Mondays are our days off here. So we have all been wanting to go to a famous waterfall that you can jump off of, but that would require some good travel time. We were all down to go this Monday. So Sunday night we get a text to pack one night of clothes that we were going to stay the night with 2 of our others teams in Manilla and go to a big basketball game with them. Awesome! So we packed our daypack for a night. Monday morning we got up early and realized it was raining. No biggy. So we just put on our rain coats and headed out to jump on the trike, then to the bus for a 2 ½ hr bus ride. We get to where we are supposed to then jump on a jeepney and realize, the rain is NOT stopping and we probably weren’t going to get to go the the falls to jump off because there was a typhoon coming. REALLY? So we ended up having lunch in the city and just walking around before we jumped on the jeepney to stay at the other ministry site that we were going to stay at for the night to go to the basketball game. SO we are wet, and sticky and our plans for the day have been ruined at this time. BTW, im in my bathing suit and just have a tank and shorts on over it plus my backpack and we hop on the jeepney where the man tries to fit 10people to each side for a little over an hour bumpy, hot, and rainy ride! Matt and I tried to actually spread our legs wider to take up more space so the man wouldn’t stuff more people in and we could get some breathing room, but he tapped our shoulders and spoke in his language and motioned for us to squeeze! REALLY?!? I kept saying we are americans, we aren’t fit for this. But I guess it didn’t translate.
Finally arriving in the city that we were supposed to be in, all 6 let me repeat 6 of us! Jump on a trike to the ministry site!
Finally united with 2 other teams that have been working at this site was feeling like we haven’t seen eachother all year! When its only been about 3weeks.
We end up settling the little stuff that we have in a room and relax knowing that we weren’t going to be going anywhere for awhile. AWHILE translated something like this, the basketball game got cancelled, we were stuck here all day, crashed internet, we really didn’t have our stuff because we thought we wouldn’t need it just for a night, no transportation, we couldn’t get back to our ministry site, so we were stuck here, and are currently staying another night. We don’t know how long we will be stuck here, with our limited items. We don’t know what the next few days will look like.
God through this is stripping away more and more. I am even through this learning to depend on Him more. I am used to always knowing whats going on how we will get out of a situation, but here I cant do that. All we have to know is to depend on God. And when its time to move we move. I didn’t think I would look up and find myself living in a typhoon without my stuff. But im learning that even though I don’t have my bible here with me, that He is still here and I can still talk to him. I am learning to laugh it off and find joy is the weirdest situations. Honestly sometimes that doesn’t come easy. But once I laugh, its way easier to let God do what he wants. I have watched as our 3teams through this situation where every plan got cancelled just find joy in it all. If I don’t choose joy then I will be miserable. What do you choose in your icky situations? Being here and not being able to use running water, is hard. You don’t realize how much you use it for things. But I choose joy when I use my water bottle to brush my teeth or pour water down a drain to flush. Sometimes I might have to fake it til I start believing it, but whoah does it make a huge difference. Whatever the situation is, choose joy.
