Meet Pastor Herbie, pictured in red, a man short in stature yet an inspiring visionary that continues to challenge each PEACE team that has had a chance to serve alongside of him. Pastor Herbie embodies the core values of the PEACE plan as he works to make real, lasting changes in the slums of Manila.Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, is an influential center for South East Asia. Over 80 languages are spoken within this country of 92 million people. Because of its locality, Manila was strategically picked as a hub for every Philippines PEACE team sent from Saddleback. PEACE continues to build the ties that were started through the 40 Days of Purpose campaign and the national Purpose Driven Conference in 2006. The impact of this conference has trickled out of Manila and into the outlying cities and villages throughout the country. This ripple effect is imperative to seeing PEACE reach a wider audience through the partnerships with local churches.While conferences provide information and skills to many at once, relationships are the key to implementing key PEACE principals. These relationships happen one person at a time. One man in particular has made a huge impact within his own community of Tondo.Tondo is located in the northwest portion of Manila. Tondo’s buildings vary from simple shacks to permanent and well-maintained structures. Pastor Herbie’s church is located in a residential industrial area very close to where abandoned warehouses are stacked upon each other, row after row. Within this densely populated slum, Herbie has targeted his efforts towards warehouse number seven. A total of 70 percent of the community living in and around this warehouse attend his church. This warehouse, called “Ground Zero” by church members, is small in size, yet it is the hub for the church and the neighborhood. Tondo, like many other slums around the world lacks clean water, electricity, sanitation and other basic services. “Tondo rapes your senses; walking in you are bombarded by the smell of feces,” says recent PEACE trip member, Andrew Lossau. “What would normally be considered living in extreme poverty is amplified by the presence of stagnant water everywhere from the latest typhoon this past August.” It is hard to imagine that people who receive an education would want to return to Tondo, yet that is exactly what Pastor Herbie did. He decided that he was called to go back and serve his people. He particularly focuses on children to break the cycle of poverty. Pastor Herbie is modeling the heart and soul of the PEACE Plan: a local church working alongside their local community to bring the gospel in word and deed.The Philippines PEACE team just welcomed home the last few members from the latest trip in October where six team members were able to serve along side Pastor Herbie.“Pastor Herbie is a candle of hope in Tondo,” said recent returner Roland Navarro. “I learned that you can't throw millions of dollars at the problem of poverty. You need to change the mindset of the people before a community can change. He is an inspirational flicker of light in a place of so much darkness.”Every fourth Saturday of the month people who are interested in the Philippines gather at Saddleback Lake Forest in Tent 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m for the Global PEACE night. Come and enjoy the food and the fellowship! To connect with the Philippines outreach or for more information about the next upcoming trip contact philippines@saddleback.com.
|