What we give

I've always wondered how I could help other people. As some of you know, I have a different kind of background. Rather then immigrating to America for opportunity, I was actually born here, lived in Maryland for 9 years, then moved to the Philippines for (what ended up to be) the next nine years. So, let me tell you a little bit about my experience. Coming from an upper-middle background, moving to a third-world country was definitely the biggest shocker in my life.

While there are different 'cities' in the Philippines, Manila (the capital) is surrounded by a number of cities and there is no real distinction (besides map-drawn boundaries) separating the different cities. As you might imagine, the city that I lived in was incredibly populous. And as is ever-present in every city, there was poverty. However, unlike in developed countries, the poverty in the Philippines is more massively widespread. It's so bad, that the gap between rich and poor is very large. When we first moved, seeing the poverty all around me (I lived in a very poverty stricken neighborhood for the first 6 years) really moved me and I wanted to help them. But eventually, I guess I hardened my heart and the want to help subsided.

When I first joined Diakonos, I realized that the bagged food that we offered was honestly nothing special. In fact, the people we were meeting often looked fairly well-fed and in comparison to what some other service groups bring, it's not that great. So after my first (and second) Monday, I was kind of confused. I didn't know if I was actually making a difference.

What really inspired me was when I went on a few more trips. It was when I saw some of the other members and how they interacted with the people they came across. It was by watching these other people that I realized that we weren't doing this to provide food and supply their basic needs. No, what we were really giving to them was someone to listen and to spend time with them and hopefully, reflect God's love for them.