We have an immersion coming up this weekend, October 16th, 17th and 18th. This will be my pre-immersion blog, as I have not experienced one yet but would like to write about it and let you know what is happening. I plan also to do a post-immersion blog.
Business aside, an immersion supposedly just like it sounds: the Oikos team gets immersed in the lives of a poor barrio, and the people living in the barrio get immersed by the love and the care of God through the Oikos team. The sisters scout out barrios to be helped. Because of their small number, the barrio cannot be too big and if the people living there are recuperating well after the typhoon, the sisters may open the scholar program to them or help in other ways, but they won't do an immersion there. Immersions are for villages that have been devastated by the typhoon, sickness, or anything that has prohibited the spiritual/economic/social growth of the people living there... and there are many such villages here.
During an immersion, the sisters bring with them a big team of doctors, dentists, cooks, catechists and everything needed for these volunteers to do their work... medical supplies and medicines, dental equipment, food for the weekend for everyone there, meaning all of the people living in the barrio and all of the team going with them, bibles, catechist lessons for children, teens and the mothers, games to play, clothes for the villagers, and I have no idea what else...but there is even more!! The entire weekend is spent with the people: getting to know them, showing them that they are not forgotten, feeding them physically and spiritually.
The team sleeps in the barrio in whatever place they can find. In the one we are going to, there is a daycare center, a health clinic and a rectory that we can all sleep in, but they also have been known to just pitch tents where they can. They also secure a priest to come on Sunday to say mass. Some barrios have not had mass said for a year or more. The sisters also try to arrange for a priest to come on a regular/semi-regular basis. In the barrio we are going to, their church was completely destroyed by the typhoon, so they have to rebuild. The government paid for a covering on the church while it is being rebuilt, but that is all. The rest is up to the people who have not only lost their church, but also their livelihoods to the typhoons.
So, the theory is, after an intense weekend of care and working together, the sisters can get a feel for whether or not the people in the village would benefit from the livelihood programs they have: FAITH (the food growing program) Piglet Recycling and water blessings. The FAITH, Food Always In The Home, Program teaches people how to not only grow food for their families, but also as a source of income for the family. In both Santa Cruz and Tacla-on, there are many families that have greatly benefitted from this program as a means of added income. The Piglet Recycling Program gives people another avenue for income in breeding piglets, not for personal consumption, at least in the beginning, but as a means of selling the piglets they have bred for income. And the water blessings program shows people how to safely filter their water for drinking. All of the programs I have mentioned depend 100% on the willingness of the beneficiary to work for the success of their endeavor. Oikos gives the families a boost up, providing the items and cash needed to begin the programs, but after that, aside from Oikos monitoring the people's progress, it is up to the people living in the barrios themselves to work at improving the financial crisis they are in. The Livelihood Team from Oikos still works with them spiritually and provides support where ever needed, but it is really up to each person helped by Oikos to really pull themselves out of the destitution they are in. And I have seen it! I have seen barrios that have been helped by Oikos and these livelihood programs... what an incredible difference!! And I have also seen the opposite side of giving too, as with each barrio aided by Oikos, there comes more support for this mission, the Oikos family becomes bigger and when the sisters are in need, here will be more people they can rely on for help. It just grows and grows and grows. It sort of reminds me of the early church, where just a few men ventured out, but with each new place they came to, there was growth and more people to spread the Good News and learn how to serve and love one another through Jesus Christ... and look at the result of all of their ground-breaking work!!
So, while immersion is a HUGE thing, it really is just the first stepping stone to a better life for poverty stricken Filipinos, one that allows for self-improvement and that sustains the dignity of the people. I am really excited about it! I have heard so much about previous immersions and cannot wait to tell you about my experience of immersion. This will be a busy week of preparation, for a lot needs to be done ahead of time. Please pray for me, for the Oikos team and for the people in the barrio we are going to. Thanks!! xxoo
