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It took
roughly 16 hours, not including the layover, to get from California to the
Philippines. Somewhere between LA and
Hong Kong, I lost a Monday but I don’t think I missed it much (Or did I?). I arrived Tuesday afternoon in Manila and I
don’t know if my mind has settled in with the reality that we are launching
into the World Race.
We
haven’t officially begun our ministry, but already I feel overwhelmed. I want what is true, real, and
authentic. I don’t want anything I am or
do to be contrived. This morning,
Wednesday, one of the first things I picked up from Luke 12 was “Beware of. . .
hypocrisy.”
This
worried me because in that verse Jesus likens hypocrisy to leaven, or yeast;
and it struck me, how do you rid dough of yeast? It seems near impossible.
So this
morning, Thursday, I read Luke 13 and I read this verse:
“. . . To what shall I compare the
kingdom of God?
It is like leaven that a woman
took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
– Luke 13:20-21 (ESV)
Isn’t it
interesting how Jesus compares the kingdom of God to yeast in this way? At least I thought so. It’s a comfort to me, though. The kingdom of God starts small – a mustard
seed or some yeast – yet given time and lots of labor, but grows exponentially.
So it’s
Friday now, and six teams – including Dunamis – were briefed today by Jeff
Long, the president of KIM (Kids International Ministries). I was struck by his vision and heart. He doesn’t expect us to impact thousands –
though God very well could – but he does want us to be able to use our gifts and
put our passions into action.
The
ministry options here in Manila are like a buffet – partnering with a team of
doctors and dentists from Taiwan who are coming to do medical outreach,
tutoring at the community school, taking the night shifts in the hospital,
simply holding and helping care for the babies in the nursery, doing
construction to build a playground so the children in this community can play,
or sports ministry in the school. Or, if
there’s another need God shows us, Jeff is all about giving each of us an
outlet for that.
And that’s
just with KIM in Manila. KIM has a
children’s home in Mindinao, a southern island that’s been rife with conflict;
two of our teams are being sent there. Three
teams are working with two other ministries here in Manila.
This past
week we’ve been asking the Lord to impart His spirit on us, so that He can
equip us for battle. In a matter of
days, we are gonna hit the ground running. Here we are, an army of fifty-two mustard
seeds and granules of yeast. We are
gonna get worked in and it ain’t gonna be pretty sometimes.
Later on,
I hope I get to tell you more about Manila as we dive into ministry and explore
the city. So far, what we’ve learned so
far is that where we are, there are 821 dwellings, and 721 of those are
squatter houses/shacks.
Please pray
for our team as we wait for the Lord to show us what ministry He’d have us do
as a team, and as individuals.
