Accompanying him were David Hudson, PC(USA) area coordinator for Asia/Pacific; Nancy Eng MacNeill, an associate in the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program; and his family — wife, Robin, and daughters, Evelyn, Abigail, and Analise.
Fact-finding contacts, including seeing the effects of economic uncertainty and local realities, informed the delegation firsthand about the situation in which mission partners work. Reyes-Chow was also able to meet and get to know church leaders in each country, talking with them about ways the PC(USA) shares their ministry goals.
The first stop was the Philippines, primarily Manila, where the group met with leaders of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) to hear about its grassroots work among the country’s poor. “All of a sudden, in the middle of dinner with many of the pastors, their cell phones all lit up,” said Reyes-Chow. One of the local pastors, Edwin Egar, had just been abducted by armed gunmen.1 “It was amazing to watch them move into this well-practiced gathering of information,” Reyes-Chow noted. Because the UCCP works with and among the poor, its pastors are often the targets of such abductions. The reason for the instant, text-based information gathering is to let the perpetrators know that their actions are not being done in secret. In this case, the texting was successful and the pastor was released later that evening.
Reyes-Chow, a third generation Filipino-American, felt in many ways that being in the Philippines for the first time was like being home. “I felt comfortable, my kids felt comfortable and there were moments there where it felt as though I were in my home church,” he reflected.
From the Philippines, the moderatorial delegation next travelled to Taiwan. “One thing that really struck me was how publicly the church in Taiwan is serving the surrounding community,” said Reyes-Chow, noting the deep presence the Presbyterian Church has in its involvement in schools and hospitals. There is also a strong indigenous commitment within the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. The indigenous measure only twenty percent of the total population, but they represent close to half the membership in the Presbyterian Church.
The trip’s final stop was Hong Kong where the group had meetings with the Amity Foundation as well as the Hong Kong Council of Churches.
Reyes-Chow returned home with impressions and ideas of ways there could be more international cooperation in ministry, and how connections to the younger generations in each country could be enhanced by communication technology.
“In so many ways we share so much in common that we should be able to do work and ministry in the world together,” said Reyes-Chow. “One of the things that we talked about was, how do we do mission together? The General Secretary from Taiwan just went to Ethiopia to look at hospitals. What would it look like if the PC(USA) and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan partnered together to do health ministries in Africa?”
In the Philippines, “I would love to see a Philippines Mission Network started, for folks (who) are really interested in some of what is happening there.” He stresses the importance of our need to be educated first, about the complexities of the situation, rather than just jumping in where it might not be wanted or helpful. He’d also love to see the Young Adult Volunteer program to the Philippines re-invigorated.
Reyes-Chow noted the uniqueness of being a moderator who is both on the younger end of the age spectrum and Asian. Race was the topic of overt conversation, but it was also at play more subtly as well. “When folks were being conscious of it, they treated me like an American, like a guest,” Reyes-Chow recounts. But when they stepped out of the tour guide mentality, it was as if Reyes-Chow, half Chinese and half Filipino, blended in. “It was assumed that the girls and I could use chopsticks, but not Robin,” he noted. “When we travel in the U.S., I am the odd one out in the relationship.”
Another group with which Reyes-Chow related were the young pastors in each country. In talking especially with younger pastors, Reyes-Chow realized that they connected on a level that transcended national differences. “After meeting together during the day, that night we ‘friended’ each other on Facebook,” he explains.
And, he found a familiar theme among the not-so-young leaders with whom he met. Many of them had read about Reyes-Chow before his visit. They knew he used, and saw the ministry applications of, technology. “They were interested in attracting young adults and using technology, but also worried about the technology not allowing for face-to-face contact. I felt as though I was talking to the same folks in the PC(USA) who are facing the exact struggles of how to reach young adults and use technology well.”
These impressions express the “world is flat” idea in author Thomas Friedman’s book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. It proposes that changes in technology and culture are acting both to connect and to level the global playing field. In a twitter update from Hong Kong, Reyes-Chow said, “Just had Starbucks with my dim sum for breakfast while twittering with U.S. friends. Don’t need Mr. Friedman to tell me the world is flat.”
1 More info can be found at: www.pinoypress.net/2009/02/13/uccp-pastor-abducted by-armed-men.
