Dear Balikatan,

Three speakers presented during the Balikatan 2011 conference at UC Berkeley. Dugong IV was strong in our speakers, all of whom were either IVCF staff or student leaders. Miriam Adeney, Ph.D., spoke on “What Do We Bring?”. Leni Juarez, Ed.D., talked about our experiences on “What Do We Encounter?”. Eric Tadeo, JD, challenged us with an action plan on “What Do We Render?.” We will publish the talks of all our speakers in the monthly newsletters. For this month we will feature the talk of Miriam Adeney Ph.D. We hope that you will be encouraged, like those of us who were present at the conference, to live out your Christianity as Filipino Christians in a foreign land.

Lilia Salazar-Nigro
Balikatan 2011 Conference Director

WHAT DO WE BRING?

by Miriam Adeney, Ph.D.

A few years ago I went to Abu Dhabi. At the time, I was studying the book of Daniel. Like so many Filipinos, Daniel was a pawn of global forces. In 605 B.C., the Babylonian army swooped in. All at once, Daniel lost his family, his country and culture. He lost his career plans, his freedom and his rights—he could be thrown into a lions’ den at any moment. He even lost his name and was renamed for a pagan god. He spent the rest of his life working for megalomaniacs like Nebuchadnezzar.

WHERE WAS GOD? Up to now, God had been in the temple but now the temple was smashed. God had been in the land, but now the boundaries of the land were erased. God had been with the people, but now the people were scattered throughout an alien empire that spanned from North Africa to India. Where was God? In chapter seven, God sent Daniel a vision where the snow white “Ancient of Days” presided from a throne blazing like fire. A hundred thousand people vibrated around him. Court books were opened; a cruel, powerful beast was judged and executed, and its body was thrown into fire. Then the “Son of Man” entered. Clouds surrounded him as he approached the Ancient of Days. He became the focus of worship. “He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Dan 7:14).

In the years that followed, these words captured the imagination of Nebuchadnezzar, that great Babylonian emperor. Although he was a brilliant military strategist, architect, philosopher, and civic planner, Nebuchadnezzar had weaknesses. For example, he built a statue of himself and threw people in a hot furnace when they wouldn’t bow to it (Dan 3). Yet during the decades that Daniel served Nebuchadnezzar they must have talked about God, because Nebuchadnezzar progressively expressed a more complete understanding of who God is. The last time we see him, Nebuchadnezzar has issued a proclamation: “To the peoples, nations, and men of every language, who live in all the world: May you prosper greatly! It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation” (Dan 4:1-3).

At the end of his proclamation, Nebuchadnezzar repeated what so impressed him: “His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation” (Dan 4:34). What poignant longing these words convey. Every great man wants to create something that will last. Nebuchadnezzar hoped that his empire would endure. But in fact it lasted only a few years after his death. Then it was overthrown by the Medes and Persians. Yet the Medo-Persian ruler Darius was impressed by the very same characteristic of Daniel’s God. Darius ordered Daniel thrown to the lions, then retrieved him from the den and issued a proclamation about “the God of Daniel…his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end” (Dan 6:26). Darius too longed for a rule that would last. However, the Medo-Persians were overthrown by the Greeks. Not long afterward, Alexander the Greek’s empire blew up and fragmented into four parts, as pictured in chapter 11. Only one person in this story lived in the everlasting kingdom: Daniel the slave. Because he was not totally captured by the systems of this world, he could make important contributions to this world. This he did in a long life of service under several emperors.

ALL THAT WAS IN MY MIND WHEN I WENT TO ABU DHABI. What an amazing place. Hundreds of gleaming skyscrapers thrust out of the sand, row after row. Men in spotless white robes and head cloths and women in elegant silky black designer robes and scarves swished from air-conditioned offices to air-conditioned cars. But out in the heat were Filipinos. In the richer Gulf countries, the basic work is done by foreigners. Without enough jobs at home, there is a push for Filipinos to work in richer countries, and send back foreign exchange. Many Filipino university graduates take jobs as maids or nannies if they are women, or as construction workers if they are men. In the homes where they work, they risk sexual abuse. On job sites they risk injuries. Legal protection is rare. Meanwhile, back in the Philippines they have left their parents, brothers, sisters, spouses and children.

Witness to local Muslims is illegal, and in countries like Saudi Arabia Christian worship is banned. Yet many Filipinos have grown in their faith in this hard setting. For some nominal Christians, it has been a wake-up call. They are stressed. They are spiritually starving. On the field, such laborers share their faith with officemates or housemates who show interest. And they sing. Whenever there is a lull, a Filipino sings. If he is a believer, Christian lyrics bubble up. Some have done time in jail and others have given their lives for this witness. Nevertheless, fruit grows. Where I traveled, it was legal to worship inside a church. I sought out a Filipino service where about 150 people gathered. The worshippers glowed. When they began to sing, the place rocked. One song focused on Jesus the king. Clerks and nannies, maids, and managers belted out—

The kingdom’s rule,
And the kingdom’s reign
And the kingdom’s power and authority
Is Jesus, God’s righteousness revealed.

As the decibels rose, I squirmed and muttered under my breath, “This is a little loud, don’t you think? Let’s keep it down. Don’t you all remember where you are? Don’t you know who’s in charge?” Then I realized they did know. That’s why they were so radiant and so uninhibited. They were singing to the same power and authority like Daniel. They were living and loving in the kingdom of everlasting dominion that will never be destroyed. Someday the Arab world may be different because Christian Filipinos and others–took lowly jobs and let the love of Christ flow through them.

“What do we bring?” One thing Filipinos offer is the massive experience of outmigration that has brought opportunities for service. But what more? In what ways are Filipino Christians God’s particular gifts to the church and the world? Our Creator delights in diversity. He creates in colors. He generates smells, from onion to rose. He shapes every fresh snowflake. He births billions of unique personalities. Is it any surprise that he programs us with the capacity to create an amazing kaleidoscope of cultures to enrich his world? God ordained culture. But customs that glorify God are not the only reality that we observe around us. Instead of loveliness, harmonious creativity, and admirable authority, we often see fragmentation, generation gaps, alienation, lust, hate, corruption, selfishness, injustice, laziness, disorder, and violence cultivated by our culture. We are not only created in God’s image. We are also sinners. Because we have cut ourselves off from God, the cultures we create reek with evil. We are called, then, not only to rejoice in the patterns of wisdom, beauty, and kindness in our culture, but also to confront and judge the patterns of idolatry and exploitation. Who is to judge? Indigenous leaders who are immersed in the Word and the Spirit. Outsiders work with and under them.

WHAT ARE THE PATTERNS OF BEAUTY IN PHILIPPINE CULTURE? When I lived in the Philippines, I saw strong families. Warm hospitality. Lots of time lavished on children. Enduring friendships. A heritage of economic freedom for women. The ability to live graciously on little money. Sauces that extended a small amount of meat to many people. A delight in sharing. Skill in the art of relaxation. Lithe, limber bodies. The ability to enjoy being with a large number of people continuously. Since every good gift is from above (James 1:17) and since all wisdom and knowledge come from Jesus Christ (Col. 2:3), such beautiful qualities in Filipino culture must be seen as gifts of God.

But one cultural pattern caught my attention. During an IVCF staff session on culture, someone asked me, “Why do we Filipinos adapt graciously to our conquerors? And how can we be proud of such a culture?” That led eventually to my Ph.D. dissertation. I studied “action models” in ten narratives, including the novels of Jose Rizal; Nick Joaquin—Portrait of the Artist as Filipino and The Woman Who Had Two Navels; N.V.M Gonzalez—The Bamboo Dancers and Season of Grace; and Carlos Bulosan—The Laughter of My Father and America is in The Heart.. In these stories, I found four recurring “action models” in the face of cultural invasion: the rebel, the victim, the “tuta”; and the balancer. I came to see the last model—DYNAMIC, RESILIENT BALANCING—AS A DISTINCTIVELY FILIPINO EMPHASIS, WITH POTENTIAL TO BLESS THE WORLD. From a historical perspective, given the Philippines’ location at the crossroads of powerful countries, resilient flexibility is an adaptive survival mechanism. It is not a weakness but a strategic response. Wave after wave have washed up on these shores. Successive torrents of Malay, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Spanish, Americans, and Japanese have arrived. Generally Filipinos have allowed these new forms of life to take root and grow. Yet Philippine culture has not been drowned. Continuity in spite of massive change is evidenced by ongoing values like respect for elders, utang na loob, awareness of the supernatural, skillful speaking, and skillful flexible balancing.

Balancing is rooted in Filipinos’ bilateral kindreds, which contrast with Chinese, Arab, or Indian patrilineages, where sons are all important and daughters are married out. In the Philippines you have the opportunity to create new relatives through ninongs every time someone is married and every time a baby is born. But you already start out with 400 relatives because of all the kin and in laws on both sides. This trains you in dynamic, flexible balancing, dancing among relationships. Symbols in the literature are the kawayan, the tikling birds, the tinikling dance and the pandanggo sa ilaw dance. Yet Filipino virtues are not always gracious and polite. My dissertation is titled “Filipino Narrative: A Model for Ethnic Identity balancing Pakikisama and Protest.” Perhaps the most beautiful example of protest was the People’s Revolution of 1986 when Filipinos of all backgrounds called on God and put their bodies on the line to deliver their country.

Treasurer’s Report

With great Thanksgiving and Praise to Jehovah Jireh, our Almighty God, we are delighted to report on the following income numbers from the 2011 Balikatan Conference. We also thank you! You willingly served as His Channels, His Hands. May you find joy and fulfillment in knowing the magnanimity of His Blessings to others through you.

For inquiries or clarifications, please e-mail me at Eleanr@hotmail.com.

Edna Eleanor Bargan
Treasurer