Mamang

On Saturday, March 21st, our dear friend "Mamang" ("mother" in Tagalog) passed away.  Jason and I both wanted to take some time to reflect on our time her.

Mamang was one of the first church members we met coming into our time with the UBCC.  Pastor Romy let us know she had developed lung cancer and wasn't doing that well.  I remember the first time she looked up and showed us her beautiful smile.  Over the last couple weeks, we visited Mamang regularly sharing stories from the Bible, stories from our lives, and singing songs to her.  I was so blessed by her during our second visit when we were going to pray for her and she asked us to just be thankful to God.  Her attitude in the midst of greatly challenging times left quite an impact- one request- thank God.  The next couple weeks we spent thanking God- especially for Mamang.  Every visit was welcomed by a smile that I will always remember.  

The week following her passing away was her wake- having a nightly service, followed by a full night of games, food, and conversation every night until her funeral on Saturday.  I was able to speak on Tuesday night- sharing my experiences with her as well as going through John 3- sharing new life in the spirit.   The entire time from Saturday to Saturday was very impactful- not only were we able to remember and cherish the memories of Mamong, but we were able to meet her family, spend quality time with church members at night, and moved deeply by the reality of God's timing in bringing Jason and I to the Philippines.  

Thank you Father for our time with Mamang- it brings joy to think about her smiling for eternity with You.

-Jerry


Truly, it is incredibly difficult for me to express my heart as relates to Mamang. In life, spending time with her was a cherished, almost numinous experience. When I think of those times of stories, song and silence, her countenance reminds me of Titus where elder women are told to be worthy of reverence - i.e., awe and respect. In death I was shook to my core yet further still in experiences which shall forever come to define a part of me; experiences which I dare not write as are too precious, terrible, awful and incredible to share without certain injustice. 

I was, to my honor and astonishment, asked to speak at the last night of her wake when all of her family had gathered from the Filipino islands to mourn her death and celebrate her life. I stood before the crowd absolutely shaken, with nary an idea of what to say; some were Christians, most were not, a couple were drunk to fight their grief, and others soon to follow, yet all loved this woman and knew her better than I. Frankly, I felt terribly unqualified to be before them. With a trembling heart I sang before them Mamang's favorite song - Psalm 23 - and told them what it meant, concluding with the line, "'I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever!' That," I said, "means home." From there I poured my heart out with what I could and said while many would tell me how she lives, and others of us how she died, I wanted them to know that she lives and where. To many, I suppose, it could have appeared a shameless moment of taking advantage of pain to peddle a religion, but to me it was my gospel; my good news, and summarized my final wish for the woman I knew only at the end: 'I love you. Thank you. God loves you. I'll see you soon.'

-Jason