I suppose it’s about time I tell you about last month in the
Philippines. I just have so much to say and not so much of an idea about how to
say it. But, I will try! There were a lot of ministry opportunities in
Malaybalay, though I think it’s safe to say that the majority of my time was
spent with the children of New Faith Family Children’s Home.
This little boy, John Lloyd, captured my heart right away.
He’s a little bit of a troublemaker, but he’ll melt right into your arms if you
let him. He’s just 8 years old, but he has the life story of someone far beyond
his years.
On one of our last mornings together, I was helping him get
ready for school & buttoning his shirt (he is perfectly able to button his
own shirt, this was more for me & less for him), and I watched as he pulled
down the gel from the top shelf and combed it through his hair, then examined
his reflection and looked back at me with a wide smile. I couldn’t help
thinking about the responsibilities most kids have at 8.
I was in second grade when I was 8, and not worrying about
anything at all. My mom did my hair (yet, sometimes very strangely), I had someone to come home to who was genuinely interested in hearing about my day,
and my family graciously received sloppy pictures I had drawn & glue-filled
cards I had thrown together. My
sleep wasn’t interrupted by sounds made by other children fighting sleep in the
beds above me & beside me & in the rooms next to mine. I didn’t have to
wonder if by the age of 13, whether or not I’d be out trying to make it on my
own somewhere, because not too many people want to adopt children above the age
of two. I was comfortable & joy came easy.
And as my mind took me to various degrees of love that John
Lloyd had never known, my heart broke for him. I wondered why some children
have to learn such great independence so soon, and how some children can live
so long without being truly loved by another person. He quickly brought me back
to reality as he made fun of me for crying and being so emotional. So, I gathered
all of my thoughts and put them away & sent him and the other children off
to school.
And then I thanked God with all of my heart that He loves
all of the little children, and that He chose to pick these kids up, one by one & with all of the care and concern in the world, and rescue them. I thanked
God that He brought me to Malaybalay so that I could love them with all of the
love He’s given to me, just for the very purpose of being able to give it away
when He asks me to. I thanked God that He loved them before I ever did, and
that He will continue to love them more than I possibly could.
It was obnoxiously hard to leave John Lloyd & all of the
other precious kids at the children’s home. More difficult than I thought it
would be. So, to ease my mind just a little, I’ve decided to take this idea
from my teammate Chelsea, because it was genius & because there can never
be too many people praying, here are the names of all of the children so that
you can be covering them in prayer:
Babies: Hannah Leah & Kenneth Dave
Tots (1-3): Andrew, John Carlo, Nathaniel, Merry Joy, Mary
Grace
Younger kids: Joshua, Erick John, O’neil, Rosaly, Roxxane,
Ron-Ron
Older kids: Roldan, John Lloyd, Mart, Marvin, Hannalyn,
Gege, Cedreck, Ariel, Jordan
Malaybalay Sunset
Carmen & I cutting wood to assist in the building of
Matthew’s set of stairs
Ron-Ron planting grass
I love you guys. Thanks for your prayers. Thanks for your
support. I’ll try to be more prompt in updating about Cambodia 😉
