Hello from Manila

Hello all!

Well, I've been here over a week now. Wow! What a place! The Philippines is so much different than what I'm used to.

The Internet has been a little interesting -- this is my third time trying to send this email in the last 3 days. Each time I've come into the Internet cafe, the net has gone down before I had a chance to send. Hopefully it will work today!

I've been living in what I've discovered is a very nice church in a great, quiet neighborhood here. Now that's all relative. I am woken up every morning by 5am by all the roosters crowing, dogs barking. By 6, I hear people outside sweeping, trying to sell stuff by honking their horns, doing laundry, etc.

I've really been hit by the huge difference in money here, and back home in Canada. When I first came into the neighborhood I'm staying in, I found it cramped, small houses, dirty, etc. It seemed, while not slum, a rather poor neighborhood. After Seeing a bunch of other neighborhoods, that perception has changed quite a bit. The community now feels like a beautiful, nice middle-class, safe place. There's a huge variety in the architecture (unlike neighborhoods that really only have 2 different houses, done over and over again) I quite like it actually. (For those who know the Philippines, I'm living in Lagro in Quazon City.)

I'm starting to feel at home here now. I've ridden a jeep on my own a bunch now, and am starting to feel comfortable getting around, at least in my own area. It's kinda cool to start feeling independent, able to make my own way around. The girls on the team still haven't found that after several weeks -- the local missionaries won't let girls travel without a guy. I guess I 'm fortunate to be a guy sometimes!

It's interesting to see how the Philipinos perceive us. Since we're not in a tourist are of Metro Manila, there are very few white people. Some of the children of the national Missionaries we're working with had never seen white people before us! We get a lot of stares from the locals, especially the 2 babies in our group.

When we're with the national missionaries, it's quite common to hear about financial needs. The perception seems to be that westerners are very wealthy compared to here, and they see us to some extent as a source of funding. One thing that's really hit me is how big the disparity is between a Philippino and a Canadian. Several of the needs that people have mentioned to me that seem quite significant to them are about what I would make in a day or two. Wow.

So far, we've done a bunch of things here in the Philippines -- we have visited several squatter villages, did some evangelism with some children in one, and helped in the construction of a youth center for a church in another. I even got to do some ice skating at Megamall on Sunday! This coming week, we have a bunch of things on the schedule. We'll be visiting a city dump where many people live, and scavenge the garbage that comes in each day. I imagine that will be tough to see.

Last week I had asked for prayer for Leilani, my friend who was in the hospital with digestive problems. Well, she's out now, and feeling much better. Thanks for your prayer. Keep praying for the rest of the team, that we manage to stay healthy! We have to be so careful of what we consume. There are a lot of things that while safe for the locals, aren't safe for us, since our bodies have not built up an immunity to them. That makes things interesting sometimes -- trying to explain to a host why you can't drink something that they think is safe...

I've seen lots of stuff here this past week, and have lots to process. I'll look forward to telling you all more about what God has been teaching me as I figure it out! Keep praying for me in this regard, and that I continue to pay attention to all that God has to teach me in the coming week.

Please pray also for me for wisdom as I think and pray about how I might continue my involvement in the ministries here after I leave. There's lots of needs, but there's also a lot of issues with westerners supporting national ministries that, if not handled properly, can in the long run do more harm than good.

Thanks so much for the notes I received from some of you. Even in this short time that I'm gone, it's cool to hear about what's happening at home, and in your lives. I apologize for not responding to everyone. Hopefully this will do!

The coming week looks like it'll be a busy one, so I'm not sure yet when I'll next have a chance to check email. Hopefully I'll get a chance at some point this week. I hope you have a great week, and look forward to hearing from you all!

Your Friend,
Steve.