Windows One thru Twenty-Nine Please

I was very “pressed upon” and tired yesterday, but today I feel surprisingly well. Don’t get me wrong; my feet still hurt, my toe on my right foot feel like it’s bruised, and I’d happily take on about three more hours of sleep if I didn’t have so many other things that I believe I should attend to. Yes yesterday was quite a day.

Got there a little after ten AM. First I went to window one and was told by someone in line that I should go to window three to complete my “previously approved” 12(a) visa. At window three I was told that I needed to have my tourists visa extended by one month. But before I go to window twelve I needed to make two copies of several of my documents. Ok at window twelve I was told I needed to go to window fourteen, who politely explained to me that I needed to go back to window three to get something called an “Agenda”.

Back at window three and he showed me that the document which I already possessed was signed by the director and so I didn’t need an Agenda. Knowing about beurocracy at it’s best I requested that he write a very short note that I could give to the guy at window fourteen so Mr. Window Fourteen wouldn’t think that I simply didn’t know what I was talking about. Mr. Three didn’t seem to want to give this to me however. So after I did my best three to four minutes of unsucceful persuasion I finally just got his name (MacDave) and accepted another printed document that was different than what I had but wasn’t what Mr. Fourteen was asking for.

After taking this to Mr. Fourteen he looked at what I got from Mr. Three with an expression of “This isn’t what I asked for”. After a few seconds of that he seemed to come up with a way that he could make this do and gave me some paperwork to fill out. After filling out the paperwork I went back to Mr. Fourteen who promptly sent me to window sixteen to pay for my one month visa extention. This was about P3,100 (but I don’t have the receipt in front of me right now). Going back to Mr. Fourteen with the receipt I was told I can pick up my passport and visa later at 1:30pm (a bit more than an hour and a forty five minutes). So I walked to Manila SM to run some other errands.

1:33pm I went to window sixteen to pick up my visa. Now back to Mr. Three and was given another form to fill out and the task of getting two copies of a handful of other documents. Now back at window three who tells me to go to window six to pay (another P5,300) and then back to window three. Mr. Three then tells me at 3:45pm that I can pick up my passport and this new visa at window one. Ahrighty another hour and a half to do something, back to SM Manila (which is a brisk ten minute walk by the way).

Three forty-five PM; your friendly neighborhood “Hey Joe” (as they call all Americans) makes his way back to window one and waits there for ten minutes for his turn. After getting to window one I am told to wait while the clerk goes to the back and gets something that has nothing to do with me and then comes back. My visa (and various paper work) is on the top but I am asked for P8 and the task of making two more copies of several documents and then to come back to window one. After waiting in a short line for the copier (pleasant surprise) I come back to window one and am told that I am not done yet (what?!?).

Ok, now at window number twenty four where I am give another document to fill out and the task of going to the other side of the building to get two copies of seven different documents. I come back to window twenty four a few minutes later and am told that I missed one. So I go back to the copier and come back to window twenty-four with what I think is everything however Mrs. Twenty-Four says that I have the wrong copy of the visa page of my passport. Now back to the copier to get this corrected and then back to Mrs. Twenty-Four.

Everything is completed so I take a finger print card to a make-shift finger print station behind me where I wait for five minutes before going back to Mrs. Twenty-Four who points at two chatty women sitting down about six feet from the station. I just thought they were there just like me, neither one of them said “How may I help you” when I was standing right beside the finger print station for five minutes.

After the finger printing is done I go back to Mrs. Twenty-Four and she tell me that I should go to Window twenty-six to pay an additional fee. Oh no!; when I started this fiasco I had printed out a page from the Phil Immigration website that said my total fees would be P5100. So like a good little Boy Scout I thought I would double that amount just so I could be prepared. Well that wasn’t quite enough and at this point I was P700 short; where would I get this money?

With a smile Mrs. Twenty-Four said “oh no, you’ll just have to come back tomorrow. We will be open at 9am.”. Well I smiled back politely and said “ok well I’ll just come back tomorrow then”. But that’s not what I was thinking. I was trying to figure out how I could get out of this situation without having to make the nearly two hour trip back to Marikina only to do this again tomorrow.

I thought of the lawyer that helped us with this process in the beginning. So I went up to the forth floor to his office and talked the matter over with him. After I was somewhat convinced that I wasn’t being treated unduly in this matter, I remembered that I had P1000 in my BPI account. So I went down to Mrs. Twenty-Four and asked if there was a BPI ATM near by and if I had the time to go to it. “It’s just over there but you’ll need to hurry; it’s 4:30pm already.”.

Ok so I hurry about fifty meters to the ATM and then hurry back; pesos in hand. Mrs. Twenty-Four reorganizes my paperwork and sends me to window twenty-six to pay P2991. The middle age woman at window twenty-six was about the most disinterested and slow employee I’ve ever come across. I waited there patiently for a very full five minutes before she ever got to me. She simply sorted and organized the other work that she had there, not once making eye contact with me. My paperwork simply hung there over the edge of her side of the window (I wanted to make sure that she knew I was there). And once every ninety seconds (about) I would shift my paperwork in front of her. Again with absolutely no eye contact I had no idea that she even knew I was there.

Paid the P2991 and then was told to proceed to window twenty-nine where I would have a picture taken for my new iCard and my contact and identifying information was inputted into a computer. The only piece that was incorrect was my age. It said 39 (I’m only 38) but it had my birth date correct of course but the age was still wrong. The explaination?; “The computer calculates age based on year”. They apparently had no way to correct this. And finally, about seven hours after I got there, I was given a telephone number to call to find out the status of my iCard tomorrow. But no one knew (I asked three of the people involved) whether the card would be ready when I called or whether it would take two days, three days, one week or three weeks .

Am I unhappy about this situation? Well no, was just tired and felt that my patience was quite tried. But as the old saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”; or the scripture says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

There area lot of details to this story (like the cost of everything) that I have left out. I spent nearly P12,000 yesterday and hopefully I’ll collect the receipts from upstairs and add those details another time as I think it will be useful for others in in the same situation.

Pursuing God?

Trying so hard to avoid boredom.

I thought I was pursuing God because I “went to church” most Sundays, and occasionally on Wednesdays. However when I reflect back on life I consider all of the places I’ve been & everything I’ve experienced. I realize that I’ve spent 40 to 50 hrs/wk pursuing a career, 28 hrs/wk glued to the television &10 hrs a week sitting behind a computer.

I’ve spent more time trying to entertain myself than sharing the wonder of life that God has given me. I’ve been to Disney Land, Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Egypt. I’ve went to all the greatest places in the world but I didn’t spend five minutes a week sharing with someone the wonders God has done in my life. Not even 1% of my time sharing that Jesus Christ gave his life so I could be reunited in a relationship with God. … If my life’s time was a tithe I could not stand before God and say that I really appreciated what He’s done for me.

“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” … Philemon verse:6

Important Announcement

Another letter to friends and family,

If you are easily offended by someone bringing up matters regarding faith in God and Christ, then you may want to only read the paragraphs below that have an asterisk next to them; these should be “safer” for you than some of the other paragraphs :-).

It’s been just over a week since my last letter, and I promise that it isn’t my intention to write this often for those of you that already have enough to read. I already know that I am verbose.  However, I have an important announcement to make, but first a word from our sponsor -  <> reference  John 12:29.

God: “What would you like to ask me?”
Tim: “God; first of all I can’t help but have gratitude. I know so much more about what you have given me and I would have never imagined that I would understand the things that I know now. However, even with that gratitude I have something else on my mind also.

So many of the people that I know (but thankfully not all) think that I am simply being ‘religious’ when all I am trying to do is simply share the things that are on my heart and mind – things that are on my heart and mind whether ‘they’ are there or not.  So, when they are around, it is only natural that I would talk to them about the things that were already on my mind before they were with me. I believe these things  are on my heart and mind because ‘you’ have put those thoughts, affections and sentiments there.  You are  changing me – and I do not think the way I used to just a few years ago.

I know it’s important to give You recognition throughout the entire day. To not do so is taking you for granted. Like you are simply going to take care of us (though you do) and never desire us to actively show an understanding of appreciation to you both directly and unblushingly to those around us as well.”

God: “Tim, you are quite wordy, but yes I understand”.
Tim: “I am also concerned that when I tell them what my reasons are for doing things that they will think that they know me better than I know myself and come up with their own perceived reasons for why I do things.”
God: “Yes, I know this as well. But it is not for you to concern yourself with what they are thinking. I already know why you do what you do and how you have given your life to me because you have been given a measure of understanding of the love that I demonstrated through the Christ, my son whom I sent. It is only for you to continue to speak (or be silent) as I lead you and for them to turn to me when they are ready to give up their own desires, even their seemingly innocent desires, and follow me.

Ok in reference to the above “make-believe” dialogue that I wrote let’s keep a few things in mind. First, God would never have to ask anyone what they want unless he simply wanted them to vocalize what they wanted from Him for their own sake. Secondly, I have never heard a loud booming voice from heaven though I don’t doubt it could happen. Thirdly, I would not presume to know what God was thinking unless He told me. But I hope that the above will still help you to understand where I am coming from. If you really want to know of an example regarding what I think of how God speaks to me personally you can go to http://tinyurl.com/gm-curtain which is a link to my blog.

As I stated in my previous letter, a few of you already know where I am coming from because you are “coming from” there yourselves. A few more of you know where I am coming from and support me even though you don’t agree, don’t get it, and either think I am nuts but harmless, or I am simply misguided. There is however a last group – a group that doesn’t understand and thinks that they know me so well. Well enough in fact, to tell me that the reasons I give them and the reasons that I am actually doing things are two different things entirely. They say things like “Tim is just going after what he wants and is using some idea of God as a crutch or a reason to really just go after what he wants.”.

To this last group, I could possibly respond a few different ways. And depending on the situation and what I am thinking/feeling at the time, I do inwardly or outwardly respond in different ways. I wish that I could always respond the way that I think God would want me to. I wish I would always respond unswervingly in my feelings or words. Simply holding tight to how I have come to understand He really wants me to respond and how he wants me to live. I regrettably haven’t done that on every occasion. I am however grateful for that something called grace. This grace isn’t cheap however. I pour everything that I am into the purpose I pursue due to gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice. And when I fall short, then for that short-falling I have something called grace. I phrase it that way “something called grace” because I know how it is something that I seem to think that I understand every year. However with each passing year I learn more about it and realize how little that I knew about it previously.

However in continuation of my previous thought, one way that I could respond is with the words of an old “Who” album. “There’s nothing in the way I walk that could tell you where I’m going, There’s nothing in the words I speak that can betray anything I’m knowing, Don’t think about the way I dress, you can’t fit me on a labeled shelf, Don’t pretend that you know me ’cause I don’t even know myself”. It’s an old song from a seventies band for those that are unfamiliar with them. A second way that I might respond is with sympathy. I know that as long as someone focuses on things about me that have nothing to do with the influence that God is having in my life, then they cannot reap the benefit of looking at what God is doing every moment in all of our lives. The more moment by moment consideration we given to God the better off we are; in consideration of Rom 14:23 and Job 7:17

*But there you go, I’ve said my peace. Now, for the announcement: I am engaged! Yes, that’s right, I am engaged to a beautiful woman that was handpicked for me. Hopefully, you’ll realize what I mean about “handpicked” by the time you reach the end of this letter. It happened shortly after I arrived in the Philippines. And you can trust that not even I was expecting it at the very moment that it happened. Here again, for those of you that thought the reason why I was coming here was for a wife, then you are very far from the truth. Even my fiancé knows that I would have come back to the Philippines to do what I believed God wants me to do whether she was here or not. There are so many things I could say which would contradict the incorrect line of thinking that some of my friends share. But I will have to address those wrongly conceived ideas later (please refer to the “Who” reference in the eighth paragraph above :-)

However in relation to the “coming here for a wife” I would like to make known one important truth. I don’t believe in “the pursuit of happiness” that so many (even so-called christians) seem to believe in. There seems to be a teaching, which Jesus never taught by the way, that God wants us to spend our lives pursuing our own happiness. And He is just there as some sort of galactic accomplice who is so greatly obliged to assist us in this pursuit.

Don’t get me wrong mind you. I am also not of the line of thinking that God is some sort of strict father watching us intently just waiting for us to mess up so he can punish us. … No, God is perfect of course. If we could perceive somehow what it would be like to have a father who was perfect then that would be a start. A father who never did anything wrong in the raising of his “children”. A father who was so intelligent and faultless that we could not possible know the good things that he has planned for us. A father we could therefore not fully comprehend why we were occasionally being corrected (spanked if you will) for our own good. Then we might just then begin to understand some small part of what God is really like; in consideration of Heb 12:11

Nope, I believe in the God that I have read throughout the scriptures who attempts to direct us and teach us (if we are willing to listen and take heed to his corrections) to pursue Him; not happiness. This might seem like an awkward way of looking at things on the surface. Awkward until you really take his direction and give your full trust to him; letting him direct your life instead of you. Then you will get to the “good stuff” and realize that doing what you were made for (living like ‘he’ wants you to in every way) is actually what will end up bringing you the greatest joy that you’ve ever known; in consideration of Acts 17:24-27. The paradox is that you cannot obtain joy by pursuing joy. You can only have the joy that is His to give by pursuing Him. It is pretty hard, though possible, to find enough scriptures to support the idea that we were made to pursue a life just for the reason of our own happiness. However if we do find enough ideas, whether coming from our own heads or the minds of others, to support this then we do nothing more than come up with ways to fill our paths with a blinding fog that grows more and more dense as we try to support our own ideas.

*And if you’ve gotten this far in this letter without falling asleep then consider yourself doing better than my fiancé did. Yes, I know I am verbose when there is something important to me. I had Malu take a look at this letter before I sent it out. I wanted to make sure that what I was saying regarding her was accurate in every way. Not only that, she is actually better at English grammar and spelling than I am. The sad part here is English is her ‘second’ language. She did manage to correct my spelling and grammar; and did a fabulous job compared to me. However she didn’t manage to do so before falling to sleep in the middle of the third page ?. So I applaud you for getting this far. I will continue.

Of course, if seeking to understand more about Christ is not your moment by moment goal then you might find what I am saying here to be completely annoying. Or you might have some other unsupportive reaction to my bringing this point up in a letter announcing my engagement. But for me, this is simply a natural part of the change that began occurring in me when God gave me faith. If my entire life is for the purpose of living not for myself but for Him; then it is only natural that every part of my life should be about him. Especially something as important as the wife that God would choose to help me towards that purpose of seeking him and living the way that he wants me to.

I don’t think for a minute that God doesn’t ‘give’ us things to enjoy. Now the scriptures are all loaded up with examples of that. We just don’t have to pursue things that we find enjoyment in. If we are believers all we have to do is pursue ‘him’. And the woman (Malu) that God has put in my life is a prime example of that. And I almost messed that up by trying to follow the pattern of things that our modern cultures say is “the way to do it” instead of following the pattern of things that God has shown me. Just look at the over fifty percent divorce rate. The rate that has only gotten worse as modern societies get further and further away from a way of pursuing things that are God centered. If I pursue my own happiness instead of trying to pursue God’s idea of how I should live then how could I expect anything except failure? After all if there is a God, and I know there is; He is so much smarter than me.

*Perhaps some of you have in mind that I should simply relax and let everyone enjoy the announcement of engagement for whatever it is that they have in mind that it is. Well, yes, I could do that on one hand; but then I will not have felt I had said the most important things. You see, if marriage is nothing more than the joining of two people to be committed to each other for the rest of their lives, then for someone who believes in God I would think that this would be pretty short-sighted. If on the other hand marriage is for the reason of joining two lives together for a greater purpose, then that is something different. A purpose that is truly permanent, truly forever; like God for instance. If it is for that purpose then you can “hold on to your hats” and know that you have committed your lives to something worth living every moment of the rest of your lives for. This is something that will never grow stale, stagnant, or fail to have something new to it every day. This is the commitment that Malu and I have discussed and this is why I know that the joy that we will have together will only be a continuation of the joy that we have come to realize by pursuing ‘him’.

*Here are a few sentences from Malu’s own hand (she wrote in 2006) that I’ve copied and pasted so you can get a taste of the woman that I am getting ready to marry – the woman that God has placed in my life. :-):

 “Not having faith in God is the worst thing that could happen to a person. Apart from God, we are nothing. Apart from God, we live a miserable life. When we turn away from that truth it is the enemy that puts the scales on our eyes which makes it difficult, but not impossible, to see.”

And those few sentences are only scratching the surface. There is no way that I could have picked a woman like this one. I didn’t have to “get to know her first” in order to find out that she was the one God had chosen for me. All I did was wait for God to make the decision for me regarding my being single for the rest of my life or not. A life committed to living as best as I could for him in that capacity, or if I was going to have a wife to help me in that endeavor. Obviously God thought I could use some help :-) That article she wrote by the way is at http://tinyurl.com/gm-taken.

*It was so hard not to pursue the “girlfriend/boyfriend” method of a relationship with her first. I say it was so hard because modern cultures, in pursuit of a “try them on first” approach, have pushed this idea of relationship out so strongly. So strongly in fact, that it is really hard to try any other method of doing it without feeling like a man without a map. I so often would find myself leaning toward this second rate way of doing things even though I knew I didn’t believe in it. I not only didn’t believe in it but also couldn’t find any evidence for that type of relationship pursuit in the scriptures that I have come to find so useful for learning what God wants from me.

*It’s amazing to me how something so second rate as girlfriend/ boyfriend relationships might have been adopted in modern societies in such a short time; it’s only about a hundred years old after all (check it out!). And as I mentioned in my last letter, for those of you that actually know that the scriptures are useful for teaching you the kind of life that God wants you to live, there are only four types of relationships that we are taught insomuch as they pertain to women and men.

*Instead of looking at a boyfriend/girlfriend example of how my relationship with Malu got started, it would be more accurate to take another view. To instead say that I know that God is my father and I have given over any second rate decision I could have made and let God make it instead. I put it to God in prayer to make the decision whether I should be single or be married. My soon to one day be marriage to Malu is the result of my listening for God’s will and not my own. I just focused every day, as best of an effort as I could pray to have, on living the life that God wanted me to live. And in the pursuit of that life God actually directed me and her together. If you are yet curious what that “voice” sounds like for me and haven’t read that article in the fifth paragraph above, you might want to give it some of your time.

*I wish I had the time to explain how she came into my life in more detail. But even if I did, would you read it? :-). The short version of the story is God picked her. I think the whole concept of boyfriends and girlfriends only gets singles in trouble in regard to conduct that was intended for marriage. You have to understand that is one of the things that God directs us in regarding our relationships with women. And in the midst of me telling Malu about some of the things that God had been telling me, Malu actually said “Wow, that reminds me of a book that I am reading called Choosing God’s Best”.

*And as I read this book,  I found that it reflected a lot of the things that I believe the Lord had already shown me. Now I don’t follow the book “hook, line, and sinker”; that is to say that I don’t agree with every single word in that book. However, there are many things that I do agree with in it. Especially the chapter that talks about becoming the one that God wants us to be. And I know that the purpose for our lives is to live it for God, not for another person. And in my case I am grateful to say that I know that the Lord has chosen someone for me that is none better for the purpose of living a life dedicated to him. And I look forward to living a life in the future with her, a life that with Him as the reason that we both live. Well, that is if Christ doesn’t come back before then. If a follower of Christ doesn’t have that in mind all of the time then they are really missing out. And if Christ comes back before the wedding that Malu and I are looking forward to, I know that neither of us will mind one bit :-) ; in fact we’re looking forward to it.

*If the only thing that draws a man to a woman (or vice versa) is that woman’s beauty, intelligence, humor, or other qualities, then I believe that relationship/marriage would be built on something substandard. The only thing worth building a relationship and especially a future marriage on is the same reason that anything should be built on. That reason should be the foundation of Christ’s life that he gave on the cross so that there would be no separation between us and God.

I will also add that any man/woman that would allow God to make that “single vs married” decision for them would naturally find everything they need in the person that God had chosen for them; or they would find everything they need in their being single. Yes, Malu is intelligent and beautiful; but more importantly I believe she is the one that God has chosen for me. As such, I believe she will help me to do God’s will in ways that I don’t yet understand and only God knows. My prayer is that I will always be Malu’s second love. I would not want anything, including me, to ever come in between her commitment of putting God first in her life, even as my wife.

*I’ll close on a lighter note. For those of you that were concerned about my getting water (tubig in Tagalog) from my last letter; no need to fear :-) … It was great to be able to accomplish yet one more adjustment to life as I just happened to be up at 5:15am when I heard the water truck guy yelling “TubiiGgGGgg, TuBIiiGggg”. I ran outside to try out a mixture of english and the very few words in Tagalog that I know as the water truck driver used the few english words that he knew. And a few minutes later I was having a large hose drug through the front room, the living room, and into the second kitchen where the two fiftyish gallon water containers were. Ok, so onto the next of several hundred exciting adjustments to life in the Philippines that are up and coming :-)

Much love to all my friends and family,

Timothy

Living in San Mateo

Here I am in the Philippines. It has been just less than a week since I have arrived and there are so many of you that I want to share my life with, the things that I have seen, the things that I have heard, the things that I believe God has led me concerning. I don’t know if I will write all of you every time, there are several dozen of you (including my own family), but I did want to at least mail this first letter or two just to share with you a few of the things that I have experienced, how my life is changing, and a few of the things that I am thinking. There are many ways to contact me, all of which are at http://tinyurl.com/contact-tim

For those of you that are not really interested in things that have to do with God or the Christ, you might want to skip down to the ninth paragraph or else you’re only in for a large dose of things that might offend you or make you feel judged; some of you know that this does not apply to you, some of you just have a chip on your shoulder, some of you will take it for the encouragement and exhortation that it is intended. I am glad that I have the opportunity to write this letter to several dozen people or else one of you might get mad because of half a dozen reasons I have no desire to expand on right now.

Please understand it is not my intention that you feel judged, but this is only who I naturally am; or rather what God is changing me into as the years progress and I focus everything on can on ‘him’. All of you have gotten a certain dose of my speaking this way from knowing me however for those of you that haven’t ever heard me speak ‘this’ much on these sorts of topics, please understand it was because I did not think you would want to hear this much about these sorts of things from me. If I was wrong I apologize and understand that it was due my own error that we missed out on some great conversations about God’s will and what Christ has done in our respective lives.

I am encouraged by so many of the things that I remember from my last trip to the Philippines.  Most of which are available on my blog (including lots of pictures). Just email me at timothy.gott@gmail.com if you want the link. However regarding this trip, it is still too soon to have experienced much of which I would consider out of the ordinary, that is things that God has shown me which are different than the things that he has so often shown me on a daily basis even in the U.S.. Although there were a couple of very inspiring encounters. Encounters with a brother in the faith that I met on the plane coming here who is working with others to stop prostitution in poorer countries, and an encounter with a another brother who is struggling with the idea of giving up his own desires for prosperity and family as to instead pursue what God has planned and desires for his life.

I know that at least half a dozen of you that I am writing this letter to, know about this. You know what it is like to give up everything that you had once wanted; even things that seem so innocent as a house, a job, friends, a car, a hobby; for the pursuit of what God wants instead of the things that you once pursued. However, I also know there are those of you that don’t understand this. And instead you will not accept what I or anyone says regarding their pursuits of God’s desires instead of their own.

I am quite saddened by the latter of you. It makes me sad because I know that you can not be reached by so many of the incredible things that God has to share with you. For as Jesus was quoted in saying, it is not until a kernel of wheat falls dead to the ground that it can live again and multiply a hundred times over. And it is not just regarding himself that he has taught this principle. For in other places he has told those that follow him that unless they die to their own desires every day (pick up your cross daily) they can not be his followers; reference Matthew 10:38. To use modern American terminology; unless you die to your own wants and desires you can not be a Christian and are only lying to yourself in calling yourself a Christian if you can not cast aside your own wants and desires like the rubbish that they are. And if you are offended by what I am saying here I already warned you to skip to the ninth paragraph :-)

You can tell by the way I am writing what is most important to me. Jesus gave his life for me, for each of us. Sure there are less substantial things that are going on in my life; where I am living, some of the challenges that I am going through, what it is like to live in the Philippines, etc. And I will talk about these for a moment only in the proper context. However before I begin that context I have this to say. For those of you that have studied a little history; do you recall what you have read about the way people spoke “back then”? Do you recall how even the date could not be spoken about without reference to the highest power known as God?

In regard to the date someone might say “In the year of our Lord sixteen hundred and seventy eight” And even in saying goodbye to someone they would say “Go with God.”. I only mention this because I want to draw each of your attentions to how natural the recognition of God was in every day life just a few hundred years ago. For those of you that believe in God and Christ, I would like to coax you to speak about what you already know is paramount. I believe there are few things (but some) that are more important than giving God recognition in your every day speech. Sure others will think that you sound like you are from another planet when you speak, or they might think you are “religious”, but so what! :-) I don’t think God cares what others think of you. And I think more importantly God is flattered (if that is the right term) that you are willing to disregard what other people think for the purpose of recognizing him even in your everyday speech. Remember the scripture that says “if you are ashamed of me before men, I will be ashamed of you when I return” (loosely quoted but accurate enough), reference Mark 8:38.

Ok, now for the general overview of what has happened since I have gotten here. I am now living in a small house in San Mateo Rizal just about 45 minutes outside of Manila. Life is more difficult here but I am grateful for everything God has provided. I spent the day today trying to sort through a few of my things from my luggage and two of the balikbayan boxes that have already arrived. Adjusting to this more difficult lifestyle will take a little while. I remember having done it almost three years ago, but that was quite some time ago. It will again take some time for me to adjust from my softer American lifestyle.

My current challenge is to catch the water delivery truck when it climbs into the hills of Tierre Monte. I have two water barrels to keep water in. They will hold about sixty gallons of water each (I believe) and I am probably down to about ten to fifteen gallons of water. This includes the water that I have to use to take a bath in and to manually flush the toilet, so I am being very careful to ration these things right now. It is also quite a challenge that with the little water that I have left I have to take a bath two to three times a day because it is so hot (Ma’init in Tagalog).

For the first four days that I stayed here, I stayed in a two bedroom house in Marikina with my friend Malu’s family which consists of eight people; Nanay (Tagalog for mother), Apin, Ate Nitz, Malu, Mark, Herbert, Gizelle, and Adrian (listed by age). Life was a good bit easier there because the family works together to support the needs of everyone else. And not to mention the extreme hospitable nature of Filipinos. However I knew that my time there would be short because, as a man that does my best (of course failing at times) to do what I believe God wants me to do, I seek God’s will in how I should live and conduct myself.

And “in the spirit” of how I should conduct myself I, through prayer, have believed that it was good for me to put a certain amount of separation between Malu and myself. Nothing artificial mind you, but a natural separation that is good for two people who are trying to keep their minds and hearts on what God desires; I am grateful that she supports me in this. Just that last statement could give me need to elaborate for several pages; however for now I will just leave you with a few thoughts regarding some of the scriptures that I believe that God has given us to help us learn what he asks of us. One thought is that throughout the scriptures that I have read there are only four types of relationships that I see regarding how I should treat women. Their are Older Women that I should treat as mothers, their are younger women that I should treat as sisters, then there are also fiancés and wives.

So, how should I treat a woman who I have known for three years and that I believe God has put in my life to help me and to live a life for Him. If I was not a Christian then that thought wouldn’t come up in my mind at all. I would only have thoughts of what ‘I’ think of her and how she meets some sort of criteria that I was looking for to make me happy. More elaboration needed here also I know. However as I am someone that follows Christ’s teachings then I have only one way to treat her if I believe the  scripture is there for me to learn from, and that is to treat her as a sister with absolute purity; reference I Timothy 5:2. And since I could never imagine kissing my sister on the mouth or “cuddling” with her while watching a movie, then I am going to simply trust that God has some better things in mind for us in the context of marriage and I should keep myself away from situations that would have me treating her as a wife before that time would present itself.

Ok, so now everyone knows why I don’t live in the same house as she does. Although I still plan on visiting on the weekends as I spend time with both her and her family, and I am also sure that she will join me from time to time as I join a group of people on Saturdays to feed one to two hundred street kids and I do other things that God leads me to do. Yes yes, I know for those of you that have not completely surrendered yourselves to doing God’s will this might seems strange to you. And I am glad that I have the opportunity to write this letter to several dozen people or else one of you might get mad because you think I am talking to you :-) … For those of you that are encouraged by the things I believe God is leading me to do, I am grateful that you are encouraged. For those of you that are upset by the life that God leads me to live I have only to say that you should read the scriptures and pray unceasingly. There is only one idea that it a good idea to follow; God’s. And if you don’t read the scriptures ever day for yourself then you are in no position to tell me what is or is not in the scriptures. And listening to some other preacher on Sunday morning and not reading for yourself doesn’t count :-)

Take care. And may God give you all of the great things that he has planned for you. Things that neither of us can hardly imagine.

Love (which I am learning more about),

Timothy
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Appreciation of What We Have

I am watching a seventy year old woman squat down on the floor, reach behind a bed, get up walk from repeatedly from the upstairs part of the house to the downstairs looking for dirty clothes to wash, etc. When she does finally get a hold of clothes that need to be washed she will fill up large plastic containers with water and wash them by hand. Before she looked for clothes it is very likely that she had already finished sweeping with a broom that she had made herself just a few weeks prior. She does all of this with a strength and energy that I have often seemed lacking even in many fifty year olds in my U.S. culture.

All of this just makes me think about how much so many americans complain about what they have to do every day. They don’t want to do this, they respond with disdain at the idea of doing something that they don’t think they should have to do. They are often complaining but then, when asked, will tell you how appreciative they are about what they have.

And I’m not just glorifying Filipino culture, although it is better in ’so’ many ways than the much less appreciative american culture. I recognize that their are complainers in Filipino culture just as their are complainers in every culture. What I mourn the most is how much this complaining separates us from the understanding of God and the gift of Christ that so many more could have. I believe the more that we focus on the things that we don’t have or can’t get, the less likely we are able to see the wonderful gifts that we have been given. The greatest of which has been the man whose life was given so that we could be united with God.

First Day Back in the Philippines.

Ok, getting ready to go to sleep now. I had a very eventful day. So much to do and not enough time to do it. Trying to “get settled” and I have already gone through my things twice to take out the things that I don’t need to keep in my suit cases.

I started my day in about an hour of prayer and then had some 3in1 coffee and several pandesal. I spent most of the day running errands in Marikina. There are several places to shop (not anything like the U.S.). I went to a market where I looked for a native made sandles that I can use in the house; everyone takes their shoes off at the door and transfers their feet to a pair of sandles which are call “house slippers”. I also got my Nokia phone “unlocked” for 300Php (divide by 47 for U.S. Dollar) and bought “a load” of several text (pre purchased) that I could use to communicate.

There was also a little adventure that I went on when I visited Otto’s shoes. I went there just to find out how much a Shoe Last would cost. I know I have enough shoes for now, I bought some extra and had them shipped here, but I also know when I wear out a pair that I will need to have them made because my feet are too big for the Philippines. However I have been told that I have have shoes hand for not much difference then what they would cost in the store.

Also worth note is my mindset as i am going around and doing these things. I am often aware of what I have been given and pray that will become even more aware of this as I live day to day. With this in mind I made sure to buy bread in case I ran into any street chidren today. I was surprised to have only run into one. And because I had Adrian with me (the eleven year old son of my friend Malu) I did not spend as much time with this street child as I normally would have. I simply gave him some of the bread that I had bought earlier and continue on my errands … And lastly, I ran into Colin; an Australian guy that I met when I was here last time. Consider the chances of that happening.

In any case I talked with him while I ate in Jolibee. We discussed his work, how much better life has been for him now, and then delved into the topic of faith. He believed that most religions were fine because most religions believed in one God. That of course prompted me to ask him a few questions regarding whether Jesus was important at all and the place that Jesus was placed in most religions. So much I could write about, but am very sleepy na.

Pre Philippines Call to My Mother

My mother is doing it again. She left a message a little while ago and began to tell me that she was going to miss me, but she could not control how upset she was as she broke out into tears as she spoke. And yes I can’t help that it bothers me that she misses broke into tears. She is so wrong in so many ways but it still bothers me that she is upset by her own misconceptions.

I wish I could fix what she sees and misunderstands. She was so upset that I did not stop by to say goodbye (she says). She says I simply snuck out of there on Sunday and she did the whole “I can’t believe you did that to me” thing as she was crying and leaving a voicemail to me. <sigh> How can I get her to see that the reason I had said goodbye on the 15th is because I wanted to take advantage of the fact that she was off of work and I could see her before I left.

I just can’t get her to understand anything except for her version of what she sees. Is it only ‘my’ perspective that the perspectives other people have are more apt to be changed to another way of looking at things (especially if it pertains to what  someone else is thinking or doing) if only that other person would explain why it is that they are doing what they are doing? … I don’t know. All I do know is my mother hasn’t ever accepted my explanations as to why for why I do not do things. It is simply useless to explain myself, so I have (for the most part) simply stopped trying.I hope that my hope for communication with her is rejuvenated again sometime soon.

Incidentally I did call her before I left, but it didn’t help matters any.

Speaking About Him

Am here at McDonalds at 2401 Augusta Rd Columbia SC getting ready to do some more searches and bids for my plane ticket to the Philippines and I overheard a conversation that a couple of girls were having that were sitting two tables away from me. I wish that so many of my friends (at least the ones that don’t believe) understood what it was like to be led or prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something. Because as I was sitting here I could not help but to look over at them a look for a moment of eye contact where I could talk about what God had taught me.

I found out that one of the girls was the daughter of a minister and she was explaining to her friend how baptism did not matter and how other denominations were all fine and were all the same as long as you believed in Jesus.

I didn’t have any desire to correct them at all, I don’t think that was the desire that Christ taught us to have anyhow. What I did have instead was the desire to teach them about what was right. So I asked them questions; questions about the scriptures and questions about Christ. I asked them “What was Jesus religion?” and “What was the religion on the Apostles, the first followers that Jesus called?”. And from the answers that they gave I could tell that my questions prompted them to want to look into the scriptures more; which was exactly what I encouraged them to do.

I also reminded them of all the different “religions” that are out there (not that I believe Christianity is a “religion”) that Jesus is the only one that had substantial proof that he rose from the dead and because of that and many other weighty proofs we should pay very close attention to what he said and did.

There is a little more that happened, and the who encounter only lasted five minutes before they had to go. But I am grateful for this and many hundreds of opportunities that God has given me over the years. I pray that God will continue to show me what his love is so I will be lead to care for others more deeply whether that care is spreading mortar and stacking blocks to build a home, feeding those that are hungry, or speaking about what God leads me to say.

Contact Info

I have done my best to place the order of the social networking sites below according to the ones that I am using the most frequently.

In order to avoid spam you will need to get my email by clicking this link.

011+63-908-365-9051 (Philippines cell#)

011+63-941-6715 (Philippines home#)

I spend several hours a month working with He Cares Foundation. Whether you are a believer or not a believer you can help us as you believe God is leading you. Please consider prayers, donating time, or donating funds to assist us with the work that we are doing here. We have a current key initiative in building a four story building to house one hundred street children.

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Are God’s Hands Tied?

It seems that the “christians” in the U.S. have so often been influenced by the society/culture ( 2 Ki 17:15 and Romans 12:2a ) they live like the people around them instead of drawing to God in such a “sold out” unrestrained way that they would have God instead as their primary influence. … I have been guilty of this myself, but I fight it today, and I fought it yesterday. I pray that I will not slip into it again with so little resistance from me. For me, this influence I slip into, takes the
shape of believing money is “what is capable or needed” instead of giving money no more consideration than I would give to water or air.

Money is just another “element” in the life God has given us. The question for me should be, “How can I be a good steward with what God has given me”; whether that be water, strength, food, air, or material items such as wealth. The question for me should never be how can I get more of any of these things. The temptation is “Wouldn’t it be great if I had more money so I could do more”. For the Lord never directed me to seek to have more of anything except for Him. If I am a good steward with what He has given me then it will be Him that provides everything that is needed; whether that be water, strength, food, air, or material items. … Are God’s hands tied if I don’t have a dollar in my pocket?