Her situation is common to millions of OFW's (Overseas Filipino Workers). 3,000 documented OFW's leave EVERYDAY. There are hundreds of thousands in Hongkong as domestic workers, tens of thousands in Europe as health care workers and hundreds of thousands in middle east as construction workers. In the US, they come as inner-city teachers, nurses, therapist, care-givers, etc. Most of them are highly educated and skilled. They are the country's best and the brightest. Most of them have families they have left behind, not being able to see them for months, if not years.
I encouraged Ellen to take the leap of faith and go home to her husband and kids. Though uncertain of her future and how she can help provide for her family while in the Philippines, she went home. Today, she and John have started a self-supporting congregation with out US church support and provides livelihood for 30 families in her community. On weekends, they feed poor kids and provided them school supplies. Last summer, they taught 100 kids during VBS. Yesterday, they had another 5 baptisms. They are also one of our lecturers in Vermi and Ginger Culture. They are helping us form cooperative organizations and serve in the board in some of them.
Ellen and John's story is by no means a complete success. They still have a long way to go and every day is still a struggle to survive. However, that daily grind is building them up, not breaking them down. It is forging in them an unbending will to thrive, not just survive. If every Filipino will fight, instead of flee, stay, instead of slip away, we can build this country from ground up.
In His Service,
Sal Arapal