Philippines Reflections #5

While visiting one city in the Philippines, we toured City Hall before the workday began. The mayor graciously provided us with breakfast (our second of the day!) and spoke with us for several minutes.

All of the City Hall workers assemble each day outside to sing the national anthem and say the pledge of allegiance to the Filipino flag.

At this assembly, the mayor invited us to share a devotional with the entire assembly, and I had the opportunity to talk about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ instead of focusing on religion. The mayor explained, "Our nation needs to hear about the Bible's message. Without it, we will not have a good community and crime will rise." Once more, I wish we would relearn this lesson from the Filipinos!