Build 101

Just got back from a really beautiful morning at the Pinagsama GK village in Taguig. It's a really different experience being on the ground and meeting our everyday heroes, ordinary people who work peacefully to make this world a better place.

I have found a deeper respect for carpenters. As I tried my best to shovel rocks used for gravel and knot steel under the heat of a happy sun, I realized that building homes really was HARD work. After a while, if one is not used to it, she would most likely give up. But as I looked at the beautiful vision for this place (from the drawings of gifted architects) I began to dream and hope and not give up. The thought of completed homes and the lives of those who will be blessed by them moved me to persevere…

Not all can physically build but I learned that we can all raise them up by using what we have -- the offering of our gifts and talents wrapped in love.

I am no architect or carpenter but realized that I too could raise homes not by hammer but by pen as I allow the mysterious power of stories to do its work. Seeing how difficult it is to physically build houses, I thought I would never complain again about having to write much even when it could be painful sometimes to bring the stories into the world, similar perhaps to the pains of giving birth.

People need to know about the miracle. To not tell them would be not giving what is due. On the ground (GK site), I felt the abundance of inspiring stories that could help so many. So much that I, alone, cannot write them all. I asked God to please send more writers to volunteer! For the harvest is rich but the laborers are few.

As people begin to build, we can join the bayanihan line using our pens and cameras. This experience reminds me of the Truth, St. Paul speaks about:

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (Corinthians 12)

One gift is not greater than the other, but all are needed to the building of the Church, in our case the GK homes.

I believe that the building of a community (GK village) does not only pertain to the raising of concrete structures but more importantly the restoration of men. The real transformation happens not in the physical homes but in the inner person.

I learned that any kind of building work follows a process. First, the clearing and cleaning of a place -- the digging for space, the preparation of building materials, putting in the foundation, the laying of bricks, the finishing touches -- painting, electrical wiring, plumbing etc.

I realized that writing too follows the same process: the clearing of the mind, the digging for ideas, the preparation of materials (data, interviews, research), putting in the foundation (doing an outline), the laying of bricks (writing your thoughts word by word), the finishing touches (editing and publishing).

I felt that all of Life is a build: the clearing and cleaning (letting go of mistakes and regrets, unlearning habits that no longer work), the digging (learning from the past), the preparation (changing self-defeating thoughts, filling the empty space within with lifegiving ideas, developing new habits, seeking and knowing God), laying the foundation (knowing who I am, what is my purpose), the laying of bricks (gradually growing in the grace of God), the finishing touches (learning to truly love – God and neighbor).

Maybe it’s the heat, the sweat, and the hunger that got me into thinking like this. But now that I have satisfied my thirst for words, I can only say it is grace, truly amazing grace.

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Heart Song:

“Wherever you’re going, I’m going your way…Two drifters off to see the world. There’s such a lot of world to see. We’re after the same rainbow’s end…” –Moon River

(Inspired by the commercial planes that kept passing over the GK site.)