Personal Reflections from the Philippines
Warren
Our trip to the Philippines was one of contrasts, humbling & exciting, uplifting & sad, funny & surreal.
Here are a few of my recollections:
Humbling bits:
- The I.N. staff looking after us so well, even before they took care of themselves.
- All the people who came to our concerts even though they had no idea who we were!
- The friends and family who came to the 3 fund raising events.
Exciting bits:
- Watching from the back of the coloured Snacks as they did the actions to songs and having hundreds of kids follow along and sing our songs!
- Playing in front of 1200 high school kids.
- Visiting the schools and interacting with the students, even an a capella, impromptu song from one boy.
- Having hundreds of kids and adults play Heads & Tails, very chaotic but fun!
Uplifting bits:
- Visiting various churches. Brendan and I went to a "jungle church" that had a thatched roof, dirt floor, no walls and all of the songs and most of the message was in Tagalog, you could sense the presence of God and strong feeling of community.
- Teaching our songs at the training days and hearing it sung by the kids the next day at one of the Churches.
- Meeting the I.N. staff and the Pastors, their commitment and passion is inspiring.
- Reading the e-mails on our web site.
- All the kids and adults at the concerts - they were amazing!!
- The kids singing On & On in Tagalog.
Sad bits:
- Seeing the aftermath of the floods in Marikina and at the I.N. offices.
Funny bits:
- I accidentally hit a boy on the back of the head with my bass, (he was sitting too close to me on the edge of the stage.) I gave him a CD as compensation but he was not that impressed!
- Playing chest snap --- painful but fun!
- The Halo Halo, who would have thought purple ice cream, lumps of cheese, bits of ice, red and green jelly, red beans, coconut, corn and other unidentified ingredients mixed together to look like purple mud could taste so nice!! Really!!!
- Various members of Snack hanging on the back or on top of Jeepneys.
- Different flavours of Pringles mmmm!
Surreal bits:
- Being part of a cavalcade through Sorsogon, riding in the back of two utes for an hour, with an armed police escort, motorbikes and cars tooting their horns constantly and waving at people who had no idea who we were, then doing a live to air T.V. interview, having to do an a capella version of On & On in Tagalog, all made for a very interesting morning !
- Signing T-shirts, jeans, arms, hats and anything else that was put in front of us!
I would like to thank the coloured, black and white members of Snack for making the trip so memorable.
Warren.
Holly
Wow, what an amazing experience! It's so hard to express the impact that the Philippines has had on me. The people there are FABULOUS. Their joy and love for God even amongst their poverty and devastation is mind boggling. There is such a rich sense of community and hospitality everywhere you go. I don't think I ever heard anyone complain about their situation, only joyous laughter about life!
My highlights were:
- Meeting some of the most amazing and generous people I've ever met.
- Visiting peoples homes and seeing how they live their life.
- Travelling with an amazing team and getting to know them better.
- Learning and performing a song in another language.
- Watching the peoples faces light up when we sang.
- Doing an impromptu song in a beauty parlour.
- Trying different foods
My lowlights were:
- Not being able to drink water straight from a tap
- Having a stomach bug for the second week we were there
- Seeing the affects of the floods and how devastating it was for friends we had made
- Not being able to fix all the problems associated with poverty etc.
Overall I had a brilliant time and look forward to maybe one day visiting again!
Ruth
It's been just over a week now since we have returned from our time in the Philippines. My head is still swimming with all the amazing and humbling experiences that we were a part of whilst we were there. One of the things that impacted me the most was the amazing generousity of the Filipino people. They have so little, yet when you visited them or spoke with them they were always so happy and would give you the best of everything. There was nothing that they wouldn't do for you - even when they were in the midst of cleaning up after the horrific floods that swept through Manila.
I am so excited that God gave us the opportunity to work with International Needs Philippines. Direk Nestor and Ate Beth are such amazing people of God who give so much of themselves and have such a vision for the Philippines. I am so grateful that we were able to share God's love and hope with so many people as well as support the work of local ministries. It was an honour to run workshops and share our resources with so many people and so many churches. It was humbling to hear the stories and see the amazing work that these people do with so little. The pastors and their wives are just amazing. They sacrifice so much, but do it with a glad heart because they know that they are serving God and that He has chosen them for His purposes. To hear their stories and see their communities made me want to do so much more than just provide some resources and put on a concert, but I guess that's something to think about in the future!
God is alive and well in the Philippines, He provides hope, comfort, strength and much joy (to mention a few). I continue to pray for all the people that we met - children, parents, pastors, children's workers, students, teachers... I pray that they will be encouraged, I pray that they will have strength to continue the amazing work they do and I pray that they will remember that each day God says to them "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Even though I was in the Philippines for such a short time, I know that it will forever be in my heart and I will be continually challenged to see what else I can do to support these amazing people in the ministry they do.
Jesse
Where do I begin? Such a mind blowing trip. Meeting people who unashamedly love God and their community and who will do anything it takes to serve the people aound. Seeing such contrasting sights... Mansions on hills in the immediate area, right near slums where people have not a lot at all. Children who take their education so seriously because it's their only way out and who know how to smile even though their lives have been devastated. Pastors whose lives are lived for their local communities and are willing to drop everything to help others out. Sharing their living space with their community to give them the best chance at life.
The Filipino people are smiley, funny, positive, and great to be around. I loved the friendships that were formed, the fun that was had and the challenging sights we saw. God is definitely working in the Philippines and it was a privilege to be there to see it.
Brendan
This being my first time overseas, I was surprised by the degree to which Western culture has found its way into the Philippines - it wasn't quite as foreign as I think I'd expected. I was also struck by the contrast of the developed areas to the slums, and amazed by the closeness in proximity of the different classes of living.
The Filipino people have a great sense of community, a fantastic sense of humour and an incredible faith in God - in the big things and in the little. I hope and pray that I was able to make some sort of positive impact on the people we met, as they certainly have done so for me. I know I have a lot to learn from the way they prioritise people and relationships and their trusting in God to provide for them, each and every day.
Chris
A fantastic trip that far exceeded my expectations. Great camaraderie within the SNACK team and also with the Filipino IN staff. All credit to God for making this trip happen in the first place, then for being so successful.