A prayer for our journey

As we pulled away from the pier for Corregidor there was a prayer for our trip on the video monitor. My friend, Chris, said, "You mean they don't do that in New York on the way to Ellis Island?"

Priceless service

We were surprised that the clerk who checked us into our hotel in Manila was still there to check us out. She said they work 12 hour shifts for 250 pesos. That works out to about US$0.46 an hour. She said it's better than being unemployed.

Purpose driven police

This church, Christ Commission Fellowship, is gathering for its annual anniversay celebration. They started 24 years ago in a living room. They usually meet around Manila in smaller fellowships. None of the pastors take a salary, so that they don't attract ministers for the wrong reason.

The Chief of Police here, Gen. Avelino Razon, gave his life to the Lord, and he's now requiring that every police officer in the city goes through The Forty Days of Purpose, based on Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life.

He pointed out that, though this is the only Catholic nation in Asia, corruption and immorality are rampant because the focus has been on the forgiveness of God. He challenged the thousands to consider that He is also a God of justice.

Another member helped establish Christmas as a national holiday in Nepal!

The pastor pointed out that every two seconds someone in the world dies. He urged us to do all we can to help them know how to live beyond the grave.

He quoted Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Someone told him he was praying God would be on Lincoln's side. Lincoln said God is always on the side of the right. We need to pray that we're on God's side.

a door closed, a Way opened

When I was here in Hong Kong in 2002 we noticed large groups of Filipinos sitting on the ground in public squares. We found out that they are live-in help, so they have no place else to go on a Sunday, their one day off. Our hearts were moved to reach them somehow.

Yesterday I found out that my speaking engagements in the two morning services were cancelled. We were disappointed, but over breakfast with the director of the Hong Kong YMCAs, he told us...we should perform for the Filipinos on the public squares!
So we went to the Filipino fellowship and told them what the director had said and asked if they had any ideas. Turns out the teacher of the fellowship had been Hoping for a surprise. So I performed "The People J Knew". There was a woman there for the first time, and she decided she wanted to Know J! Yay! Then we had lunch with the fellowship. 

Fortified with Filipino fare, we went to the streets, where I performed "The People J Knew" in four different locations.

We had such a wonderful time!

Filipino friends, on 24 August I'll be back to perform my play (www.RichDrama.com/BeyondTheChariots) and then teach you some dramas we can do on the streets! See you then!
Filled with Hope,
Rich and Joyce

Note from August 27, 2020:

We did return and teach them dramas they performed in Tagalog on the streets in the same four neighborhoods! This event inspired them to go to the streets once a month and give gifts to those who have birthdays and invite them to church. One of the women even had the sketch we created in Tagalog performed at her wedding! 

I was telling this story at the Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary in the Philippines, and one of the students said that she was on the streets of Hong Kong in 2002, when I was praying for the Filipinos. She said she was struggling with what to do with God, and there she sat in seminary, six years later! 

You can see more photos from that first trip to Hong Kong by clicking here and here for the second and third (after the Philippines) trips.

Filipino Fun

This ramp was set up for the youth behind the Nazarene church, where I performed.

Halo Halo

That means "mix mix." It's a good description not only of this treat made of about 20 different things but also of Filipino cuisine in general. They've been influenced by the cultures of Asia, Spain and America and all three and more show up in their food. They do tend toward sweet things. One night they gave me popcorn with sugar on it! The most extreme thing I ate (with 200 youth cheering me on) was balut. Don't Google it if you're squeamish.