I belong to the poor
HERE I am in the Philippines. I’ve enjoyed the work and life of the brothers. There is nothing else I would have wanted to do. Starting with Jamaica, my beloved country, and the poor, I’ve served the Lord and the most forgotten in many other countries. It’s what the Lord and my community have given me. I would like to have done so much more for the Lord, the poor and Jamaica, but the harvest is ripe and the labourers are few. I must pray to the Lord to provide more labourers.
There are hundreds, thousands, and even millions of the poorest of people in the Philippines. All through Manila and Cebu, main cities of the Philippines – an archipelago of over 7,000 islands – there are beautiful Christians, Asian people who are suffering, poor people that would shock our Jamaicans, even our poor.
It makes my heart ache to see how overcrowded the streets are. The squatters are in the millions; in another country, I believe the people would be in an uproar, rebellion would surely happen. But the people are by nature gentle, peaceful, prayerful and compliant. Babies and children roam the streets without guidance. They mess in the streets, they eat in the streets, they wander without direction.
There are old people who scavenge like dogs, totally at the mercy of the traffic; there are millions of strangers who are stronger but have no regard for them. Rags and other debris are collected as valuables by these beggars. They are humble and forgotten.
Magnificent malls stand up to rival New York’s fashionable Manhattan quarters to remind these multitudes of poor what they can have, but will never have. There are 10 wealthy families in the Philippines that own most of the country’s wealth. The Lord would like to remind these people that Christ made a fundamental option for the poor, and that the selfish rich are like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: they have treasures here on earth, but will one day be judged on how they treated the poor.
My dear brothers and sisters, let us all remember God’s call that the bridge between rich and poor is indeed great and we must, for the salvation of our own souls, give generously. In Jamaica, I have experienced some very generous people who readily serve the poor, but in our country there are also many who do not.
The Philippines is a nation full of simple and humble people who also work hard. I am glad Missionaries of the Poor has four homes, and many other ministries for the poor. We are here to help further the call to be ‘church of the poor’. I would like to do more for these poor brothers and sisters in Asia. I pray that the new generation of brothers who have taken over from me will be blessed, as I have been blessed, in service of the Lord.
I thought that I would share with you a new song I have written, dedicated to the Lord, the poor, and the brothers who serve them with love.
I’LL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU
Verse 1
Oh, I’ll never stop loving you Though the river cease flowing through
Though my friends have turned against me
Oh, my Lord.
Verse 2
I cry to you my God
I need you close, my friend Together we’ll travel through You know the way.
Chorus:
I yield to you my God I’ve lost my way, Oh God I want to know the truth Please show me the way. It’s silent in the night There are no stars, my God I want to hear your voice You are my only hope.
Verse 3
I know there is light, my God Although I cannot see
You are my dearest friend My Lord, my strength.
I trust in you, my God Though I cannot see, my God Please call my name and tell me You are my friend
Oh Lord, You are my hope Oh God, You are my light Oh God, Come live with me You are my only God.
(repeat 1, 2, and chorus)