We had a very strange encounter in our field visit in the afternoon. Ferdinand Tobias, one of my students has formed a ministry for the homeless children who live under the Kaytikling bridge, 50 yards from the gate to APNTS. For a long time, he ignored the problem, but then, the Spirit spoke to him about engagement. He crawled down off the bridge into the stream, made friendship with the children, and has ministered to them ever since, inviting them on campus for parties, showers, etc. They crowded around us on the bridge. Apparently the mayor of Taytay had driven over the bridge minutes before we arrived, saw the children, and ordered the local Barangay peace officers to intervene. When we met with the children, the officers interrupted us, thinking that we wanted to exploit the children or sensationalize them. The conversation became quite heated at times, until Ferdinand explained that the mayors office had given the COTN full permission to minister to this group and that we were not a fly-by-night intrusion but a solid ministry seeking genuine community transformation. The conversation settled down, and we ended up having a genuine dialogue with these leaders who realized that we were seminarians seriously interested in community problems, and caring for those who have so little. Ironically, I had a flashback to the Nazarene ministry on the streets of Hollywood, where my student, Big Mike Velasquez had formed ministry and a Christmas party for the dozens of teen runaways who lived under the bridges in Los Angeles, in their squats. These urban social problems happen everywhere and there are courageous young people seeking to be Christs presence and hope in the midst of desperate circumstances.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 12:37:50 +0000
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