Hospitality
What do we mean by hospitality? Hospitality is giving a warm, generous and friendly welcome to guests whether into your home or life! It is wonderful to experience that kind of reception especially when you are newcomer or stranger to a community.
Filipinos are known the world over for their warm hospitality. Their homes are often open day and night to their friends, neighbors, and visitors. When unexpected guests arrive in Filipino homes during mealtime, they are offered whatever is being served for that meal. Filipinos often go out of their way to help others even when they have very little of their own to share. But this warm hospitality goes beyond food. It is often displayed in the conversation that makes others feel welcome and a part of the group. Many testify to the warmth and friendliness of Filipinos as they experience that feeling of "belongingness".
Filipino hospitality is not only observed in the Philippines, but it is also found wherever Filipinos live around the world. These Filipino communities around the world help others adjust to the foreign country's culture and ways. They often help their fellow Filipinos find shelter and work, opening up their own homes to provide a temporary home whenever necessary.
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Saved Through Suffering: Philippine Muslim rebels came to know Jesus Christ because of the testimony of Martin & Gracia Burnham.
Martin and Gracia Burnham were American missionaries serving in the Philippines when they were kidnapped in 2001 by the Muslim terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf. They were held captive for over a year in the jungle. They were constantly exhausted, on the run, faced near starvation, frequent gun battles and witnessed the murder of their fellow captives at the hands of the Abu Sayyaf. In spite of those extremely difficult conditions, the Burnhams befriended some of their captors and comforted their fellow hostages. They lived out their faith in Jesus Christ.
Eventually, the Philippine military rescued them in June 2002. However, during the rescue attempt, Gracia’s husband Martin was killed by gunfire. The story of that awful year of terror is told in the book "In the Presence of My Enemies."
Gracia now looks back on what God taught her from her captivity 15 years ago: "In my case, what I learned was who I am. I think if you were to ask my children, they would say a different mother came out of the jungle than went in… I saw myself at my lowest, and I saw my sin and my hatred for those guys [our captors], and it was shocking. So when I saw myself for what I really was, then I learned God’s grace in a whole new way."
Gracia recently reported there have been some miraculous developments since she gained her freedom 15 years ago. Some of the Abu Sayyaf militants who held them captive are still locked up in a maximum-security prison in Manila. While visiting the Philippines recently, Gracia learned from a missionary couple who work in the prison that four of the Abu Sayyaf prisoners "have come to know Jesus as their Savior."
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