23

Update 23
Met our first American while in Philippines;  Chan!!  She came laden with chocolate (Royce made in Japan) for my birthday!  What a treat--both her & the chocolate!  She'd been in route for 2 days but after a shower, we were off checking out Manila.  First stop, the Paco Park church in time for a service.  A wedding reception was also going on--elaborate as any in the states.  Then we went searching for authentic FIlipino food.  Rog & I had got a lead on one yesterday from a clerk--we told her we'd eaten Chinese, Swiss, French & American..but where should we go for Filipino??  We found the place she sent us and she was right.  Chan & Rog were in foodie heaven...I went next door to a bakery & got some good cheesy bread.  We crawled into a jeepney (15 cents each) arriving at Intramuros so Chan could check that out...we hired a pedicab to take us around...actually hired two as they told Rog he was too big to ride with Chan & I.  Then we jumped on the LRT (elevated train - 30 cents each) arriving at M of C a bit after 3.  Again, lots of visitors playing with the kids in the play yard...so we ducked into the nursery and soon all three were cuddling babies. An hour later, we went to greet some of the bigger kids doing what we could to stir up smiles.  We were handed loaded dinner plates & assigned kids to feed.  Lucky Chan got the "chow down" girl...I got the "spit out girl" which after an honest attempt, I gave up on as there was more on the floor than inside her belly!  Later I saw two helpers trying to feed her.  I moved on to another guy who ate better but after a few choking explosions, I put on an apron & got a cloth to wipe us both up.  Note to self:  wash that shirt out ASAP.  It was harder saying goodbye today...last time.  Their tomorrows will probably feel the same as today...but not mine.  We were all tired...Chan exhausted...so we stopped at a Jollibee's (their McD want-a-be) & after looking around...went to McD.  We have eaten McD quite often as there aren't lots of other choices other than street food or expensive hotel restaurants.  We soon were in our hotel room & Chan in bed,,taking time only to check out today's pictures & eating a few bites of that delicious chocolate!.  Sweet dreams tonight!!


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22

We are not allowed to take pictures at the Orphanage...and we truly appreciate that...so we captures these dear little ones by writing about them--as Rog did in his last update.  

The one whose head is 3x the size but smiles & even has a faint laugh when you talk with him;  brown eyes w/ buck teeth who could win any staring contest; 

the dancer with the limp who loves me to twirl her as we dance;  

The singer who though she can barely move about, can belt a song; 

the boss with his key who now is the thumb war master; 

the smiler who though her legs are bent like a pretzel seems to have a permanent smile on her face; 

and in the nursery...the trouble maker, strong willed & a bully to the others; 

the tiny 2 yr old girl who demands the majority of toys & loves playing peek-a-boo; 

the twins just learning to coo; 

the hugger who reaches for you immediately & never lets go until you put him down & then he cries; 

the laugher who doubles over with the slightest tickle...

the list could go on and on.  Each special.  Each disabled & deserted...now loved by the Sister & the workers.  Just before leaving today, I spoke to one of the Sisters mentioning there seemed to be more visitors since the Pope's visit.  She said yes, the Pope called us to not just give $$$ and think that was enough.  But only when we give time & touch these little ones...see their disabilities --then the children benefit---and we even more because then we can see our own disability within us...that's the children's gift to us.  The Pope understands this--he has experienced this...as we have.

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10, 11 & 12

Update 10
Headed to Intramuros area today--the historical site of what was known as "The Pearl of the East"--Manila before 1942 when the Japanese seized it & took control.  MacArthur was commanded to leave the island, leaving behind 10,000 of his men with the words, "I shall return."  Those men & thousands of Filipino soldiers were taken in prisoned & forced to walk w/o any provisions to Bataan --hundreds of miles--most did not make it.  In 1945, MacArthur returned and in the deadliest battle in the Pacific--over 100,000 died--they were freed...but nothing remained of Manila.  Though the Philippines have never experienced another war... in the words of a young tour guide "the city never regained it's beauty. "  Walking the streets proved his point.  We took off for M of C and once again spent time playing, caressing, holding and feeding the kids.  How good it felt to make a few of them smile!  I noticed the prayer we said everyday in Kolkata at M of C was posted on their wall:    Dear Lord the Great Healer.  I kneel before you since every perfect gift comes from you...give me the strength to lift up a part of the burden of my suffering fellowmen and the realization of the privilege that is mine.    So very true.

Update 11
Tidbits to remember:
In the evening, the males were separated from the females on their elevated transit trains. Clever way to curb sexual abuse!

Most everywhere there is a special line for seniors!!! Respect your elders is alive & strong here.

I've come to believe the broom--usually hand made--is the true symbol of perseverance in countries overflowing with poverty. The ability to sweep their tiny space in spite of the fact that again tomorrow, it will be littered & crumbling more is nothing short of amazing to me.  

The many pedicabs with sidecars we rode in during the day became beds at night as did the multiple stands that lined the street.  

Elsi classifies her mishap in these words: extreme sports injury: speed walking on jagged pot-holed cement while people watching. Don't you love her sense of humor??  

Update 12
The Pope Frenzy has engulfed this city!! In the wee hours this morning, as we headed for the airport in a taxi, thousands headed to where the Pope will say Mass at 3:30 pm.  The quiet crowd walked the street blocked to traffic...picture a scene from The Night of the Living Dead...but they were the living hopefuls!  Our taxi driver sought his way to the airport creeping down side streets encountering closed roads at almost every turn...like the tiny ball in a huge maze game.  When we finally got to the airport, the clerk asked if we'd seen the Pope.  She beamed when she told us she'd seen him yesterday here at this airport and that his smile radiated throughout the airport & he didn't even look tired.  As we waited to board, the TV was broadcasting the Pope's visit yesterday to Tacloban (where we will be Fev 14-28)...the site where typhoon Yolanda killed almost 8000 & annihilated the town.  The Pope in a thin yellow raincoat that was whipping in the wind...the same raincoat worn thousands in the crowd...his glasses covered with raindrops spoke to the emotional crowd.  "You are not alone.   Jesus gave his Mother so we would not be orphans.  Tell you Mother what is in your heart...he paused for several minutes.   Many came to help you.  They are now your brothers and sisters. "  Then scanning the crowd with his kind eyes, he told them he spoke from his heart (which he did as he'd scraped his written message)  and apologized that his words could not truly express his feelings clearly.  It was crystal clear to me.  
Just before we board, the broadcast switch to "live"showing the mass of people awaiting the Pope in Manila.  A performer was singing You Raise Me Up...the crowd was holding up pictures of a smiling Pope Francis...and I was covered with goosebumps as I realized it was the same song that was playing at the Kenya orphanage where many of the Rafiki kids were first housed & we spent time with.  What a blessing it has been to be here in Manila just now.  
Will the Philippines return to "normal" when the Pope leaves??  I hope not.  I hope his message of compassion for others brings a positive change for the desperate poor

19, 20, 21

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.