For the past three weeks I have been living in the Philippines!
Our home base is in Surigao City, but since arriving we've gone to eight different islands.
This experience has been very surreal for me. I never dreamed I would ever do anything like this.
A lot of times I had to stop, look around me, and say to myself "I am really here right now. This is not a dream, it's my life." I kept reminding myself to be present. I found myself many times getting caught up in the schedule and almost missing the little moments that were meant to be blessings.
For example… traveling to each island, we squished in these little canoe-like boats with motors and splashed our way across the sea. I remember one time taking a mental step back thinking "Uh, whoa. How on earth did I get here. I'm in the middle of the ocean and I can see straight through the turquoise water down to the sandy bottom. And if you asked me to point to where I am on a map, I would have no clue." And then all I could do was smile because there was no doubt in my mind that I was only in the middle of the ocean going to a tiny island I never knew existed because God had specifically chosen me to be there.
At first, when arriving in the Philippines, I was experiencing some crazy culture shock. It was difficult shifting to a poverty-stricken country. I was not prepared for it at all. You learn to cope though, and live life just like anyone else here. If they can do it for a lifetime, I can do it for a few weeks!
There are so many stories I could tell which include various details of this amazingly simple island life. But I'll save most of those for when I'm home :)
The main thing I've learned from the time I've spent here is to be thankful for every little thing. Everything I have back home is a luxury. A flushing toilet is a luxury. Toilet paper usually isn't an option. A shower is a luxury. Hot water is a luxury. I could go on and on and on…
One week we stayed on an island called Nonoc. 14 of us lived in the small guest house. Filipinos are very hospitable and try to give their guests the best they have. So our little house was fancy compared to the rest of the neighborhood… It had doors, windows, solid walls, a tile floor, a sink, a stove, a table, one bed, and two toilets. There was a water faucet next to both toilets, but other than that there was no running water in the house. The power only came on for 3 hours at night, just long enough to cook dinner, clean up, and get ready for bed. We washed the dishes by filling up a bucket of water and sparingly using it to rinse. And we slept on the floor, along with some gecko creature friends! And you know what? We had it gooood. It was an awesome week. I realized just how little you need to live. We had luxuries in that house that no one else on the island had. Everyone else lives in homes made of sticks, banana leaves, and metal boards. And they're happy! That's what I love about this place… everyone is full of joy. And what's better than living on an island where you can go jump in the ocean at any time of the day or pick a coconut off a tree, cut it open and eat it? And the CHILDREN! Ah! So many! Everywhere!
For ministry we traveled to different islands, sharing the gospel through house to house ministry, crusades, and partnering with churches. We also stayed in an orphanage for a few days and served them in different ways.
Everything was very flexible, which was great. It gave us room to build relationships and for me to spend a lot of time ministering to the kids!
One night I'll never forget… I had 50 kids gathered around me, as many of them touching me as possible, walking down the street. We were singing some Jesus songs I taught them with smiles on our faces. Once we got to the guest house, they all got quiet and eagerly looked at me to see if I would keep playing with them. Thinking fast, I remembered a game Pastor Phil taught me when I was a kid called "Down By the River". It took a little while for them to understand how to play because of the language barrier, but once they got it, it was so fun!! They LOVED it! As we were playing, more kids from the neighborhood showed up to watch. I spent at least two hours playing and singing with them and talking to them. And Jesus was there.
Gosh, I just have so many stories to tell… I'm trying to work out which ones I want to cram in this blog…
Hmm, another really memorable moment for me was at the orphanage… we just finished worship and a sermon, and we were going into a prayer/ministry time, and the Holy Spirit washed over the room and all the kids burst into tears. We went around the room holding them one by one in our arms, stroking their hair, praying for them, speaking life into them, crying with them. It was beyond words. Such a sweet time… God ministered to each of their hearts personally. I loved being a part of that.
Looking back, I experienced some pretty unbelievable things in the Philippines. What I'm taking away from this country is the value of relationships. That is something I want to take back home. Here, time doesn't matter…like, at all. People are what matter. Really getting to know each other is far more important than any schedule. I looked at a clock maybe 5 times the entire time I was here. It was awesome!
Also, I learned from being here that all God needs from me is to obey Him. I would find myself striving too hard to make Him happy and never feeling accomplished or content. I realized that I was putting good works in front of the two greatest commandments--loving God with everything in me and through that love, the love that He pours back into me-loving others as myself. He showed me during my time here that ALL I ever have to do and all I have to worry about is love. The rest will just happen and fall into place. If I'm loving the Lord with everything I have, and being obedient to whatever He calls me to, He will work through me in amazing ways.
I realized that I had been spending too much time worrying about the tasks set before me and how I could reach out to people during ministry, I neglected my relationship with the Lord. After He showed me that, I was heart broken. I can't do anything well without seeking the Lord first, and making my alone time with Him most important. The whole team realized that along with me, and found that to be the reason we were having difficulty being unified. But ever since God showed us that, and we repented and made a declaration to put Jesus first--no matter how crazy our schedule gets--we've been doing a whole lot better! So God is good. All the time.
We found out that through us, God has connected the dots all over the Philippines, healing broken relationships, and ministering to other people around the world who we've never met. I love how God works in huge ways when we do simple things that seem small to us.
He's been showing me a lot of other things about intimacy with Him and finding new ways to hear His voice. It's been a bumpy ride, but things are getting a lot smoother. I'm excited to see what He has in store for China and Turkey in July.
Please pray for us as we travel to China tomorrow! I can't share many details about the next four weeks because we'll be in closed countries. Pray for the hearts of the people we meet to be softened to the Holy Spirit, and that strongholds will be broken. Also pray for the spiritual battle we'll be flighting. God has been showing me things about the spiritual atmospheres in these next countries and it's going to be pretty heavy and hard to deal with at times.
I just want to bring the Lord's perfect peace, love, and joy along with us as we press on through the last half of outreach!
Hopefully I'll get to update before arriving in Israel, which will be the end of July. OH AND GUESS WHAT my mommy is coming to my graduation!! AH! :) Okay I'm a little excited.
Well that's all I have time for. Thanks for reading! I love you, friends!
Shalom!
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