After the shopping opportunities of Tuesday, Wednesday saw the team get back to the serious stuff. A build had been "organised" at the Youth Centre in Payatas. I say organised advisedly. Emma had been feeling a bit frustrated by a lack of communication re this part of the trip. Accommodation and drivers were fine, but a day or so before our arrivalin Manila, we really did not know for certain what would be happeneing. Hence the discussions with Father Paul and Mhel on the Tuesday.
This is the Philippines. The fluidity of arrangements is something you just have to get used to. But that is a two sided coin. This is the PHILIPPINES!!! And the flexibility and fluidity is something to be celebrated. I guess it is quite likely that if we were due to attend something or even arrange somethinmg in the UK, and plans did not fall into place, we may be inclined to cancel, or say let's do it some other time. Here, it seems that the willingness and flexibility of people to pull things together at the last minute is a real strength. Certainly, when we turned up at the Youth Centre on the Wednesday morning, there was no shortage of Youth for Christ young people to set to with the landscaping of the slope in front of the centre. There were plants in one of the halls, ready to be put in place once the "beds" had been designed. And later in the day, some materials arrived, to enable some concreting to be done.
All youth builds start with worship. Some singing, some prayers, and a real sense that God was in the midst of us. Some of the songs really made one think. I hope Alison won't mind me mentioning, but there was one particular song which we sang a couple of times which talked about giving our all to God, and we both remarked on the trust and faith people were demonstrating, and the joy, despite having relatively little in material terms.
The work was quite strenuous, though not as technically demanding as at Joyland. The team worked like troopers, shifitng a lot of earth, mixing cement, etc, and Alison, Ami and Ellie in particular have left their white mark on the third hall, having painted the walls with the longest roller pole I have ever seen!!! The second day, the girls and Reg got involved with the planting, and others got involved in laying the path, and it is wonderful to see the effect on the Youth Centre. Two really good days of working with the young people of the area, to help them continue to build a centre for young people to attend, learn at, etc. The hope is that more and more, it will become a place for the youth of the area to attend, get off the streets, put aside their problems with drugs, gang culture, etc, and find new hope. That is why, as a team, we decided late in the trip to donate some of the money raised to fund a sound system to be used atthe Centre, and a basketball net for the court which was started on the Crowe / Chapman, Randall team, back in October last year (it is wonderful to see the progress made, every visit).
More another time. I have got another plane to catch!!!!
Showing posts with label Payatas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Payatas. Show all posts
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Reflections
I find reading Jo’s latest blog very challenging, it takes me back to the first day we were on Negros without any perception of what Joyland was but listening to Rick Sutcliffe preaching about being prepared for the spiritual battle we are in. Three day later, I could equate to exactly where he was coming from and the latest challenge alluded to in Jo’s blog only strengthens my conviction of how important the work of Joyland will be in the future. Please pray for the work there, I believe it can make such a difference.
Having been back in the UK now for a few days, I have had time to reflect and consider the impact of the last two weeks. Having left for the trip deliberately with no pre-conception or expectation, I return encouraged by how the four strands of work that we were involved in all seemed to come together and a clear vision of the future and how this interlinking will continue emerged.
Our objective for this trip was to make a difference, in this respect I believe the object has been fulfilled.
In Dacutan, the money given to the village will enable the sustenance of fishing to be maintained and enhanced, hence nutrition should increase and poverty ultimately decrease in time. The children have had leisure opportunities as a result of the visit.
The work of Joyland has already, and will in the future, relieve the social burden of families in the village and increase the educational opportunities for the children. The enhancement of the facilities there will add to the quality of life of the children.
The work of the Youth Centre in Payatas is growing and aims to change the culture and outlook of youth away from drugs and violence to “hope” through knowledge of Jesus Christ, a faith already displayed in the PYFC members that was very humbling.
There has already been a willingness of Payatas Youth For Christ volunteers to go to Negros and work with the youth of Dacutan, some of the surplus funds from this project will help support them in their work in the short term.
And finally, the ongoing commitment of Gawad Kalinga to improve housing stock in Dacutan and Payatas will all contribute towards making that difference count in the future. Our contribution to a Gawad Kalinga building project in Tatalon was purely manual labour, transporting sand and shale 500m from the road to the construction site, yet the interest and help we witnessed from the community that afternoon is what the charity is all about – I should add that we were also assisted by 20 Payatas YFC members, having worked with us on their own youth centre over the previous two days.
It has challenged me very much to look at how I perceive mission and the importance we collectively place upon it. It is very easy to get carried away with localised projects, but we must remember that as important these are, the wider overseas mission we are called to support is also important, and perhaps the time has come where overseas mission has to take a higher priority in all our church’s outlook.
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in this way, the video I have posted below hopefully shows the difference our limited and small presence made to the external appearance of the centre, compared to the historic photo above.
Having been back in the UK now for a few days, I have had time to reflect and consider the impact of the last two weeks. Having left for the trip deliberately with no pre-conception or expectation, I return encouraged by how the four strands of work that we were involved in all seemed to come together and a clear vision of the future and how this interlinking will continue emerged.
Our objective for this trip was to make a difference, in this respect I believe the object has been fulfilled.
In Dacutan, the money given to the village will enable the sustenance of fishing to be maintained and enhanced, hence nutrition should increase and poverty ultimately decrease in time. The children have had leisure opportunities as a result of the visit.
The work of Joyland has already, and will in the future, relieve the social burden of families in the village and increase the educational opportunities for the children. The enhancement of the facilities there will add to the quality of life of the children.
The work of the Youth Centre in Payatas is growing and aims to change the culture and outlook of youth away from drugs and violence to “hope” through knowledge of Jesus Christ, a faith already displayed in the PYFC members that was very humbling.
There has already been a willingness of Payatas Youth For Christ volunteers to go to Negros and work with the youth of Dacutan, some of the surplus funds from this project will help support them in their work in the short term.
And finally, the ongoing commitment of Gawad Kalinga to improve housing stock in Dacutan and Payatas will all contribute towards making that difference count in the future. Our contribution to a Gawad Kalinga building project in Tatalon was purely manual labour, transporting sand and shale 500m from the road to the construction site, yet the interest and help we witnessed from the community that afternoon is what the charity is all about – I should add that we were also assisted by 20 Payatas YFC members, having worked with us on their own youth centre over the previous two days.
It has challenged me very much to look at how I perceive mission and the importance we collectively place upon it. It is very easy to get carried away with localised projects, but we must remember that as important these are, the wider overseas mission we are called to support is also important, and perhaps the time has come where overseas mission has to take a higher priority in all our church’s outlook.
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in this way, the video I have posted below hopefully shows the difference our limited and small presence made to the external appearance of the centre, compared to the historic photo above.
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