QUIAPO 1986 — Crowded. Messy. Dirty. Nest of snatchers, prostitutes, and drug addicts. ‘That’s Quiapo: a place in Manila known for crime and poverty. Here I was born.
Yes; I am a Quiapo boy.
Although I did not grow up in the very nest of chaos, I grew up aware of poverty and the danger of the streets.
We are four siblings; we all grew up in hardship. Our house was a small bedroom made of plywood, it looked like a small box where the six of us huddled together like sardines every night.
Our parents did not have a specific job. Mama has entered all kinds of careers to support our family. He accepted low positions in companies; she sold beauty products and clothing; tutor; and sold barbecue on the corner — all just to meet the needs of the school and fill the bloated stomachs.
Our father tried to give us a good life, but he was consumed by vice and the hardship we were going through.
I grew up in a troubled, noisy, debt-ridden family, and seemed hopeless.
They say that dry and instant noodles are the food of the poor. If that's the basis, I'd say we're even harder on the rat. I experienced going to school without a backpack and sleeping at night without even eating. “It's better to just sleep. This famine will also pass. ”
Join us in the relentless fighting of our parents. Relentless shouting, beatings, and exchanges of hurtful words draw on the spirit of a child deprived of the freedom to be a child.
The mortal enemy of the poor is not hunger.
Despair
I have experienced envy of others with fancy clothes, fancy things, toys, homes, good food, and happy families.
I once dreamed of a good life. But with repeated disappointments, I have also experienced a decline in my ambitions in life.
It crossed my mind that dreaming was not free; that the dream is only for those who have money and can afford it; that the poor should just get used to living a itch, a beak. It is better to be poor than to have nothing.
How can you dream if you can't afford to go to prestigious schools? How can you take a risk if the battle can only be won by money and power?
Hunger is not the main enemy of the poor, but despair. And with the loss of it, self-confidence is also gradually disappearing.
Briefly:
Lack of Dignity
I grew shy and afraid of people. I think I’m a less kind of person because we’re not rich. I was slapped then, there were a lot of scars on my face, and my clothes were completely old.
I know I have abilities as an individual, but that is overshadowed by a lack of self -confidence.
"Who am I? It's just a little difficult. ”
“What if I grew up rich? Maybe I'm not skinny. Maybe my complexion is beautiful. I wish I was in a good school. I wish a lot of people liked me. ”
My self -confidence depended on money, appearance, and the praise of others.
Blessed are those who suffer, but are still able to look up and stand on their own two feet. Not everyone is like them.
Snatcher. Prostitute. Holdopper. Drug pusher.
They are all human beings, just like you and like me. Some of them are people who also once dreamed and failed. Some of them also once clung to the principle, but out of despair were forced to cling to the knife to answer the call of the stomach.
I am thankful because even before our lives ended in such a state, God saved us.
2005 — This is perhaps the most turbulent period of our lives. We are plunged into chaos and poverty.
Violent every day. Simultaneously with the shouting of the empty intestines was the shouting and quarreling inside the house.
We were evicted from our house in Quiapo because we could not pay the rent. We were forced to stay with our relatives in Cavite. That’s where our lives started to change.
Just a few months later, Dad joined the church in fellowship with our relatives attending a community church. Gradually we saw a change in him, until he completely surrendered his life to God.
We saw how he was freed from the vices that had imprisoned him for so long. Back then, we saw him almost on his knees intoxicated with alcohol. Today, we see him kneeling in prayer. Good words replaced the crispy ones. The hands that once hurt us, are now folded in prayer or raised in praise.
I know God loves us brothers and sisters, because He did not let us perish or grow up in a home destroyed by poverty.
God also loves our mother; He did not allow the pain he was experiencing and the hardship he was carrying to continue.
But, the best news of all is that God also loved our father dearly, and He did not allow him to be permanently corrupted by vice, sin, and poverty.
Today, our entire family serves Victory. We all graduated with the help of God and the people He used to lift us out of adversity. In fact, my dad is with me now at work as a full-time church worker.
This is what the life ruled by God looks like. Although the trials we face in life are not completely gone, the hope, happiness, and peace that His kingdom brings to our hearts and lives are still unforgivable.
Although poverty has robbed us of the ability to live honorably, God has restored it all since we experienced life with Him. We learned to dream again.
I embraced my value as a person — value not based on wealth or status in life, but on the person Jesus gave me.
I never fully imagined that a young Quiapo back then would be used by God to reach young people who might be confused and wild in life. I am now a campus missionary.
"But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
It is not in money or occupation that the real rise out of poverty begins. It begins with the reign of God in a person’s life.
If you are experiencing adversity today, hold fast to God's promises. Seek His reign in your life, and He will supply all your needs.
Don’t let poverty steal your dreams. Do not make the state of your life the basis of your dignity and character. You dream. Get up. Walk high-forehead. You are the son of the King of kings.
If you are blessed and capable of life, are you ready to help others and participate in God's work to defend the helpless, fight for their rights, and bring justice to the oppressed and poor? (Proverbs 31: 8,9) by
yre