Jeepneys!

Here's just a picture of some of the amazing fruit that is found in the Philippines. It's beautiful, colorful, and tastes delicious! Especially the mango (so far, I've had mango, mango shakes, and mango jam).

Instead of writing about all the things I've been doing, I wanted to highlight one of the ministries I heard about the other day. The Jeepney Magazine is the first street magazine in the Philippines. Street magazines are a very cool form of ministry because they empower those who otherwise have few opportunities. Each street magazine is unique, but generally the stories covered in the magazine deal with issues that affect the impoverished/those living on the streets. Then (this is the cool part) the magazines are sold and distributed by people who may have no other opportunities to make a decent income. Sometimes these people are homeless, sometimes not, but in all cases, they are in dire need, and street magazines give them hope. Though each magazine is its own operation, the ones I've heard about have regulations about who can and cannot sell their magazines, i.e., they have to clean and sober. When they sell the magazine, some percent of the profit (usually quite a bit, like 50%) goes back to the seller. And that's it! That's how street magazines can provide an income and change a life.

I was super impressed with Jeepney. It looks very professional, with beautiful and striking images and interesting stories. The look of it actually reminded me a lot of SPU's etc magazine. It is definitely worth checking out, both for the eye opening stories and because it is an awesome ministry.

By the way, for you Pacific Northwesters who might be intrigued by the idea of street magazines (also known as street newspapers), we have them too! They look different from Jeepney, but they are based on the same concept of providing opportunity and giving a voice to those who do not have one. The Portland equivalent is Street Roots and the Seattle one is Real Change. Check out the websites, and next time you're downtown, bring an extra dollar or two. You might be able to buy something interesting to read and help change a life at the same time.