Observations lessons

Well, I'm back from my trip to the Philippines. Time to try and gather together some observations and lessons. These are slightly random and are obviously drawn from my experience chiefly of Manila and mainly among Christians.

1. Manila is pretty monocultural. It would seem being made up of around 99% Filipinos. I hardly saw any people of another ethnic background.

2. Having said that, Filipinos themselves are pretty diverse. They can look quite different - some more Chinese or more Indian, some more Malay or even African or Polynesian.

3. Although (Americanised) English and Tagalog are widely spoken many, many have a third or even a fourth language as there are over 150 other languages and 13 major languages are spoken by 90% of the country. This means that communication is a more of a problem than appears at first.

4. Although the people are Asian they seem to have a unique mixture of American get up and go (and southern politeness), Spanish lording it over and various other elements in their make up.

5. In Manila there is wide diversity between the very rich and the very poor.

6. People seem generally to be keen on hygiene, especially oral hygiene, but things can look quite run down due to neglect.

7. I need to send more time consulting maps. There is a lot to be learned from such sources.

8. The Philippines is a land where a little bit can go a long, long way.

9. One must constantly resist the temptation to make snap judgements with regard to people and situations.

10. False doctrine, immorality, party spirit and a general tendency to drift apart make themselves known the world over.

11. There is something to be said for being quite consciously and overtly Reformed in doctrine.

12. It is quite striking to see what God can do with a church that is committed to the truth adn to God's glory.

13. The more the people and the more a work grows the more likely problems of various sorts are.

14. Face to face is always going to beat a written report or photos

Philippines 07

So Ecclesiastes today. I think we did a little better today in some respects. Obviously there was less ground to cover and they were more used to me. Some are still finding it difficult. Really trying to get the Song of Solomon lectures in order tonight.

There was a church prayer meeting earlier tonight, at 6.30 pm, in the lecture room. A lot of it was in Tagalog so I missed quite a bit. It was a very business like PM making use of the white board to list things to pray for. This was done in three sessions - church; CCM/GMA, Other matters. It was good to be there. They asked what to pray for me and I instinctively thought of my dad. So their praying for him here too.

They continue to feed me well. Bernie the caretaker really looks after me (and Jose his brother). I've had mostly take out stuff today with a distinct Filipino twist. I'm not losing any weight I'm sure.
So my positive impressions of this vibrant and by now very busy and active enterprise continue to grow. It is not perfect by any means and I'm sure there are problems but this is Reformed Baptist faith in action in the 21st Century here in the far east and it has a lot to be said for it by the grace of God.

Philippines Trip

On July 1 I intend to travel to The Philippines and to be there for the next 10 days or so. How come?

1. Some years ago we became aware of the work of Brian Ellis and Cubao RB Church, Manila.

2. For some years we've supported the work among the street children they do and one or two members have travelled to see the work. We also sometimes have Filipinos in the congregation.

3. We are also aware of the Grace Ministerial Academy and its current need of help.

4. Since my last overseas trip (to Nigeria) we've put regularly put aside half a per cent from the general fund for another (the amount covered my air fare). There's an idea for some of you!

5. Having thought about this for some while and tried to pass on my thought of going I finally got to see Brian a month or two back and broached the idea of lecturing on the wisdom literature. He and Principal Noel Espinosa seemed keen for me to come in July, August or September.

6. Meanwhile my dad's situation has not been good so I've been much in prayer and consultation on what to do. Reminders of the Philippines are never far away in London (see pic). At one point I was in a MacDonalds using the netbook when I heard on the radio - "Don’t matter if I step on the scene Or sneak away to the Philippines". I thought I was so obsessed with the subject I was hearing things but these are genuine words from Britney Spears' "Piece of me". Thankfully I try not to get my guidance from such Providences. What I really wanted was some assurance from God about how long my dad will live. I don't think I'll be getting that and so there could still be problems ahead for this project but I just need to step out in faith.

7. So I decided that sooner rather than later was better from the point of view of my dad's health (who's fine at present and has been told to stay healthy at least until I'm back and then for the wedding at least). It turns out Noel was planning a special day of Calvin seminars on July 10 so I can do that too - although he's given me Calvin's Theology, which will be a tall order for me.

8. Tickets no doubt go up the longer you leave it so I was glad to get a good price last Monday (Malaysia Airlines). I did it on the laptop watching the news about this Air France tragedy. Sobering thought. For some reason it was cheaper to travel July 1 than July 2, which is not a problem. The bigger decision was choosing to be away 2 Sundays, which I didn't want but it's been unavoidable (one factor was the need to be back to see Dylan perform in Westside Story!). Getting preachers didn't prove difficult - further Providences. Also no problem updating my injections at the doctor's - and nothing to pay, which was good.

9. So imagine that, God willing on July 10th, Calvin's birthday, I'll be not in Wales or London, which would be fine, not in Geneva - a great idea I toyed with but couldn't afford - but in Manila and talking about the man himself! Could he possibly have imagined that 500 years on they'd be talking about him in such a far flung place?

10. There's lots of preparation to be done then - going through my notes on Proverbs, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes and working on the Calvin but what a privilege. There are always reasons to pray.