The Ragamuffins..
"Give me money," the little girl blurted out as she stuck out her hand. This is not unusual.. and I have seen this child before. She is dirty but so adorable. Her bright eyes are huge and unique. She has a friend with her, and they are following me.
"Why aren't you at school?" I ask. "Eskulahan?" (in tagalog) I say. They just giggle and keep insisting. I squat down and start asking them questions... "Anong pangalan mo?" (What is your name?) "Saan sa nanay?" (Where is your mother?). They tell me their names, Mai Mai and Kristen, and begin talking again to each other. They show me the coins they have collected so far. I'm guessing many of the children begging here do this often; skip school, beg for money, and take home all they make to their parents. I'm not quite sure. "Mahal kani Jesus," I say, which means, Jesus loves you. "Come on, follow me." I tell them. We walk over to a small building with some filipino dishes and I let them choose one to share. My friend Claudia is with me now, and we both buy them rice, meat and juice. As we sit down, at first they are scared to eat. Many filipino's are shy; we run into this a lot. "Go ahead! It's okay, eat," we tell them. Finally after we urge them and encourage them not to be shy, they start eating.
They are so precious, they begin to break my heart. I wish I could take them home. Give them a bath. Help them learn about Jesus, and send them to school. I wish I could grab their dirty little hands and bring them back on the bus, to our house.
We all know.... I can't. Maybe they aren't in any real danger, but they are wandering the streets. I guess it is daylight. But where are their parents? Oh how I wish I could help in another way. It is making me anticipate the home the Lord has in the future. For the girls he will bring to me, that need rescuing. He is giving me a glimpse of what it will look like later down the road. But for now, I still wait. These girls make an indent deep in my heart. I promise myself that if they ever need somewhere to go, and they don't have a home anymore, that I will help them and raise them. Oh what a joy it was to share the smallest gift, and in return see them laughing, smiling, with full bellies skipping away. I hope I see them again soon.
The other story I have is another one that breaks my heart. Anthony and I got to visit his sister in a town a few hours away from us. His brother in law asked us if we wanted to go walking, so we agreed to kill some time and headed out the door with him and his daughter. It's always fun to look at the homes and the faces of the children and the people. To wonder what they are about and see if anyone needs encouragement or prayer. He begins to lead us around a few corners, into a small area with many houses. We see children staring and pointing. Many adults looking out the windows. Whenever people here see foreigners they get excited and often stare because it's very rare. I smile and wave at the people, as I see so many sweet sweet faces. "This is my old house" exclaims Anthony's brother in law. We are right where he grew up. He begins to introduce us to his mother, and then proceed's to take us inside the house next door. There lies a man who is mainly skin and bones, with a large belly protruding from under the sheet covering him.
Anthony begins to explain to me that this man was healthy 10 months ago, and was actually helping to build his sisters house. When he began to get sick everyone thought it was a tumor. They have already taken him to the doctor 4 times.. and they can't seem to figure out what is wrong. He just keeps getting worse, and his belly keeps getting larger. I ask " Are there better doctor's in Manila? Why can't they find out what is wrong?" They continue to tell me how expensive it is and how they really can't afford to take him to a better doctor. I feel sick to my stomach. Why can't they find out what is wrong with him, I wonder? What is going on with these doctors? They then tell me that the baby we saw outside is his 6th child, born on December 22. They are a family of 8 now, struggling to survive because their father cannot work anymore. He cannot get out of bed. We kneel down beside him and begin to pray. Pray for healing and comfort. Pray for a miracle. "Oh Lord, please help this man, this family." This is also not uncommon here in the Philippines. There are many times I have heard of people who have died, because the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with them. Or because the family cannot afford to send them to the doctor.
We leave and buy them bread and crackers.. and tell them we will come visit the next time we return to see Anthony's sister. I feel my heart breaking again for the children, the wife who is sitting at the end of the bed just softly smiling. She picks up her baby boy and shows him to me. Oh how I feel the pain they have gone through. But yet they still have hope. Hope, family, God, love, laughter; these things keep them going. These things are all they have.I shared these stories with you because they touched my heart. I hope you can get a clearer picture, and begin to pray for some of the lives that I tell you about here on this blog.
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