Face to Face with Utter Hopelesness

Living in the Philippines brings you face to face with stark paradoxes every day. You just never know what you are going to find out, who you are going to meet or what is going to happen. Trying to live by a schedule is great on paper but useless in practice. One minute you could be speaking to an ultra-rich (even by western standards) businessman leaning over his Pajero, and the next minute you are talking to the ultra-poor garbage man who still manages a smile.

I know that this is seemingly the same in the UK - rich and poor do live alongside each other. But here, if you take a walk down the main street in Santiago you will see such conflicting standards of living that you would wonder if these people dwelt on the same planet. The poor here are very poor; no dole outs, no safety nets, no free NHS, no job seekers allowance and certainly no government benefits. It's who you know that matters here, and if you don't know anyone in high places, you will find it so hard.

Sometimes, we can become immune to hopelessness and the pain and poverty can so easily be overlooked and ignored. But sometimes, the truth runs deep.

Take this week. Pastor Winston texted me to say that one of the kids who regularly attends our Powerhouse Kids Club had been run over by a bus. Winston went there and found out that this boy - his name is Sylvester - had tragically died. It was the Mayor of Santiago's birthday and she stated that all schools could be closed for the day (oh the joys of being a school kid in the Philippines! Any excuse is a good excuse for the teacher taking a day off!) Sylvester didn't believe that the school was closed and jumped on his bike to find out. he went to school and no-one was there. He was so excited that he peddled back on to the road without looking ... and a bus hit him and his bike. he went hurting through the air and landed very badly. His back was broken and he died on the spot. Tragic.


Winston got there and could not believe the poverty this poor family were living in. They lived in a squatters house made of pieces of wood and some corrugated iron for a roof. They had no work, no income. They were grief stricken and were hoping for a good future for their son.

Winston asked, "Where is your daughter Selina? She used to come to Powerhouse but we haven't seen her for a couple of months." They called for their little girl to come out of her room, and whet Winston saw made him almost cry. This little girl's arm was totally burned. A pot of boiling water had toppled over her weeks before, but because of their poverty, they could not even go to see a Doctor. Such a beautiful face; such terrible scars.



So at one side of the shack their son lay in a casket. On the other was their little girl with a badly affected arm. What a tragic situation Winston found himself in. And yet, this is exactly where God wants us to be. Burden carriers. Difference makers. Available shoulder-to-cry-on people. Fellow weepers. Hand holders. Generous givers. Tear catchers.

We are going to try and help this family in whatever way we can. We will take Selina to the Doctors and take care of her infected arm. We will surround them with prayer and trust that our prayers lead them to the Father - the source of all they need.

I feel that I just finished writing a great encouraging blog yesterday. The blog before was a hard one. And here we are again today .. a sad one! This is life in the Philippines.

I don't write about this family to make you feel bad. But I pray that you will feel something. Even if you feel just blessed that you don't face hopelessness and helplessness every day, that is a positive thing.

If you have friends or family that can pray, then please send them this email address so they can see the pictures and pray for this family.

The world is full of hopelessness - whether it be in a shanty house here in the Philippines or in a bungalow in Scotland. One of the greatest challenges we have ... is to bring HOPE to a dying world.