remind me again

"Aio!" Five little voices chimed at my gate, 

so young, so expectant.  "Plasteek?" 

I knew they were looking for recycleables, 

and since I had some to share, I went to meet them.

Their bubbling excitement when I gave them old plastic bottles and tin cans made me smile.

Our trash was like treasure; pure joy.

They energetically worked together to divvy up the spoil,

counting it out and sharing equally with one another.

What will they get from this little bit of trash?

A few pesos?

I brought them some packages of cookies as a snack.

They opened each new package delightedly, 

sharing bites of the different types of cookies with one another,

glorying in the unexpected goodness of it all.

And as this little troupe of waifs left my gate, they all looked back with waves,

shouting "Salamaat Po!" Thank you! 

 I watched their companionship and care for one another,

and was reminded of how the body of Christ should look.

A band of people united in purpose, 

looking out for the welfare of one another.

A contented people, smiling at God's goodness 

even when we are not rich in worldly goods.

A people amazed by the treasure we find in Christ, 

and in His gifts to us each day, 

eager to share the spoils of His Word 

and the riches of His goodness with one another.

A people overflowing with respectful thanks

to the God Who abundantly provides all that we need.

I hope those boys come back soon;

I need all the reminders I can get.

never cease to be amazed

Did anyone else see any of these things 

on your neighborhood stroll today?

A neighbor walking his cow 

(smart cow stopped for a drink from the puddle!)

Footloose

Picnic table nappers

A home constructed out of recyclables 

collected by the keeper of the neighborhood trash cans.

With his access to what others have discarded 

and a healthy dose of ingenuity, 

he's built a shelter for himself and his family.

 I just never cease to be amazed at the unusual things I see 

whenever I leave our very ordinary home!

Convenience

We are like many westerners and have become used to a lifestyle of "convenience".  Sometimes we grumble about things here that we find less convenient than we expect or are used to.  I recently had to have my ATM card replaced, and it took a couple weeks and several trips to the bank.

However, lately, I've been thinking about the things here which are MORE convenient:

 This is the mobile knife sharpener.  He comes by many mornings calling out his services.  He carries his "rig" with him over his shoulder.  He will sharpen anything needing a keener edge.

Things here which are MORE convenient (than we're used to):

 Mobile appliance repair: Comes through our neighborhood calling out "fans, washing machines"

(pretty much anything with a motor).  Almost anything can be repaired here.

Food delivery: McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Jollibee and many local restaurants 

all deliver (via motorcycle) for a small fee or for free.

Taxi's: Plentiful everywhere, a text message will bring one to your doorstep to pick-you-up.

  Flag drop is about 90 cents, you can get most places in town for under a dollar and a half.

Laundry Service: I haven't convinced my wife to do this, but "wash, dry, fold" for 15-20 peso's per kilo.  That's less than 20 cents per pound!

Recycling: Riding through the neighborhood calling out "plasteek, bacaard (cardboard)" 

they will haul away pretty much anything which is of any value.

So, the next time I'm frustrated by something inconvenient, perhaps I can give thanks for all the things here which are more convenient !!

-Mark

romantic walks

The City of Davao passed a new ordinance recently,

and it resulted in a 'new and improved' trash system.

What this means for our family is that since July 1st,

the garbage truck no longer picks up waste from our house.

Instead, we were asked to do the following:

1) Start composting our own biodegradable items, if possible

So for the first time, we've got our very own compost bin!

(Though we don't have a yard that's really big enough to support this monstrosity.)

My very smart husband bought a durable can, drilled holes in it, and to our mutual amazement, we've found that composting actually DOES work.  A full can of waste actually biodegrades in an amazingly short time.

And in this neighborhood, a compost bin in your front yard is just not an issue.

on our way to being green

2) Save our recyclables and give them to one of the many collectors who pass by

We like to give them to some of our friends,

like Michael, Josanne and Jocelle below.

They come by periodically with a rickety old bicycle and sidecar,

eager for any items we can share!

friends collecting recyclables

3) Carry the rest of your trash a couple of blocks up the street to the trash deposit area.

BUT, this can only be done between the hours of

6-9 PM.

why?  we have NO idea.  

this seems awfully arbitrary, and nonsensical,

but i'm sure there must be an explanation somewhere...

getting ready for one of our romantic walks...

Our kids tease us about going on one of our  

'romantic walks' 

as Mark and I gather the trash to carry it up the road in the dark.

Toting the orange trash can between us, we wend our way through the dim neighborhood streets,

often meeting multiple other residents who are on their way to or from doing the very same thing.

"Maayong gabii!' we say, and exchange smiles, 

sharing this task of trying to clean up the city just a little.

The trash deposit area, on the right just before the red car

The frustration is that when the trash truck comes to collect the combined trash,

the garbage men dump both biodegradable items and non-bio all into the same truck.

Remind me...why did we separate this stuff?

Well, at least we got a romantic walk out of it!

♥

recycling

It's a very common sight to see recyclers pedaling 

around looking for things which people have discarded.

Here are two recyclers taking a short break in front of our house.  

What's interesting is that they will share and trade the

things they have picked up.  One day I saw a group of them,

each with an old air conditioning unit. They were in the 

process of taking them apart ... presumably to see

whether they could build one good unit from the parts

of several broken ones. 

Much ingenuity with a little money is vastly 
more profitable and amusing 
than much money without ingenuity.

-Arnold Bennett