Participating in the Metro Philippines Inspection Tour

April 13, 2024 07:57

Participating in the Metro Philippines Inspection Tour

Takashi Horii

It was a pleasure to be a part of it!

Back in Japan, my wife and I have talked about this tour many times. The shining eyes of the children participating in the Sunday School, the way the Metro staff risked their lives to support the children, the dedication of Mr. Bandai who guided us despite his extremely busy schedule and the dedication of the Metro office in Japan, etc....

Sunday School

Through Dr. Bill's testimony, videos, and many reports, I had some idea of what Sunday School was like in the metro area. However, what impressed me the most when I actually attended the event was the children's joyful participation in the Sunday School.
Before the Sunday School started, it was time for the staff and I to call the children living in slums and cemeteries. Many children ran up to the staff and came to give them hugs. Not only that, but when the adults saw the faces of the staff, they all seemed at ease and began to make small talk. When I asked the staff member, Ms. Hannah, about this, I learned that they visit the children not only on Sunday school days but also at home to build a solid relationship with them. She told us that although they were living in a poverty-stricken area that we Japanese could not even imagine, the staff was happy and sad with them, and that is why they all trusted and loved the metro.
The Sunday School is very creative, and it was amazing to see the little children concentrating for more than an hour. I was impressed by the seriousness of the children's eyes as they watched the fun praise songs, prayers, quizzes, games, and Bible stories that were well organized with picture stories and skits. I felt that this was because each and every staff member has a great sense of mission to bring the love of Jesus to the children above all else.

Visit to Pauline-chan

On the second morning, we visited Pauline's house with our staff member Hannah. It was an apartment built next to the Smoky Mountains. We walked up to the fourth floor and were greeted by Pauline with a cute smile on her face. We were so happy that we forgot the Tagalog greeting we had memorized.... We went to fast food, shopped at the supermarket, and it was like a dream in a blink of an eye. It was a time to really appreciate our small support, but it was a time to be glad that it was received with pleasure. At the same time, my husband and I are truly grateful for the opportunity to meet Pauline, who we never would have met without the work of the Metro staff and the Japan office.
What was most gratifying was to see Pauline the next day at the Sunday School as a Metro junior staff member. When Pauline-chan saw my wife, she ran up to her and gave her a smile and a hug, which was the best gift from God to my wife.

The Work of Metro

On the first day, I was able to hear again from the Filipino staff that Metro's work started when Dr. Bill was helped by one person. This time, I met many people living in slums, cemeteries, and the Smoky Mountains, and I felt at a loss when I saw their lives there. However, I believe that the driving force behind Metro's work is the staff who risk their lives for the little children, the Metro office in Japan that supports the work, and most of all, the Lord's joy in this work.
Dr. Bandai spoke to us in a moving jeepney. The work of Metro is not about charity or humanitarian aid, but about sharing the gospel."

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every created being." (Mark 16:15)
He said, "As you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40)

Yuri Horii

I read in your newsletter that the Philippines tour will be held again this spring. If I participated, I would be able to meet Pauline (12 years old), whom I have supported for 6 years! So I was thinking of having my husband and one of our family members go.

I thought it would be difficult for me to go, but when I talked to my own mother, who lives with me, she pushed me to go and said, "Go, I'll take care of it! I'll take care of it!

I had been to the Philippines for a two-and-a-half month mission trip 30 years ago, but I had become accustomed to the convenience and comfort of life in Japan, so I was anxious as well as hopeful. However, I was very encouraged by the message that I am with you and Jesus is leading the way.

We were told that Japanese sweets would be appreciated, so we went to the supermarket and bought a large quantity of Caprico, gummies, and candies, and packed our suitcases full. Pauline, who is supporting me, told me that Japanese towels and stationery are good souvenirs for Filipinos, so I thought she would be pleased with these. So, we chose what we thought she would like.

After all the preparations were made, it was time to leave. At Haneda Airport, we met Dr. Bandai and the people who would be with us on the tour, and the tour began in a friendly atmosphere.

Arriving at Manila airport, we were picked up by a jeepney and taken to the Metro Office. We were taken inside and shown the building where the staff and volunteer members live and the many relief supplies that have been prepared as gifts. We were filled with gratitude to learn that the children we support each month are not handed cash directly to their families, but are instead used to support the children through the staff's meticulous attention, visits, and by handing out necessary items to the children.

On the second day, I was very excited to finally meet Pauline in the morning. I had been looking at the pictures of Pauline that were sent to me every time I saw her, and she seemed to be well dressed and well nourished, so I thought that her life had already improved. However, I was shocked when I visited the place where she lives. It is on the fourth floor of an apartment building that was built by the government 20 years ago, where the Smoky Mountains used to be. I entered the apartment through the narrow entrance hallway and was surprised to see Pauline's room. I was surprised to see a man lying on the floor during the daytime when I peeked inside. I was led up a narrow and steep staircase to a small kitchen and bathroom, and then to two small rooms, each with a ceiling that I could barely stand on, each about 4 tatami mats in size, On the left side was the men's room, where a man was also lying on the floor! He greeted me smilingly. I was shocked to hear that 12 people live in such a small place and that the old man who lives with them earns his living expenses by bicycle triathlon to support his family.

After our visit, the bike triathlon carrying Pauline and us whizzed through the city to a shopping mall.

We had dinner with Pauline, her mother, and her adorable 1-year-old sister at a fast food restaurant. We had a great time taking pictures and folding origami together. We were so happy to see her and her mother picking out and filling their shopping cart with food and sundries. Finally, my husband prayed for a blessing for Pauline and her family. She had her first child at 16, Pauline is her third, and her two younger sisters are children of different fathers. ...

I also learned about the different circumstances surrounding Pauline.

In the afternoon, we visited a Sunday school for children living in the cemetery. I was surprised to hear that about 5,000 people live in this large cemetery, which is quite different from what I had imagined. How do they live there? In the Philippines, people are not cremated but buried in coffins, and the place where the coffins are stored (in a room with a roof) is used as a sleeping place, and they move when family members come to visit the graves. Like Smoky Mountain, it was a very unsanitary place.

When Sunday school started, the children came alive! They are all so cute, pure and innocent...

Metro's Sunday School is a fun and exciting event, but there are also rules, such as being quiet when the whistle blows, getting candy for being well-behaved, and so on. The program was fun, lively, and never boring for the children, and the core of the program, God's love and the gospel, were well presented. I was so moved by the way the children praised God from the bottom of their hearts. I was also impressed by the teenagers and adults who grew up there and are now wonderful workers.

At the end of the program, we handed out sweets that we had brought from Japan, and they received them with more joy than we had imagined.

On the third day, we attended two Sunday Schools in Smoky Mountain, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. On this day, the support church catered the event, and the children and their families brought their own vessels from home.

In between Sunday School, a Taiwanese staff woman gave us a tour of Smoky Mountain. We had heard that there were people living there after the eviction, but we thought there were only a few dozen, but there were many people living there and a community had been established. Every slum is full of children, babies, and they are all friendly and cute!

Smoky Mountains, mountains caked with trash...

The view from the top, what is the world outside from here? and the children who can only gaze at the view, children who can't get out of this place, most of them don't have a family register.
Most of the children do not have a family register. The adults were taking it easy, and the children seemed to be spending their time with their friends and family.

But at night it was pitch black with no electricity, and when it rains heavily, it floods.
It was also a great pleasure for us to see Pauline again when she came to our Sunday School in the afternoon. She ran up to me and gave me a big hug... It was such a joy to see her working as a worker again, it brought tears to my eyes.

What I felt when I went to the slum this time...

The children were wearing decent clothes to some extent (although they were a bit shabby and dirty when I looked closely), their hair was not shabby but in good condition, and they looked very healthy and well fed. They are receiving love from their parents.

Why poor? I felt that many families live for the day, and that food and clothing come first, while the house they live in and the environment they live in come second and third. But the children knew of their poverty in their own way at a young age, with a boy of about 3 years old gesturing to me, asking me for money.

I was reminded once again of the need for the gospel of the Bible, hope, and education.

It was a trip that allowed me to rediscover that Metro's support is truly invaluable and a wonderful ministry that can make a difference in the life of one child and his or her family.