Paradoxical

The nature of this trip frequently fascinates me. From the very beginning of us sitting in our apartment in BC and deciding that we would go in all or nothing on this, we knew we had to really allow God to be the author of this trip – to let him fill in the blanks as we follow in faith. Essentially, this meant having no plan, or at least barely having one. Although we distinctly felt that for this kind of trip no other way would work, there was still an aroma of cynicism, perhaps from our own hearts or what caught on from the hearts of others (because we get it, two young girls and no plan – it just doesn’t sound like the recipe for success!)

But don’t get me wrong; we were so excited constantly fantasizing on things big and small – of all the mangoes we would eat, the people we would meet, and the way God would work. But we could not grasp in our mind, no matter how hard we tried, what it would look like to virtually have no plan and let God do his thing.

Now that we’re here and we’re seeing it firsthand, we are constantly in awe. What a paradox it is to feel something so strong from a presence so physically invisible. The attitude we’ve come to adopt is to be open to anything despite the plans or the lack of plans for the day. And wow, how God moves during those moments.

This past week, we were able to go sight seeing. From where we were staying in Ayala Alabang, we were able to get a ride to Ortigas from my ever so lovely uncle. His act of kindness saved us from having to take a jeepney or trike, a bus, and half a train ride. Three trains later, and we arrived in the general vicinity of where we wanted to be. Intramuros, "the walled city of Manila", is the oldest part of Manila, with many of its buildings dating back to the when the Spanish had control of the country. We took a pedicab (a bicycle and sidecar) to tour around Intramuros. For lack of better words, it was so cool! It was like time warping to Spain decades past because of the architecture and feel of the area. We got dropped off at Starbucks, which is no ordinary Starbucks, mind you! If memory serves me correctly, it used to be a Spanish war barrack. Think of an underground concrete tunnel except

replace the dingyness and weapons with a giant Starbucks sign, friendly baristas and coffee makers. Neat, huh?



We decided to do some exploring - archaic abandoned staircases, castles, courtyards, Spanish government buildings… eventually, our walk led us to crossing a river in search of an infamous street that hosts specialty camera stores. Little did we know, this little walk would lead us to one of the places many other Filipinos and family members had warned us to stay away from. Snapping away pictures of the view, cars passing by honked at us, and one man yelled in Tagalog, “Hey! Make sure you hold on tight to your things!”

Confused, we continued to walk. We went down a busy street, passing Chinatown. Heeding the man’s warning we hid our cameras in our purses. Finally, it hit me. We were approaching the Divasoria. This is one of the biggest and busiest markets in Metro Manila. Again and again, I had heard people warn us… don’t go to the Divasoria alone. And if you do go, make sure you don’t bring any expensive belongings, because the area was infamous of theft. What were the chances that we would end up where people had warned us not to go? A small feeling of fear hit me as people stared at us making it seem as if we were obviously out of place. Taxis honked at us, pedicab drivers yelled at us, and horse drawn carriage drivers also tried to get our attention. It was as if a neon sign flashing the words “VULNERABLE FOREIGNERS!” were attached on our foreheads.

Although a little taken aback from this sudden realization, we felt drawn to start praying. We walked and prayed and the fear suddenly disappeared. We walked by a school and prayed for the teachers and the students, that they would be a new generation that seeks the proper needed change for their people. We prayed for the kids we saw on the streets that their parents would take care and love them. And if their parents were unable to, that God would step in to show them what a loving father looks like.

A man in his 40’s with his gut hanging out interrupted our prayers. He asked if we wanted a ride in his horse drawn carriage. We waved our hand to motion no. As we walked past them, I looked behind us at his horse. You could see its ribs almost protruding from its tiny frame, obviously underfed and overworked. I wondered how it would have been remotely possibly for it to carry us.
Then I noticed the children behind the horse playing on the carriage who were around the ages of 1 and 3. They smiled as they played together. They remain un-phased as the man threw garbage at them, yelling at them, and blaming them for losing our business. It was as if this was a normal occurrence, something they dealt with everyday, as they continued to play.

That absolutely stung my heart because it wasn’t their fault. They are just innocent, blameless children trying to be... children. We prayed for them too. We prayed for the man’s heart to change and be softened by God, and that those children would be safe, cared for and loved. In that short walk, we felt God revealing a series of needs left and right. Looking around us, things are more complex than they seem. There are people with hardships behind what we would have normally walked past.

Before we knew it, we arrived at the train station astonished to how we were led there. This may not seem like something big, but for us, it was. We saw God lead us. We saw incredible need. And hopefully through prayer, we were able to shake the ground we walked on, because we truly believe God works from prayer and petition.

I’ll admit that even now as we continue with this trip, there are still days we struggle with faithfully following and leaving the blanks unfilled. Because when you're following someone you cannot physically see, it often feels like you're just blindly following in naivety. It's hard at times to discern what opportunities to pursue. But I guess that's the beauty of this trip. We never know what walks will lead where. We’ll just have to take it all as it comes, because God is bigger than what we can see.