Photojournalism at its best

I work in communication, yes, but I can’t do everything comm people do. I just write. One thing I wish I could do better is photojournalism. I think photojournalism is one of the most compelling  forms of communication ever invented. Imagery is emotive, but unlike videos, photojournalism makes space for the viewer to participate in the story in a deeper way through his or her own imagination. In my estimation, this results in a richer story experience. Alas, I’m no good at taking pictures. So I just click my little snappy Canon a lot and hope that some of the snaps turn out to be useful.

This week I’m in Manila with Craig Combs, a communication consultant  working in Wycliffe Global Alliance who came to give a couple comm staff and me training in web-related stuff. Yesterday I got inspired and took a bunch of pictures of Erlene Lim (director’s assistant), and Cathy Miedes (electronic media specialist) learning how to upload audio and video files to specific pages of the Global Alliance website. I think I did a pretty good job on this story. Check it out:

Success! For them and for me! Perhaps I’m not ready for CNN or National Geographic yet, but hey, you have to admit this story makes you smile. And that’s good enough for me.

You can view the video they uploaded here. It’s a young Filipino’s story of how God’s Word made a difference in his life, recorded and produced by Cathy (on the right). Success on many levels!

Typhoon Yolanda was in Church this morning

It was a holy moment. A time of hushed wonder as I worshiped with Filipinos in church this morning. I couldn’t help but cry.

We sang an old favorite of mine: Shout to the Lord!

My Jesus, my Savior, Lord there is none like you.
All of my days I want to praise the wonder of your mighty love.

Yes. All true. I was benignly singing along with the rest…until…

My comfort. My shelter…

Photo from BBC.com

Here’s where it started to shift in meaning for me…

Tower of refuge and strength.

Photo from BBC.com

 

Let every breath…all that I am never cease to worship you.

By now everyone in the auditorium was standing and singing from the deepest part of their soul.

SHOUT TO THE LORD ALL THE EARTH!

Let us sing power and majesty, praise to the King.

MOUNTAINS BOW DOWN…

 

Photo from Weather.com\

and  SEAS WILL ROAR at the sound of your Name!

Photo from Weather.com

 

I sing for joy at the work of your hands...

Beautiful, beautiful Filipinos standing as one, some lifting their hands in a gesture of respect and honor, some holding their children and swaying, some with eyes closed, some smiling…

All singing with complete abandonment and trust in the loving heart and tender mercy of their God.

Forever I’ll love you. Forever I’ll stand.

Nothing compares to (or literally, nothing else matters compared to)  the promise I have in You!

It was a sacred moment for me. People whose nation has just been flatted, people with family and friends who have just lost everything, singing with honest worship to the One they trust no matter what. I looked around the room filled with men and women with silken black hair, warm smiles and gutsy voices and I was moved to tears. God was honored in that auditorium today. God was worshiped as He deserves to be, even when the world seems to be crumbling right at our feet. He is still sovereign. He is still in control. And He is still good.
And the Filipinos in church this morning believe that.

What a privilege it is to live here, to be blessed by the faith of those who see God transcend life’s catastrophes. There is so much I can learn from my dear Filipino friends. God grant me grace to be more like them when facing my own personal typhoons.

 

 

 

How hot is HOT?

Check out today’s weather report.

Note the fine print under today’s temp…Feels like 103. And the overnight low will be a chilly 82!

At the lunch table the other day my Filipino colleagues were discussing weather preferences. One woman had just come back from a trip to China where she experienced for the first time temperatures that hit 40 F and below. She told the others (think life-long tropical island residents here) that after feeling how cold “cold” was, she would prefer to be hot any day. Of course we are in the middle of summer here in Manila, which is hotter than other times of the year, if that’s even possible. People at the table who have only felt hot and hotter, were trying to decide if they would prefer to live in a cold climate or a hot one. They asked me what I thought. How would you answer that question?

trying to escape the blazing sun

Notice people are trying to walk in the shade. Not significantly cooler, but still the better option.

What’s for lunch?

Relationships are the riches in life we can enjoy without limits. By far my favorite thing about living in the Philippines is the  friendships I share with people I’ve come to know and love over the years. Living alongside my Filipino friends and colleagues and laughing together about our differences never gets old.

Today in the lunch room I started taking pictures of them. They asked why, and I said I was going to blog about them and what they eat for lunch. They got all excited about that and started showing me what they had — knowing it was about as opposite as one can get from my feeble sack lunch of a peanut butter sandwich, cucumber and banana (with peanuts and raisins for dessert).

You’ll look at these photos and see faces of strangers eating things you may not consider delectable. I look at them and smile, remembering how we joked about our different foods, and how we tried to describe the flavors for those who haven’t eaten them before. That’s the fun part of friendships — you smile even when you’re not together.

Bon Appetit!

Lunch with friends. (L-R) Rachel, Jill, Noel and Lourdes.

Rachel’s fried pork and veggies. The pork slice is a cross-cut that includes the skin and top layer of fat — where all the flavor is!

My dry pb sandwich with a half cucumber, finger banana, snack and glass of water. Not nearly as enticing as their lunches.

Jun’s lunch — crispy fried tilapia (I think) with rice. I didn’t ask for a taste. Figured I’d just let him enjoy those little critters all by himself.

Jun (on the right) enjoying his lunch of crispy fried fish heads and rice. Yes, he popped the whole little fishy into his mouth and savored the crunch factor.

Maricris’s lunch of fried aubergine (in front) and red rice. Yum. One of my favorites.

Joann’s lunch of fish tail soup with chilli peppers. Joann apologized that the fish did not have its head on. She said she would have to eat with her eyes closed because a fish is simply unappealing without a head.

Joann digging into her fish tail soup and rice.

After the fried fish and rice, Lourdes indulged in mangoes and sticky rice for dessert — a Filipino (and Thai) favorite.

Lourdes enjoying her mangoes. For my PNG friends, I have to say Philippines mangoes are the sweetest in the world…and that’s hard to admit since I am very loyal to PNG.

Ah…. pickled green mangoes. You slice green mangoes, soak them in salt brine for three days, then in sugar water for three days, then eat! Yum! Very tart and slightly sweet. Makes your taste buds shiver.

Christmas lights in Manila

Been super-busy with meetings lately, so I’ve posted some pictures to fill the space. Enjoy!

Pic #1: Brussels Sprouts: check this out — 6 pieces for 243 pesos. That comes to about one US Dollar per sprout! Needless to say we don’t eat brussels sprouts here. Fortunately, the Philippines has an abundance of local greens we enjoy equally as much so we’re fine without these imports from Australia.

Pic #2-5: views of the Christmas lights right around our office. I see this every night when I walk home. (check out the size of the “star” tree compared to the palm tree near its base.)

Pic 6: Check out this global financial institution’s holiday decoration: yep, it’s a crèche smack in front of the Philippines Stock Exchange. And you know what? The Philippines is one of the strongest economies in Asia during this time of global financial crisis. I’m just saying….

Pic #7&8: The entrance to our apartment complex and the tree in the lobby. Why would we bother decorating our own rooms when we come home to this every night? I told Nate, we should just put our coffee in a thermos and go down to have breakfast in the lobby on Christmas morning. It’s lovely there.

Pic #10: Even CNN recognized the Philippines’ unusual, extravagant expression of Christmas joy, which begins in September and goes through the new year. In many countries in Asia Christmas doesn’t happen, of course. December 25 is just another day on the calendar. But not so, the Philippines. (here’s the link to the article.)

Yes, fortunately, we live in what is very likely the only country in Asia — or even the world for that matter — that lavishly celebrates Christmas for its true meaning. Sure people get caught up in the trappings here as they do anywhere, and sure, people miss the deep significance of the birth of Christ. But that doesn’t mean I have to. I can enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas and, in my heart, still worship my Savior who identified with me by becoming human, bringing God to me when I was unfit and unable to go to Him. The significance of Christ’s birth as the expression of God identifying with humans and ushering His Kingdom of righteousness and restoration into this sinful and broken world makes Christmas a glorious event to celebrate…equally precious as Easter when Christ so identified with us that He became sin for us, in order that we may become the righteousness of God. Unthinkable!

May the wonder of the message of Christmas fill your heart with light that exceeds the brightness of all the collective lights of Christmas displayed in Manila this holiday season.

Comfort and Kingdoms

I was just reading a blog by a middle-aged American woman who visited the Philippines for one week to observe and write about an organization’s work among children. I was going to link to her blog since it’s about humanitarian involvement in this country I’ve come to love. But as I read a few of her posts I closed the page with a harrumph (and likely a smidgeon of arrogance). She talked about how she was “terrified” to go on this trip, and how, when she zipped her suitcase shut and turned to look at her husband before leaving on her one week trip, she “burst into tears.”  Did you catch that? One week she was gone from her beloved family; one week she would live without the comforts of home; one week she would completely give herself to others.

Of course she enjoyed the trip and relished all the hugs she received from the needy children she visited, but toward the end of the week she said she was “anxious to get hugs from her own children” instead. Honestly, I don’t even know what to say.

Have we really become so self-absorbed that we cannot bear to live outside our comfort zone for one week? Have we become so self-focused that the needs of others only matter to us insofar as they do not inconvenience us? Have we really become so narrow in our world view that the myriad Scriptures instructing us to care for the orphans and widows, the oppressed and hurting merely means donating used clothing that is no longer needed or wanted?

I know I have to be careful, because not everyone is called or created to live as Nate and I have lived. Even more, we have not given up everything to live among the poor as others have. Life exists on a continuum and we all have our place in it. We cannot judge one another for how life is lived….

…but maybe we can do more to urge one another toward love and good works.  God loved us so much that He sent His Son to live among us. That had to be a radical abandonment of His personal comforts and a radical acceptance of personal discomfort and Pain with a capital P!  Incarnational love is the beginning of our salvation. And our salvation is not just for our personal benefit — it is for building the Kingdom of God and for His glory. It’s not about us… so why do we continue to act as though it is? Why is it so hard to sacrifice even a little in order to see His Kingdom come… on earth, as it is in heaven? When we pray that prayer, do we mean it?  How badly do we want that Kingdom to come? Do our lives match our words? Am I doing all I can for God’s Kingdom? Are you?

Interview with Dolores

Dolores is a soft-spoken, unassuming woman, a steady worker with no personal ambition other than to know that she has obeyed God and served Him well with her life and skills. In a quiet voice and with gentle mannerisms she spoke to me of the enormous task she faced in translating the Old Testament into the Ayangan langauge, her mother tongue. She talked of how often she struggled with feelings of failure, of how Satan would attack her with doubts and accusations about the quality of her work. She told the story of how she lost her son just one year before completing the work. Often she credited the Holy Spirit as the one who sustained, influenced and empowered her to stay true to her calling during this 18-year journey.

I was there to interview Dolores, to get her story about Bible translation. But in our brief time together I got so much more than just interview notes. I came away spiritually richer for having been in the presence of a saint, a strong and gentle woman of God. I cried in the interview, something I don’t think I’ve ever done before.

I’ll post a couple clips of the interview so you can meet this woman who touched my heart and left God’s fingerprint in the impression. I’ll let you know when I have written stories from her interview.

In this first clip Dolores talks about how the Ayangan people are ostracized by the surrounding community. There is a “rumor”, as she calls it, that the Ayangon are the lowest of people. But with the translation she learned that they are precious to God. Listen to her words…

Banaue, Northern Philippines

I’ve just returned from a story-gathering trip in Ifugao Province of the Northern Philippines. I’ll post highlights of the trip over the next week or so — it’s too much to describe or to absorb in one go. Overall I was deeply moved by the people I met, men and women who love God and His Word and live simple lives of faith. I can’t wait to write their stories.

Batad and Banaue

Ifugao Province is home of the famous 2000-year old rice terraces. We hiked right down onto them. It was difficult and exhilarating — an amazing thing to be standing on what UNESCO has termed the 8th wonder of the world (read an excerpt from the UNESCO World Heritage Sites page below.)

On our way down the mountainside going into Batad.

Though we were never in danger of falling all the way down to the valley below, we were concerned about falling twelve or more feet into the next watery rice paddy.

I am constantly in awe of the life I lead. I get to do things most people don’t even dream about doing. I’m not sure why God chose me for this work, but I’m glad He did.

Here’s a one-minute video clip of a group we interviewed at the Oteo Bible Church in Banaue. We asked them how they would like to be described to the world. Listen to this man. It’s endearing how proud he is to be Ifugao.

In case you didn’t catch it all in the bad recording, he said that Ifugao people, though illiterate are nonetheless intelligent engineers. After all, more than 2,000 years ago they made their own tools with which they cut and walled terraces down the sides of soaring mountains, trapping enough water to raise rice crops in the rugged terrain. They built houses out of natural resources, making them strong enough to withstand typhoon winds. And today they continue to practice the ancient art of hand-harvesting and processing rice, which I’ll show you in tomorrow’s post. He said at one point in the interview (not on this clip) that though they may be “ugly” (in his words), they are very intelligent. He made me smile. He was a dear man. I am richer in spirit for having met him.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites says of the Ifugao rice terraces:

“The Ifugao Rice Terraces epitomize the absolute blending of the physical, socio-cultural, economic, religious, and political environment.  Indeed, it is a living cultural landscape of unparalleled beauty.

The Ifugao Rice Terraces are the priceless contribution of Philippine ancestors to humanity.  Built 2000 years ago and passed on from generation to generation, the Ifugao Rice Terraces represent an enduring illustration of an ancient civilization that surpassed various challenges and setbacks posed by modernization.”

Catching up

Now look at that. It’s been two weeks again since my last post and I have so much to tell you I hardly know where to begin.

Nate and I are in the US right now. We’re in Chicago for awhile, helping our daughter and her son regroup and restart after she and her husband separated. It’s been extremely painful and yet, now that I’m here, I feel renewed hope that this isn’t permanent somehow. I’ll continue to faithfully take our burdens to God and let Him sort it all out.

Being here, of course, means we have left Manila. In fact, in just four short days we went from sitting at the breakfast table talking about where to begin to locking the apartment door behind us never to return (to that apartment, that is. We’ll return to Manila often as our business takes us there.) It was a crazy four days, but we made it.

One thing I felt bad about was leaving my Doublemint friend. Remember the story I wrote on my other blog about the crazy woman who tried to get into my car one day and a street vendor came to my rescue? Well, every day I drove past that intersection on my way to the office, and every day I’d see him there. He’d always recognize my car, and he’d smile and wave and I’d wave back. Since he sells gum and cigarettes for a living I thought I’d help him out by buying gum from him (even though I don’t chew the stuff, myself.) Well, it became our daily habit. I’d be stopped at the light, he’d see my car and come over and I’d buy a pack of gum from him. I’d take the gum to the office for the communications team to enjoy. I think they got to liking it. He did not speak English and I couldn’t speak Tagalog so I don’t know his name or anything about him, but he knows enough to always point to me and say “best friends!” On my last day I tried to say, “Me, America, tomorrow.” He got the message and said he’d miss me. At least I think that’s what he said. I bought some gum from him one last time and Nate took our picture. There’s absolutely no point to this story other than to say I think I’ll miss my little street vendor friend. Weird, eh?