Tired and really, very, very exhausted from waiting in the airport for
more than six hours for a bus to take us to a monorail station and ride a train
to go to another place for a van to take us to our destination in Selangor,
Malaysia, I noticed one thing in the surrounding area we’re waiting in… there
are lots of crows. Popular belief tells us that if there are lots of crows in
one area, it means it’s dirty and there are lots of dead animals, or worst,
even people. I keep this thought to myself, not wanting to scare my companions.
When we arrived at Selangor at the Kawan drop-off center, there were still a
lot of crows, cawing on and on. It almost felt like they were taunting us,
telling us that we were strangers who are not allowed in their place.
That same day, we left our baggage at the drop-off center and left to
go to
start in two days. When we reached
pondered on this and looked around, because I know for a fact that
of the spiritual condition of the place.
The next day, we came back to
helped at Kawan by cleaning it, cooking the food for the more than sixty people
who’d come for food, and serve the food we’ve cooked for them as well. It was a
tiring day, but we were able to go through the whole day with nothing but
smiles of happiness in our faces, knowing that in our own small way, we were
able to help the homeless, addicted to drugs, and HIV/AIDS infected people who
came to Kawan. When we came out of the place, again, we saw and heard the
crows. Cawing and taunting. I tell you, if these birds have fingers, I’m sure
they’d be pointing at us as well, disapprovingly and accusingly.
After Kawan, we were privileged to lead a basic acting workshop to a
couple of kids in a local Christian church. We had fun that time. All the kids
were very good in the workshop, all did what they thought was their best, and
there were kind words of encouragements that was given to those who worked
extra hard during the exercises. After exchanging pleasantries and saying our
goodbyes, again, the crows were there, disapproving with what we just did.
The next day, we were scheduled to go to a drug-rehabilitation center
to perform in front of a crowd which is ninety percent Muslim. We were advised
NEVER to mention the name of Jesus while doing our presentations. It never
really hit me as to how it’s going to be difficult for us, knowing that our
banner during this outreach/mission is Jesus Christ. Then, God revealed His
heart and His love for these people to one of our members. After talking with
her, we finally realized the gravity of the task given to us by God Himself, we
were amazed, and somehow, embarrassed in front of God, thinking that it was
going to be easy to minister to these people without even mentioning Jesus’
name. The mere mention of Jesus’ name in front of them could be our demise.
But, then, there was this one performance where His Name will be mentioned… an
interpretative dance that will be done by one lady, that same lady God revealed
His Heart to. That one mention of Jesus name became a door of hope for us, that
somehow, that one mention of Jesus’ name will mean so much more than all our
presentations put all together. That they will accept THAT certain performance.
And when they did saw the dance, and heard the song as it played, there wasn’t
any bad reaction… they just applauded, not knowing that they applauded to that
same performance we prayed for that will touch these people’s heart. And it
touched their hearts, even the heart of the president of that rehabilitation
center. It has touched him so much that he decided to have a Bible study there
once every week. A Muslim man made this decision. For me, this is nothing short
of amazing!
The next day, I woke up to the sound of birds… not the cawing of the
crows. In fact, when we went out to attend church, I didn’t see any crows
anymore, not even one. All I saw were birds of different kinds, chirping and
singing, singing God’s triumph!!! Their song was the song of my heart!!! We
we’re victorious!!! We’ve done the task, and here now is the manifestation of
His love. To top it all off, God made it rain that day, somehow to wash the
earth of the filth of the feeling of hopelessness that some of us saw in
visions before we came there. How amazing! How wonderful! Actually, it’s more
than wonderful!
When we arrived at
sent us to that place, and we were right, but we had no idea how great the task
was that He gave us. Because of our prayers… and YOUR prayers and support, we
went there as soldiers of Christ and came back as VICTORS FOR THE CROSS!!!
PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!! LET GOD ALONE BE GLORIFIED!!!
Praise the Lord for the success! Pasalubong ko? Hehehe....
ReplyDelete[21]
Our God is greater than the enemy! Praise Him for He has given you His favor... It's good to know that many lives were changed because of Jesus!:D
ReplyDeleteWow astig.. masaya maging part sa TRS.. hehe Ingat po kayo.. God Bless.. size 11 lang po.. thanks !!!
ReplyDeleteamen bro..... , we stayed in singapore for a couple of years , yeah crows is one of the biggest task of dept of environment (worst than mosquitos) in singapore they even allow some volunteers to go crow hunting using "airguns" , when you are in the bus stop stop munching otherwise crows want to have piece of it.,anyway doing Gods work in the muslim region seems impossible but to God all things are possible.
ReplyDeleteNaku, kung alam ko lang na close pala tayo, sana nabilhan kita ng pasalubong, nya ha ha!!! Next time, Ches! If God wills it, bilhan kita pasalubong. :-P
ReplyDeleteIt just struck me right now... I'm thinking of the follow up. I hope YWAM KL will be able to do the said Bible study every week at that rehab center. Please keep this in your prayers, Dane. We need to follow up the success of the mission with prayers. :)
ReplyDeleteBwa ha ha ha, me kalokohan ka din pala sa katawan, Iho!!! He he he. Too bad andito na kami ulit sa Pinas, nye he he!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, masayang maging member ng TRS dahil masayang makatulong sa kapwa. ;)
To follow up with the crow thing, in the area where we did the outreach mission the next day, we did not see crows anymore. But when we went to Malaysia's China town, it was really scary, because the trees in the area are black with crows, and their caws are really very eerie. According to the person we were with, we had to be careful with our stuff because the place is full of pick-pockets. And, Muslim and Buddhist activity is very visual there also.
ReplyDeleteIt WAS hard, but God somehow made it easy for us. There is still a lot of things to be done, and I thank God for somehow giving us the opportunity to spear-head that Bible study thing in that rehabilitation center. All the glory belongs to Him!!! :)
I read the same thing about crows... isn't it ironic? the most advanced country in Asia but having problems with crows? great writing nio ... the allusion isn't lost... i do hope and pray that they will continue the work... let us pray... but the work of the Lord in never in vain...
ReplyDeleteAmen and amen, sister!!! I really do hope next time kasama na kayo ni Ate Wendy!!!
ReplyDeleteYes.Let's pray that they will continue what we've started. To God be the glory!!!
The spiritual condition of a territory will really manifest in the physical realm. No wonder when we were still preparing and praying in Manila before the outreach one of the impressions we received was to speak "LIFE". I really had to repent knowing that my heart for the Muslims wasn't right. Thank God that He corrected me in that area. :)
ReplyDeleteYou really should read Peretti's "This Present Darkness". Grabe talaga yun. You will be more aware of the spiritual realm. Pahiram ko sa'yo. :)
Nio, thank you! We wouldn't have reached this stage if it weren't for your determination and commitment to TRS and of course to GOD. All our prayers, tears and hard work are paying off. I'm excited with what the Lord has in store for us as an org. Let's continue to be faithful to the call He has placed in our lives...
TO GOD ALONE BE ALL THE GLORY!!! :D
Next time, before going to Malaysia, think about this:
ReplyDelete15M Filipinos live on $1/day
WB: 19% of RP population in 2000 very poor
By Doris Dumlao
Inquirer
Last updated 02:03am (Mla time) 04/17/2007
WASHINGTON -- At least 14.8 million Filipinos try to survive on less than $1 a day, accounting for 1.5 percent of the people in the world currently trapped in extreme poverty, according to latest World Bank estimates.
But some 43 million in the Philippines, based on the country’s population in 2000, live on $2 a day, the less extreme international measure of poverty.
Data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2007 showed that global poverty rates continued to fall in the first four years of the 21st century, with the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day falling below the 1 billion mark.
Two-dollar-a-day poverty rates were falling too, but an estimated 2.6 billion people, almost half the population of the developing world, were still living below that level in 2004.
The WDI Indicators 2007, a publication, was launched here on Sunday on the sidelines of the joint International Monetary Fund-World Bank spring meetings.
People living on less than $1 a day fell to 18.4 percent as a share of the total population in 2004, leaving an estimated 985 million people living in extreme poverty.
By comparison, the total number of the world’s extremely poor was 1.25 billion in 1990.
Between 1990 and 2004, dollar-a-day poverty fell by more than 260 million, according to the World Bank.
Filipinos living on the $1-a-day international poverty line accounted for 19 percent of the Philippine population of 76.5 million as of May 2000. (The country’s population today is about 88 million.)
Poverty measures, based on an international poverty line, attempt to hold the real value of poverty constant across countries, as done when making comparisons over time.
The commonly used $1-a-day standard, measured in 1985 international prices and adjusted to local currency, is typical of the poverty lines in low-income countries.
Growth, China factor cut poverty
The World Development Indicators 2007 pointed out that an average 3.9-percent annual growth in per capita gross domestic product since 2000 among developing countries helped cut poverty rates.
Another key reason for the decline in dollar-a-day poverty was China’s massive poverty reduction between 1990 and 2004 that trimmed East Asia’s extreme poverty rate to 9 percent in 2004.
In the rest of the developing world, good economic performance and a lower poverty incidence offset a rise in the sheer number of poor people.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 298 million people were living in extreme poverty in 2004, practically the same as that in 1999. But the number of poor people had increased continuously in the previous two decades.
Inequality worsened despite growth
The report found that, in the past decade, economic growth did not automatically lead to poverty reduction.
In some countries and regions, inequality worsened because poor people did not reap the fruits of economic expansion. A lack of job opportunities, limited education or poor health aggravated the situation.
“Growth is essential to reducing poverty, but it isn’t the only factor. The WDI [goes] beyond growth and poverty rates to ask how income is distributed, whether health care and education are improving, and to assess the business environment. These factors all affect the quality of people’s lives,” said Francois Bourguignon, World Bank chief economist and senior vice president for development economics.
The WDI estimated that the share of the poorest quintile in the Philippine national consumption or income was only 5.4 percent.
A quintile refers to any of five equal groups into which a population can be divided according to the distribution of values of a particular variable like poverty.
Other indicators for RP
Other development indicators for the Philippines were:
Malnutrition under age 5 averaged about 28 percent from 2000 to 2005, only modestly slowing from 30 percent in 1990-1995.
Elementary school co