We often say we think we have seen it all and then we find another toxic layer of issues.
I truly believe God in His grace reveals them in His time because He knows when we are ready to bare them, even if we don't feel that way.
Yesterday I went out walking with 2 of the young women to visit families that were living in the flood areas. Black, filthy, stagnant water covered every crevice of ground in that particular part of the community. All of a sudden I had a prompting from within to leave my team mates and walk through a dimly lit underpass. My purple rubber boots squelched through the stinking black fluid.
Everything was grey apart from the flashes of white from the children's smiles, like little stars dotted around a black sky.
"Take a picture of me Ate Jo!"
My feet kept moving forward and then I noticed I was in a corner at a dead end. It's still near our center, but I have never been in this cove before. I couldn't work out how I had never found this place even though we have been very near it. Suddenly someone touched my hair from the back. I turned to find a girl staring at me. Peering through the broken wooden frame on her shanty.
"Bota Bota." (Boots Boots)
We had been giving out tickets for adults living in the floods to come and get rubber boots. I noticed the young girls speech was slurred. She seemed to have additional support needs.
"What's your name" I asked in tagalog.
"Pheobe"
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| Pheobe |
Then another head popped out from behind the door of their tiny make shift home. A beautiful smile and then a high pitch voice "I'm Beline" .
She too seemed to have additional support needs. They are sisters, 24 and 14.
"Picture tayo Ate!" (lets take a picture big sister)
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| Beline |
I stood with the girls on their doorstep for a long time. It's a quiet little cove. Only one other neighbor who was 8 months pregnant on the ground hand washing clothes. A little later, a cousin joined us who I know a bit from our mothers group. She told me that Pheobe and Beline had never been to school and have stayed inside their house most of their lives.
Later I asked around our team and residents in the same area to see if I could find out more. It was extremely disturbing to me that not one of the mothers, young people or children knew who they were or had ever seen them.
Ever.
"KCM. KCM" (the name of our ministry) Beline had been saying pointing to the butterfly logo on my t shirt. The cousin told me they always asked to come along but no one would take them. Brenda and Clarissa, youth leaders gave them a florescent pink rubber boot ticket. They were SO excited and an hour later they were sitting in our hall. The father was also there, sitting quite a distance from his daughters. Ron shared the gospel with him. Pheobe and Beline were beside me, giving spontaneous hugs and asking peoples names. Beline kept talking about how big the bananas were in the province and that there are no bananas or money since they moved to Tondo. This seemed important to her and impressed on her memory.
If you are a believer and are reading this, I urge you to remember these girls in prayer. Im asking you to pray as we begin the first stage of building relationship with the parents and get to know more of the girls story. Im asking for prayer that the parents would have open hearts to allow us to provide opportunities for the sisters to be involved in programs and integrated into the community.
Within this culture people with additional needs are often hidden, in particular children. Not always, but very often. Lack of education, wrong so called religious teaching and lack of acceptance means parents are often ashamed. There is an obvious lack of respect and dignity to people who seem different. I find this frustrating and very difficult to understand. It's a huge issue.
Through the night God laid a heavy burden on my heart for these sisters and some of the others we visited that day;
- a mother beaten by her husband who thought it was okay
-a little boy who's baby sister had just died
-a family who was squandering money on gambling while their children were hungry
- a teenage boy who had dropped out of school because of struggles with his gender and was depressed
- an old widow who was riddled with TB who pushes a heavy trash cart just to get enough food
I was burdened in prayer until sunrise about these situations, but mostly about my new friends Pheobe and Beline. The previous night Ron was burdened throughout the night about the great horrors happening to Christians in Iraq at this time. What is a burden actually I was thinking?
I think a burden is when Gods emotions and Gods heart collide with us.
I think it's when we feel a tiny bit of what He feels. He impresses it on us so that we will intercede on their behalf and be compelled to do something about injustice.
"Burdened- required to yield to a vessel having right of way"
"Burden- that which is carried or borne out of difficulty"
Labor- Uncomfortable and painful. Sometimes quick. Sometimes long, but with the fruit of a beautiful new life.
Often our team and residents come to the house of prayer to pour out, travail in prayer and cry to God about all the injustices we are confronted with on a daily basis. Always His peace and beautiful presence breaks through ,strengthening our hearts. I love this room. There is both much suffering and joy here.We travail and intercede on behalf of the horrors we find in the community and we rejoice as God births new dreams and responses in us.Through worship and loving Him we know that we know that He has it all control. Nothing comes as a surprise to Him.
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| Ate Nora travailing in prayer for the injustices in her community |
He knows their story before he leads our feet through the mud to learn them and respond to them.
Being here is both uncomfortable and painful at times as well as being an honor. But we must keep pressing on. There is also much joy in being here. Jesus is still in the business of totally transforming lives! And whether we see the rewards of our labor in this life or the next it is worth it.
I am learning in this place that we cannot have the joy without the suffering and the suffering without the joy. Like twins they must remain side by side for change to be birthed.
HE IS WORTH IT.
"And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?" (luke 18:7)
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