October 10, 2016

Dear Ones,

We can't believe how fast the days are flying by and how the needs of the poor seem to be increasing at an alarming rate. Maybe it is just that we no longer search for them: they come to us.   I think I was feeling a little overwhelmed last week – the emotions of a single day still linger.  We visited the Smokey Mountain neighborhood again (the garbage dump).  

Family store front mentioned in this post.  

I saw a little family the children of which were playing in front of a caged space that was about 5 feet by 7 feet.  The street side of the cage was covered in metal fencing in 2 inch squares.  It looked a lot like Samson's kennel.  A small opening in the front was for the exchange of money.  The mother sat inside the cage (her make shift store) while her children played in the street in front of her home. She sold penny candy and other supplies to the neighbors. She had a set of triplets as well as other children but it was the triplets that grabbed my heart. It is a miracle they have survived. They were 3, maybe 4.  It's hard to tell because malnourished children are generally stunted in growth.  These boys were naked, just playing in the street.  They were beautiful children.  Their expressive eyes held my attention for the longest time, then they were back to the important stuff of play.  I looked but could not see what had captured their attention, what occupied their time.  There was nothing but dirt and rock but they were busy creating something .  .  .  out of nothing. 

Soup kitchen and training center for mothers of malnourished children

Just a couple of shacks away from this family's home I saw another mother cooking over a small fire.  She had a wok filled with boiling oil (which no doubt is never changed) and she was frying food that had been reclaimed from the garbage; food that other people had half eaten.  She was re frying chicken wrapped in KFC papers and boxes. I could see where other people had eaten what they wanted and left a few scraps.  There were several of these boxes with chicken pieces and left over rice. It would feed her children for that day. No fresh fruit, no veggie, no fresh anything.

Man carrying his bag of garbage treasure.

This scene has haunted me for the past week.  Up until last week the Lord has helped me see the good things that are happening in these communities.  I have not been overcome or shocked and repulsed by the smells and scenes from Dickens-style pictures of poverty.  This time my heart ached and I felt to cry for them.  Not with them because none of them were crying, but for them.  

River front property.

I wonder about these children what hope they have?  Then .  .  .  I remembered the Purple Center Foundation just down the street.  These good people are actually doing something. They are a Christian-based organization that has reached out to this community.  They will be one of our partners and LDS Charities will contribute to helping feed wasted school children. 

These men with Elder Webb are rebuilding the old school space.  They are floating the floor because the ground floods every time it rains.
Behind this gated door and wall is a maze the old space being resurrected .  Part of the space will be a new Christian church. The first in this neighborhood.

 Many of the children from this very neighborhood are going to the Purple Center school, and yes, it is a PURPLE four story building that stands out big time.  They get food two times a day and are in classes that would come close to reaching the quality of those in the talented and gifted program of Lake Oswego, Oregon.  Large corporations have stepped up to the plate and donated supplies and electronics (the latest styles or product line) to the school – including the ocean shipping containers that have become part of the classroom itself.  

The side of the Purple Center's School looking out on the sewer treatment plant

students from purple centers sitting on the edge of the basketball/ play area

The kids are dressed in uniforms and they play happily on the indoor basketball court just like kids from your neighborhood.  It is harder to get people to help with the feeding program, there is no flair, no pizzazz in food to attract sponsors.   Yet, the children cannot learn if their brains are not nourished. We are hoping LDS Charities will contribute and help solve part of this problem.  There are two ways to go about it.  One is just giving rice, which is a short term solution.  The other possibility is a community garden on the school property where they can grow fresh veggies for the school and community food program.  The garden could be part of the science curriculum as well as community outreach.  It is not a huge space but it is enough for a good sized garden. That will take time to develop but it would give them a sustainable source of food. It is the Lord that is guiding this process.  It is He who will heal these people and bring them out of poverty.

hugs from the school children

Of course there are many issues that come up in working in a community like this.  One problem is that not all parents will allow their children to go to school.  They do not see the importance of education because their whole lives have been spent on the garbage piles.  It's all they know.  Their children work beside them in the garbage.  Change is difficult and the fear that many people feel with change is real and can be a controlling factor. The woman with the children I mentioned earlier is going to allow the triplets to go to a preschool the Purple Centers Foundation has set up in their Barangay.  That is pretty big. The children who are allowed to go to school, will have a chance of breaking this cycle of poverty that is generations old.

scrap metal become a child's playground

So I find myself thinking about these people a lot. I try to see the good in these neighborhoods.  I know this is a dangerous place.  The garbage recycle industry is run by a mafia.  They set the prices for the recycled garbage and decide who will collect what. The average worker makes about $2.50 a day.  There are drug issues and incest abounds.  Killings are part of everyday life.  Still they are working, not just sitting around complaining, waiting for a hand out.  There are no entitlements.  They do have a code of ethics and they hold people accountable, but it is vigilante justice. It is their form of government.  It is the tradition of their fathers. A first world country would say they live in a state of chaos. They do, but is organized chaos.  It reminds me of scenes we read about in the Book of Mormon of secret combinations. 

This is home 

This is an adventure we never would have chosen, but I am grateful that my eyes have been opened to this kind of living –  worldwide this includes more people than live in the United States.  By the way, we have no poor in the U.S.  No one need starve to death in the U.S. There are soup kitchens and public aid that these Filipino people would think was first class living.   Here people go to bed and do not wake up because they have nothing to eat.   

With three months left we are looking forward to warm hugs, cool water from a faucet from which we can drink, fruit we can eat and beef that taste like beef.  We have learned ground beef, depending where one is shopping, is not always just beef; some also contain dog, goat or pig.  Elder Webb wants fish dinners that do not look back at the diner. I look forward to sleeping without ear plugs and blinders because of the noise and lights from C5; a major thorough-fare that runs in front of the complex in which we live.   These are simple pleasures for which we will be even more grateful.

We have committed to keeping full steam ahead until we leave, but home has begun to beckon us with stronger emotions.

The Philippines is a relatively young nation.  The Church here is also young, but it is growing at a fast pace with amazing people who love the Lord joining the ranks.  We feel grateful we have had a chance to work with some of them.  We are humbled by their dedication.  We too  love the Lord and can testify of His tender mercies in our loves and the lives of those with whom we work. 

May God bless and keep you.

Love,

Elder and Sister Webb

Mom and Dad

Gma and Gpa

Carol and Norriss