Sunday, March 21, 2010

We visited the church of one of our employees this morning to celebrate it’s 77th anniversary. The location was in the heart of Manila, which I enjoy going to, because you see so many things on the ride over. Today we saw some pretty heart wrenching things. Kids typically play in the street, and we saw one little boy (maybe 8 or 9) wearing a shirt with no pants. When we got out of the car, another little boy came up to us and gave us a note in tagalog…likely asking for money…it’s so hard to know what to do and how to help in those situations. I keep remembering the verse in the Bible that talks about feeding and clothing “the least of these” and that when you feed/clothe the needy, you are feeding Jesus. We didn’t end up doing anything for the little boy on Sunday, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I had missed out on an opportunity to “feed Jesus.” It’s such a struggle here because you don’t want to be paralyzed by the severity of the problem….or the myth that “it’s just the way things are” or that….since I’m here for child trafficking, that’s where I should offer help and not allot extra resources to other issues…especially one as hopeless as poverty.

Edgar and I were invited to watch Polo with a new friend we made last weekend. Who would have thought I would travel to a third world country to see my first polo match, and hang out with people who actually say the word “ghastly” during a conversation. Here in Manila, this happens. One moment you see a little kid not wearing pants, and the next you’re hanging at an ambassador’s house, and eating snails, tartar, and ox tongue (which is delicious by the way). It was an incredible experience, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity…it’s all very interesting to try to reconcile.