Who Knew?
When I found out about TWR, I was intrigued by the variety
of countries and ministries that are a part of this 11-month missions trip.
Working with orphans, prisoners, widows, prostitutes, new churches, old
churches, college students, displaced families, refugees, Aboriginals, the
homeless, …
But, in my (repeated) nearsightedness, I thought that God
would place me in ministries that just needed me to plug in and work hard, not
reinvent or start something new, which has been (in part) the case here outside
of Manila. Thanks to Jeff Long, our primary contact, and his encouragement to
think outside the box of the pre-established ministries as well as Matt
Herrick’s N squad team, David Stothart from the M:10 team and I have been
working hard to make connections and establish long-term relationships with
local and international businesses, restaurants, and politicians. Through
nearly a dozen proposals, tons of emails, and a few meetings, we have made
preliminary progress in establishing long-term donators to the KIM and YMC
ministries here. We are also excited to be meeting with the Mayor of Manila,
Mayor of Cave (??), a Vice-Governor, and a few other politicians on Friday to
seek after additional support from these individuals, who are all gearing up
for elections in May.
Thanks to some previous proposal writing and interest in
politics on my behalf, David’s passion and dreamer tendencies, and our shared
dedication to creating a sustainable ministry here, we have been blessed to
have this opportunity to reach out and support Jeff Long’s constant endeavors
to better the lives of impoverished Filipino orphans, widows, and families.
There is so much to do here and so little time-I almost want
to come back and serve with Jeff in the near future, but it is too early for me
to think such thoughts. While some of my giftings are being utilized here, I am
still not sure what God wants of and for my life. I am open to see where and
what He wants me to do post-Race, but as I sit in a dark hallway in the wee
hours, I sincerely have no idea what He wants. Which is somewhat irritating and
frustrating at times, to be honest. My planner side still longs to know what to
do next…grad school? Politics? Ministry?
Marketing? Writing? Law?
Or…?
Regardless of what and where He wants me, I have been
encouraged as He surprised me this month as I serve and feed children, write
and meet with contacts, dream and plan for the future, lead and am led, dream
and think, learn and reflect, and et al.
