Update 19 -by Roger
Daily we hop on a Jeepney and join about sixteen or twenty local travelers for a short ride-it is much too crowded for anyone to get up and carry money to the driver so bills and coins get passed along to the driver who somehow continues to drive and avoid motorcycles, buses, tricycles(full size), and pedestrians all while counting change and passing the change back again through several hands before it gets to the right person. He often holds bills in one hand and shifts gears with that one-coins are left on the dash in a huge pile that I would think might attract a snatcher but I haven't yet seen a conflict on a Jeepney.
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Update 20 by Roger
A group of college students came to visit the kids at Missionaries of Charity today. I met their teacher and she asked what I thought of her country,
I quickly replied that the Philippines is a beautiful country. I could tell that she didn't believe that I was being honest with her. Well, was I? Sometimes it is necessary to see past some bad to see the good. I guess I choose to see the good. I hope that she can also do that.
For example, we see filthy children living and begging for food on the sidewalks while walking to our elevated train stop. I saw a little girl run behind a tricycle cab and push it along assisting the driver. It was fun for her and she laughed then returned to her place along the sidewalk to find something new to entertain her...an elderly lady walking up the stairs to the train did not pass by a cripple lying on the floor at the landing, she took an extra step or two to move closer to him and put a few coins in his cup. How many cripples must she see every day? How can she think that her effort is in any way going to change this world? But all the same she does it without a word. Many people have asked us what we are doing here in Manila and when we tell them they smile and say "Thank you!"
So many people have greeted us with a broad smile and a friendly word!
Update 21 by Roger
There are plenty of things to look past to see good here....people holding a towel over their mouth or wearing a gauze mask or a bandana over their face like a bad guy in a western movie just so they can filter the air a bit and not breathe in so much dust and exhaust. Others with hope run out and sleeping on a hard sidewalk without a cover or draped over a stone wall that has just enough flat surface to keep them from tumbling down to the ground. A stream that has become a smelly sewer is just a few feet from someone's window and clothesline. Then there is the boy up a tree next to Paco Park. He is picking small mangoes and dropping them down to a man below. The man offers one to us! They are Angel mangoes that may feed a starving person. It just feels wrong to even have it offered to us. And the lady who sat down beside Jane while we were waiting for a train...she started to peel a tangerine which put off a great smell. She also offered to share her tangerine. People here don't seem to begrudge another person who has more than they have but they do ask for help sometimes. We pass by some familiar faces along our way since we usually follow the same route to the Mission and several people along the way now smile and greet us as we go by.
Nicole has muscular dystrophy and is cared for by the nuns and their helpers at the Mission. She is kept clean and they feed her well but her limbs are stiff and useless to her. She lies in her bed or a wheelchair all of the time. When I spoke to her she moved her head about as if to try to control muscles that just won't do what she wants them to do. Speaking softly I reached out to brush her cheek gently with my hand and a fleeting smile passed over her face. After several days of visiting her I am sure she knows my voice and appreciates my hand softly on her cheek. I look forward to seeing her now and hope to again bring a smile to her face.
Jadee has been volunteering at the mission for about 9 years. She is filipino and is in her twenties? She comes after her work day (as a Nurse) with a big smile and hugs the kids then plays with them. They love her and call her "Mom". Jadee told me her family moved to Seattle and they would like her to join them there but she has a life here and chooses to stay in Manila. She will be going away for awhile as she has a scholarship to become a doctor, but her heart will stay here until she returns.
It is important to take pride in your work-whatever it is that you do. It seems that the people here do that. Workers at McDonald's and other restaurants dress neatly and act sharp. They try hard to do their best for everyone. It seems that all of the workers in the whole country have been trained to speak politely and look their best. It appears that those workers are just proud of their uniform and proud to be earning a living. The option of being unemployed here is not a good one.
We walk past a place where people are completing forms for job placement overseas. There are construction jobs in Japan, New Zealand, and also many other countries. These people are going to leave their homes and families to earn some money. They have little choice...corruption erodes the economy and destroys opportunity here.
We are blessed in so many ways and we don't usually even notice.
