That means deliciously good. Which is exactly what the last two weeks in Pingtong were. The highlight of those two weeks was the youth conference we did. It was set for 2 pm on Saturday afternoon. We found out that morning that it was a huge campaign day for the community because elections for council men were the next week. But we weren’t too worried because we knew The Lord had big plans for this day. So we start getting prepared and we decide that Natalie will lead prayer and Dani will lead worship. Myself, Deanna, Meredith, and Natalie would talk about some things God has taught us or brought us through during our walks with him. I felt like God was really putting it on my heart to talk about how important it is to be strong in your faith and in your beliefs.
If you don’t know what you believe or if you aren’t strong in it then you can be easily swayed to believe whatever is placed in front of you. For me that meant that I was easily swayed by what others did and said. But God is showing me how important it is to be strong in being me. Strong in who he has called me to be.
I’m not huge on speaking in front of people so I was a little bit nervous to tell people that don’t understand much English about my experiences. So 2 o clock rolls around and we wait…. 2:30 hits but this is Filipino time so really it’s totally normal for no one to be here yet…. 3:00….. 3:30 okay so now I’m slightly concerned that only one guy has shown up…. 4:00 my girl Monica and her friends come back from campaigning and join us… 4:15 Meredith and Danielle bring in a group of boys they had met while walking around and invited them. So we had a solid group of 20 teenagers. We did everything as planned and then we just did a huge prayer time where we talked and prayed with each individual. It was awesome to watch God work. They trusted us! They opened up about some things in their lives that were really hard for them and that have caused some pain and heartache. It was awesome to get to pray and encourage them. By the end of the night we had 3 new brothers in Christ. It was so cool and such a good reminder that God can use the smallest bits of your story to speak to someone else and to help and encourage others. We followed it up by having Monica and her friends stay for a sleepover. It was great.
We spent our days finishing more bamboo fences (which I am a pro at now) and spending time with the people in the community, we went back to the scavenging community to give them “certificates” for coming to VBS. We just wrote on pieces of paper “my name is —- and Jesus loves me.” It seemed so simple to us. But to them, it was a big deal. Most of the kids don’t have anything with their name on it, they were asking us for certificates for their cousins and their brothers and their sisters that weren’t there, they loved them. It was so awesome to watch how easy it was to give them something that would really touch them and that gave them joy! It was also super humbling. We have so much stuff (blessings that I am extremely thankful for), but it also makes it so much harder to please us. We also has the pleasure of being the judges of the local United Nations Pageant which consists of children around the age of 5 competing in indigenous attire, sports ware, and regional dress. How creative they were! It was marvelous. We were so sad to leave our friends in Pingtong. Monica and Berni came to say goodbye and we got to have some good prayer time. On the way from Pingtong back into Manila, Markelle and I got to ride on the back of the jeepney. And Rayhan came into Manila to spend the day with us before we officially left the phillies. Such a country filled with awesome people.
I’m not huge on speaking in front of people so I was a little bit nervous to tell people that don’t understand much English about my experiences. So 2 o clock rolls around and we wait…. 2:30 hits but this is Filipino time so really it’s totally normal for no one to be here yet…. 3:00….. 3:30 okay so now I’m slightly concerned that only one guy has shown up…. 4:00 my girl Monica and her friends come back from campaigning and join us… 4:15 Meredith and Danielle bring in a group of boys they had met while walking around and invited them. So we had a solid group of 20 teenagers. We did everything as planned and then we just did a huge prayer time where we talked and prayed with each individual. It was awesome to watch God work. They trusted us! They opened up about some things in their lives that were really hard for them and that have caused some pain and heartache. It was awesome to get to pray and encourage them. By the end of the night we had 3 new brothers in Christ. It was so cool and such a good reminder that God can use the smallest bits of your story to speak to someone else and to help and encourage others. We followed it up by having Monica and her friends stay for a sleepover. It was great.
We spent our days finishing more bamboo fences (which I am a pro at now) and spending time with the people in the community, we went back to the scavenging community to give them “certificates” for coming to VBS. We just wrote on pieces of paper “my name is —- and Jesus loves me.” It seemed so simple to us. But to them, it was a big deal. Most of the kids don’t have anything with their name on it, they were asking us for certificates for their cousins and their brothers and their sisters that weren’t there, they loved them. It was so awesome to watch how easy it was to give them something that would really touch them and that gave them joy! It was also super humbling. We have so much stuff (blessings that I am extremely thankful for), but it also makes it so much harder to please us. We also has the pleasure of being the judges of the local United Nations Pageant which consists of children around the age of 5 competing in indigenous attire, sports ware, and regional dress. How creative they were! It was marvelous. We were so sad to leave our friends in Pingtong. Monica and Berni came to say goodbye and we got to have some good prayer time. On the way from Pingtong back into Manila, Markelle and I got to ride on the back of the jeepney. And Rayhan came into Manila to spend the day with us before we officially left the phillies. Such a country filled with awesome people.
What has happened in the Philippines breaks my heart. Please continue praying for the people there- prayer that they can unite and come backs stronger than before. Prayer that in this time The Lord’s presence is overwhelming them with peace. Prayer that hearts are turning to him and seeking out his guidance and his truth during this time. He is always good.
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10:19-24
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