How Tough Are You?

I've met some resilient people in the Philippines -- people who survive against what most of us in America would consider incredible odds.  I think they put us to shame when I consider all that we have and how much we complain.  They do it with a smile.

Merlym Tajo

I came to the Philippines with a specific mission.  Although I don't feel like I accomplished all that I set out to do, I am coming back home with an armload of information and ideas.  But like my first visit to the Philippines last February, it has been the side trips which are providing the real story.  Here is a story aimed at the high school students.  So if you're an adult reading this, please be certain to share it with any of the young people you know.

I want you to meet Merlym Tajo.  She is 16 and has one and a half more years to complete in high school.  But unlike most of the high school students I know back in the U.S., Merlym has a little different situation to deal with in completing her education.  Her home is tucked back in the hills somewhere -- I never had the chance to visit her home -- one of the many things on my to-do list which never came to be.  No one makes her go to school.  No one expects her to go to school. But she goes every day.  In order to get to her high school, she has to walk a little over three kilometers (two miles).  But the trail to her school runs up into the mountains through the jungle overgrowth.  There are some roads she could walk but it would triple the distance she would have to travel.  The roads are narrow and extremely dangerous.   There are no school buses.  No mom or dad or older brother with a car to drop her off and pick her up at school.  She makes the trek every day, regardless of the weather.  I've walked in some of those jungle areas and can assure you that you don't really want to be there when it's raining.  It becomes muddy and slippery very fast, it's hot and the humidity reaches 100 percent, the mosquitoes and other insects seem to come out in full force.  I'll say it again -- you really don't want to be there.  Yet, Merlym pushes herself every day, never missing school, never late to class.

The jungle path to Merlym's house.

What is her motivation?  Why does she continue on, day after day?  What makes her "tick"?  She has a goal.  She is determined to go to Bible college after she graduates from high school.  She is already in the process of taking over teaching all of the children's Sunday school classes and she is a leader among the youth of the church.  She is committed at all costs to the work of teaching others about her faith and her love of her Lord.  Don't let the  photo at the beginning of this article fool you.  The sweet looking girl dressed in blue and pink is tough and tenacious -- both physically and mentally.

So my question for any high schooler in the U.S. who might be reading this . . . how tough are you?  Do you have what it takes to possess this level of commitment?  No one expects you to move into a bamboo hut deep in the jungle.  No one is asking you to reject a ride from a friend or family member on your way to school or youth group.  But when you look at the things you have, the opportunities which are so readily available to you, are you going to complain about how difficult your life is?  Or will you step up to the challenges which are in front of you and tackle them with a sense of urgency and purpose?  I hope you chose the latter.  I hope that Merlym can serve as an example for you, to give you inspiration and courage as you face the life ahead of you.

A candid moment reveals some of Merlym's toughness.

One more thing.  Merlym hasn't a clue about where she will get the financial resources for college.  Her family doesn't have the ability to send her.  The church doesn't bring in enough offering each week to pay for its own expenses, let alone support a college student.  Now her schooling is nowhere near as costly as it would be in America.   Fifty dollars a month will send her to a Bible college in Cebu, covering all of her expenses: room, board, books, and tuition.  It wouldn't include any "spending" money, but most of the youth in the Philippines don't know what spending money is anyway.  Here's a thought . . .maybe one of the youth reading this will accept the challenge of raising support for Merlym to go to college.  It isn't a huge amount, and you have over a year to do it in.  What do you think?  Any takers?