katie wants to blog.

But Nolan will instead. Today we picked up trash. Well moreover we scooped up scum for an hour. Honestly it is not like it made much of a difference. I mean the rain, and people dropping trash everywhere will eventually leave a mess of sewage and trash in the gutters of the street in a matter of a few days. It will all come back since we basically just threw all the trash and scum onto the dirt off of the road. I often wonder if our presence here in Manila will truly make much of an impact. A lot of it is perspective. We have come to serve and to bless these people. Their standard of living not withstanding with American standards. We have to understand that this is the way they live. Of course improvements can be made but should we truly expect them to be like us? Maybe us helping them pick up trash even if it was only for an hour was better than doing nothing. Critics will often scoff at the lack of effort, but I say differently. I would say at least we tried, at least we put our best foot in. Besides were not actually done yet, in a few hours, were going to help them hand out shoe boxes filled with toys and gifts.

My experience here is not finished but yet I have learned already so much about poverty, and the economics of it. Pastor Rick told me that he that in all his years of serving squatter communities in Manila, he has concluded that nobody wants to be poor. So with our wealth let us not be buried in guilt but use our blessings from God to bless others. I had the ability to come to this place for the second time. Abandoning pretense of gathering suitable income and choosing the difficult task of leadership and service, I have found a strange but silent grace in walking after God instead of myself.

Our team has one week left, see how it goes...

For I have seen the Kingdom, in the slums, in the streets, in the homes of the believers, in the hope of a boys heart, in the words of one who will not fall under the pressure of the world.