communities: the oldest being 3 years old, the youngest being 2 weeks old) and that means that our trip is part of the greater picture of learning and growing - exciting!

==morning musings========
As a side note, I think the Navigators have recently had a paradigm shift toward ministering to the local communities. Being catholic or protestant (if you call yourself christian, you are considered protestant) has fueled a lot of cultural tension since Americans began sending missionaries over in the early 1900's. Rather than add to this tension, filipino christians (referring to my last trip in 2007) have begun realizing that following Jesus is not about the type of worship they are affiliated to, but exactly who we are following. This is pretty exciting that the message people are sharing is not about methods and philosophies, but that Jesus is the way to Life. Since I personally have made decisions based on rightness rather than following Christ, I am really interested in seeing how this happens on the trip.
==musing over========

Thanks again for reading and your continual prayers!

I look forward to update you more with more about our trip leaders (Kuya Willy and James Kang), our team, our living situation situation (which we visited yesterday), and more about what we will be doing in the next couple of days... after that, who knows!

Wireless In the Philippines, Begone!

So this is my last post (or second to last post in case I post some thoughts tomorrow) while I have wireless internet access. Tomorrow, 4 of us: Jason McNeillie, Joel Lee, Jon Vickers, and Dario Torres (NJ) will be going to Antipolo (metro Manila). This means leaving the filipino navigator headquarters and going into a community. It has been a real blessing to be at the Navigator headquarters since we have been loved by the filipino navigators, and found an easy transition from western culture to asian culture (running water, internet, air conditioning)... but now it is time to move us on to where God had originially called us. THE CITY SLUMS!

It is pretty exciting because each one of us will be living individually in a (squatter?) home. This means a log of things.

1. No more daily internet access - I probably will have to go to an internet cafe
2. We have only known Dario for a couple days (and whatever implications that might hold).
3. This is going to be pretty extreme culture shock since we will be with the filipino community 24/7 for five weeks... much more intense than the first trip.
4. Rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - I am really happy about this, but that's because it is ideally and everyday staple for me... I don't know about the other three guys and how their diet will adjust.
5. No more airconditioning - time for summer manila heat and humidity! whooo! (not a very enthusiastic one).
6. The trip really begins tomorrow. It is going to be exciting, yet very new for each of us. I'm sure tensions will run high.
7. Jason and I will be serving Willy (the Antipolo staff Navigator) opposed to James Kang (Chicago-based Navigator staff trainer).
8. Everything will be reduced in quantity and size (the home we will be living in, utilities, facilities, etc.)
9. It's going to be an experience where each one of us need to trust God in revealing Himself to us. There is no way we can sustain five weeks of living in the slums by ourselves. We might survive it, but seeing abundant life is a whole other thing.

I think that's all. While I am nervous, I am simultaneously excited that we really get to be invited to filipino culture. It's not going to be something that will be easy, neither will the experiences of the other two groups. Please pray continually that more of God may be revealed to us as we trust Him in humbling serving the Philippines, our neighbors, and each other. Thanks and see you at the next update!

Summer Reading

All twelve of us will be debriefing with this book on July 25. It is one of my favorites since it really applies the gospel to serving the poor. If by chance you get to read this book, I would love to talk about it with you in more detail. Thanks!

Companion to the Poor: Christ in the Urban Slums
by Viv Grigg

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Authentic and World Visions: 2nd edition (September 1, 2004)
ISBN-10: 1932805133
ISBN-13: 978-193205130

http://www.amazon.com/Companion-Poor-Christ-Urban-Slums/dp/1932805133/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245342475&sr=8-1

Discombobulated

Hello again! I am writing on a mattress in the Philippines. And you know what this means...

*drum roll*...... pttptptptptpt.....

We have arrived! On June 17 @ 1 AM (June 16, 1PM EST), our team of 11 arrived at the filipino navigator headquarters. And we were/are pooped. It has been ten hours since we woke up this morning, though jet lag seems to be pretty intense. shhh. This room that I'm typing in is full of sleeping men. In a few minutes I'll have to do a wake up call.

Our schedule for the week is orientation until friday, in which our team will be split three ways and go separate ways. One group will stay at the headquarters to serve local high school/college ministries, while the other two groups will go to the slums of greater manila (antipolo and los banos). The three UMass-ites will be part of these two groups.

Meanwhile, it is pretty exciting to know that there is wireless internet (thus mattress typing) and I will probably send a lot of updates in these couple of days and then who knows after that. Thanks again for your continual prayers!

10 Days to Go!!!

Philippines is on June 15 and I am pretty excited. The upcoming Philippines trip is pretty exciting... perhaps a little bit too exciting. Thinking about the trip and thinking about fund-raising has definitely gotten me pretty anxious. I gave a talk sometime in February on hope and these are the things that I cling to, remembering what God has taught me. If you click the '2008' link on the right panel you can view this thought.

Anyways, tomorrow I will be heading to Boston to help my friend Jon Vickers do some callbacks for fund-raising. He is $2,400 short for the trip. Though I am sure he can fund-raise after he gets back from the Philippines, it would be good for him to be fully funded before the trip. Please pray for this process for him.

Well, now that I have some time, I will share some more details about the trip. Here is a list of people going on the trip and I have figured out where some of them are from based on their email addresses:

Who?

Trip Leaders: James Kang, Bobot, Wency, Maria and Bridgett
Trip Goers:
Joel Lee - UMass!
Jason McNeillie - UMass!
Jon Vickers - UMass!
Dario Torres - somewhere near the northeast
Drew Lukes - ???
Trenton Hannack - Minnesota
Matthew Rowe - Minnesota
Lindsey Powell - Nebraska
Alissa Goodding - ???
Chelsea McCown - Georgia
Maria Cabrera - ???
Sonia Balanay - California

What?

I'm hoping someone is from some southwest state solely because it would mean our team going overseas pretty much covers every region of the US. Whoa! Please pray that we will seek to make Christ center in all our interations and whatever we do over in the Philippines. Also, please pray that we will see that this trip is God's blessing for us; perhaps we will find God all the way over there!

Also, here is a list of things that we will be doing over in the Philippines:

1. Spending a lot of time developing relationships with the people in the poor community that you will be assigned to.
2. Lead Bible Studies and meet with people one on one for discipleship and leadership training
3. Some of the students will be assigned to help with possible building projects and maybe help develop a business among the poor.
4. I think we will also have some opportunities to teach english.
   
5. Jason and I will be team leaders for the trip. We will also be asked to visit the students assigned at different locations to pray with the students and to encourage them.
   

Please pray that all of us will adequately rest before and after the trip - culture shock can definitely take a toll.

Where?

And this is where we will go... Our team will be split in half with one group working in greater Manila, and another group working in Los Banos. I have highlighted the two regions, though I'm not sure how helpful this is.

Please pray for our safety as we do these things in the Philippines. The dates again are June 15 to August 1.

Thanks again for your continual partnership in my ministry! I look forward to updating you with more information!

The Cold Awesome Facts!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (continuing exclamation from my last post).

I am moving back home for the summer to attack force delta on my fundraising so I don't have too many thoughts I can put here. But here are the details:

Where: Manila, Philippines (joining with the Filipino navigators)
Who: Jason McNeillie (fellow EDGE corps), Jon Vickers ('09 UMass - just graduated), and 8 other students from around the nation.
When: June 15 - August 1
What: You will be ministering and serving kids and their families by teaching reading English, math and the bible. There are three groups - ages 7-9, 10-12 and 13 up. This will be three to four times of meetings. Leading Bible studies among the parents and high school students and also will be showing evangelistic movies and teaching livelihood skills. We can have at least three movie screening. Please bring the movies in CD or DVD.