What would you say if I said reverse carolling? Will you have to sing carols in reverse? Or will the people living in the homes visited sing to the carollers instead?
I will be a reverse caroller this coming December when I go up to the Philippines to participate in ICPE Mission Philippines' Christmas initiative taking place from the 13th to 16th December.
Reverse carolling is a termed coined by ICPE Mission Philippines for their Christmas outreach. In the Philippines, it is common practice to give the carollers who visit your home a small cash gift for their efforts. However, the families that we will be visiting would not be able to do so.
So instead we will serenade them and leave behind the gift of a Christmas food hamper that will enable them to celebrate the birth of Christ with joy and full stomachs.
This will be the second time I am participating in this and I am looking forward to it for we will not only be visiting families living in the dumpsite around Montalban, but also disadvantaged families living in Tagaytay over four days.
I chose to do this this year for I know the Mission desperately needs muscle (each hamper weighs a ton, well, pretty much when you've been walking with two for a while) and it's been over a year since my surgery so I should be able to lift hampers this December.
We leave early morning after loading up the van with heavily laden hampers. When we arrive, we each take two hampers and break up into groups to visit the houses which are typically made of wood, corrugated metal sheets or cardboard and are cramped and dark. Many have no doors save for a cloth nailed to the top of the doorway that drops down to cover the doorway.
Before we leave the family with one Christmas food hamper, we will have prayed with them and sung Christmas carols to them.
The thing that struck me most the first time I got involved was how grateful they were that their presence was acknowledged by another.
A simple smile seemed to transcend the language barrier and make their day brighter.
So if you are looking for something meaningful to do this Christmas, give reverse carolling a try. You will get to stay in ICPE Mission Philippines' mission house in Tagaytay which is pleasantly cool.
If you are unable to take time off during December, a donation would be equally meaningful for SGD5,000 must be raised to defray the cost of 300 food hampers.
Go to http://icpephilippines.blogspot.com/2011/09/normal-0-false-false-false-en-sg-x-none.html to see how you can get involved in this.
What better way to enter the spirit of Christmas than to give a gift from the heart that benefits many? And that's why reverse carolling.
I will be a reverse caroller this coming December when I go up to the Philippines to participate in ICPE Mission Philippines' Christmas initiative taking place from the 13th to 16th December.
Reverse carolling is a termed coined by ICPE Mission Philippines for their Christmas outreach. In the Philippines, it is common practice to give the carollers who visit your home a small cash gift for their efforts. However, the families that we will be visiting would not be able to do so.
So instead we will serenade them and leave behind the gift of a Christmas food hamper that will enable them to celebrate the birth of Christ with joy and full stomachs.
This will be the second time I am participating in this and I am looking forward to it for we will not only be visiting families living in the dumpsite around Montalban, but also disadvantaged families living in Tagaytay over four days.
I chose to do this this year for I know the Mission desperately needs muscle (each hamper weighs a ton, well, pretty much when you've been walking with two for a while) and it's been over a year since my surgery so I should be able to lift hampers this December.
We leave early morning after loading up the van with heavily laden hampers. When we arrive, we each take two hampers and break up into groups to visit the houses which are typically made of wood, corrugated metal sheets or cardboard and are cramped and dark. Many have no doors save for a cloth nailed to the top of the doorway that drops down to cover the doorway.
Before we leave the family with one Christmas food hamper, we will have prayed with them and sung Christmas carols to them.
The thing that struck me most the first time I got involved was how grateful they were that their presence was acknowledged by another.
A simple smile seemed to transcend the language barrier and make their day brighter.
So if you are looking for something meaningful to do this Christmas, give reverse carolling a try. You will get to stay in ICPE Mission Philippines' mission house in Tagaytay which is pleasantly cool.
If you are unable to take time off during December, a donation would be equally meaningful for SGD5,000 must be raised to defray the cost of 300 food hampers.
Go to http://icpephilippines.blogspot.com/2011/09/normal-0-false-false-false-en-sg-x-none.html to see how you can get involved in this.
What better way to enter the spirit of Christmas than to give a gift from the heart that benefits many? And that's why reverse carolling.
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