The Philippines - ICM

Ive been Down in the Philippines for 2 1/2 weeks with an NGO called ICM. They have five bases in the Philippines which are located on three different Islands, Negros, Bohol & Mindanao. Ive been able to join and work alongside three of them during my short stay here. I've been invited by my Australian Friends, the Turners, to come to the Philippines to see the people and ministries that ICM are involved with over the last 18 years, with the possibility of joining them here in Hong Kong & the Philippines.
The philippino people are as amazing as we'd all expect. They have all of the south east Asian characteristics aswell as plenty more. They are so hospitable opening up there houses and dinner tables without hesitation. Being a christian/catholic nation its got a diversity that I haven't seem before in Asia. They also have this culture of ah no worries things will work out, it can sometimes be a bit ignorant of the bad situations around you but then it also bring a nice relaxing chilled out good fun atmosphere where you can have lots of fun and relax with them on a casual level.
Ive has such a great experience in diving into their culture and im getting a very clear picture of the people and their country. This is mainly because im interacting daily with the local people and working alongside them speeds up this process. So I fell Ive been receiving a great impression of the real ups and downs of the culture. Also been able to talk to so many individuals and find out there stories and all about there lives here in the Philippines. There are huge levels of poverty here in the Philippines with alot of the people which ICM reciepients trying to live on US$0.15 per day.
Ive also been able to see the in's and outs of a christian ministry and from the insiders view because they've treated me like a staff member. Seeing how the process works and the reasons behind why they do the various different ministries and programs here. Which are very advanced and productive in the goals. I'd love to explain sometime but there so much to it. But these days charities and mission organization groups have adapted there goals & programs to be smarter and more efficient in there markets/people groups.
There's a movement to stop just giving charity and focusing on transforming families & communities in there mindsets and ambitions. This is the alternative to giving them some food and moving on to the next hungry family. Therefore teaching the families values, Health, Livelihood. All of this process and the details in this is huge so I wont get into the details but hopefully ill get it all written out sometime soon. But its everything from teaching families to cover food when storing it, to not excreting beside doorways or water supplies, family planning, farming economics & the prospects of thinking ahead or even with a broader ambition of tomorrows meal. By teaching families how to utilize their homes by creating an income of vegetables in plastic bottles, Bamboo half pipes, Car tires.
Then there in film showing evangelistic trips, TB recovery shelters, Orphanages, Open Air Clinics, 6 month transform programs, 8 week uplift program mes, Special medical cases and plenty more so ive had lots of experiences and worked with lots of new amazing people.
Another highlight of my trip in the Philippines was tasting the infamous local delicacy of Balut. Here in the Philippines they have a tradition of eating either a 16 or 18 day old Duck Fetus. They boil the matured egg, then they crack open egg sucking the juice(soup) out and then peeling off the rest of the egg they eat the duck fetus & whatever else is going on in there. Its not as bad as you expect and once you turn you brain off of what your actually eating its just like a boiled egg & the extra crunch of the developed beak & feathers.
We also got a share of Asian Videoke singing the regular old school 80's rock while the locals kept it to the cheese ball love tunes. I also managed to time my visit with two different local festivals. Bringing out all the locals together with marching bands and all sorts of stuff. Then in the middle of climbing coconut trees, late night Dorian sessions, Sea side swimming. It was a great game