Before I came to the Philippines I had never seen a dead body.
Today I saw another....
We were walking along the cramped living conditions inside temporary housing to visit a family we are supporting.Ron and I were focused on making sure our visitors from Scotland were OK, that we wouldn't step on a child or fall over a cat or someones bucket of laundry in the dimly lit hallway.
One of our visitors said "did you see that back there"?
-"See what?"
Its a wake....
So as we walked back to find a small white coffin. Family sitting on an old bench at the front of it staring blankly ahead. We spoke to a tear stained lady. It was her son in that coffin. His name was John Mark. He was 14.
He was 14.
He went to the main area of the dump site every day to collect materials that could be sold at the junk shop.He done it to help buy food for his 6 siblings. I'm not sure how many years he had been doing this. But 5 days ago would be his last time.
Often you can see young boys jumping up at the dump trucks to grab the "best trash" . Things like plastic, metal and paper that they can sell per kilo. They earn on average 8-10pence per kilo.The dump trucks have a digger part at the back. It's large and heavy with vicious metal teeth that pierce into the dirt and pull out the rubbish to put inside. It's the drivers blind spot.
John Mark got caught in it while trying to grab rubbish. He died very soon after.
I'm writing this down right now because I cant sleep thinking about John Mark and his family. A child should not have to die that way.It should not be common for us to meet families who have lost children or have had children suffer severe injury this way- but it is.
It's a Filipino custom to have an open coffin for around one week. It's a sign of respect to the dead and it gives the family time to try and find money for the funeral. Everything in me was saying no. I did not want to look. We have seen children in coffins before and honestly I cant find 'the words to describe how it feels.Everytime is terrible.You never get used to it.Its just so wrong.
Today I felt like a force was physically pulling me away from looking inside, but my heart told me I should step forward to show respect to the family. So I followed my husband.
John Mark was dressed in his best white shirt and blue trousers that were a little too long for his height. He had no shoes. It was obvious that his face has been mangled in parts and that the family had tried their very best to cover it up and make John Mark looked as they knew him. I realised when I looked that I had seen him around but did not know him well. When you are faced with such tragedy emotion takes over. Ron and I stood weeping over the coffin at a life that need not have been lost. As we turned to leave we noticed a teenager who we know very well. His nickname is Boknoy and has been involved in our youth program for a couple of years.John Mark was his younger brother. Ron held him and he just sobbed with his head down. The mother began to groan through her tears as I embraced her and prayed.It would be stupid to say I felt her pain. I could not even begin to imagine the heartache.I have no idea the grief she feels at losing her son. Her heart must be torn. But as she groaned into my shoulder I felt it was a mothers groan of agony.
I felt helpless. Sometimes when you meet people with such deep grief there is nothing to be said. Such pain. Such loss. Its as simple as this- if John Mark had not had to work on the dump site, he would still be alive today.
Later my heart and mind were trying to process the situation and others we experienced that day. I have no answers. I just know it is the injustice of a cruel world.
"For He will deliver the needy when he cries. The poor also, and him who has no helper.He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence" Psalm 72: 12-14
This verse helped me as I thought about the family. God heard the cry of the mother.His heart is moved at the groans and cries of the poor and needy. When no one else can help, he can help.
Please remember Boknoy in your prayers. He asked Jesus into his life a while back. Pray that even through such a terrible situation that he could be a light to the rest of his family.
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