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A LESSON A DAY – 29 Things I Learned in the Philippines…In No Particular Order…

  1. When every dog, rooster and baby in the neighborhood is waking up at the same time and you literally cannot hear yourself think…that still, small voice inside of you will ALWAYS be audible…you just have to learn how to listen for it.
  2. Money can make you comfortable, but it will NEVER make you happy.  I have seen living conditions that I would never wish on my worst enemy.  I have lived in a home made of plastic sheeting and cardboard barely larger than the average North American bathroom.  But despite that, the joy that these Filipino people radiate is something I rarely ever see at home.
  3. Speaking of bathrooms…NEVER ever take a real toilet or shower for granted.
  4. If there isn't rice on your plate, it isn't a meal.  And sometimes rice is the meal…ALWAYS be thankful.   
  5. Solitude with God is so crucial for spiritual growth.  FIGHT for your alone time with Him.
  6. You don't have to fight against your sinful desires…Jesus already won that fight for you.  Focus on Him.  Focus on falling in love with Him…everything else will fall into place.
  7. Jesus paid it ALL.  In God's eyes your sins are gone – wiped away – non-existent.  BUT that doesn't mean there won't be consequences for your actions.
  8. Be honest.  Know that the person you lie to the most is usually yourself.
  9. He MUST become greater, I MUST become less.  Sometimes when it feels like you are floundering and you don't feel like yourself, it can be a REALLY good thing.
  10. When your friend says "Don't worry, it was just a cockroach".  Believe her.  Take a sigh of relief and realize it could have been a rat running over your sleeping pad instead.
  11. Good friends who understand your quirks are priceless.
  12. …so are earplugs…
  13. …and hand sanitizer.
  14. Don't sweat the small stuff.  Things could ALWAYS be worse.
  15. If there is enough space for a body on the floor…there is enough space for a nap.
  16. Some days it will feel like choosing joy is an impossible task…but if you really try you will discover it really isn't that hard.
  17. If you have never heard the song "Gangnam Style", consider yourself lucky.
  18. Living in community is harder than I ever thought it would be.  But living with people who love Jesus is such an incredible gift that should never be taken for granted.
  19. Showing love to someone doesn't have to be a huge display of affection. You can show love in the simplest ways.  Holding a hand, rubbing a back, offering a smile, even making eye contact.  Love is a language that everyone speaks.  
  20. Sometimes it feels like you don't have a story worth sharing…Trust me, you do.  Telling someone what Jesus did for you on the cross is sometimes the only story worth telling.
  21. You will cry.  And sometimes you won't even know why it's happening.  But it will be ok, I promise.
  22. Never judge a book by its cover.  You are going to meet a lot of people in your lifetime that you think you have nothing in common with, only to realize that you have more in common than you could have ever imagined.   
  23. Wifi is GOLD.  If it's there, we will find it…sometimes you will even lucky and find it on the bus!
  24. Getting to talk to my family over a pretty terrible Skype connection was the best gift I could ever ask for on Christmas.  I love them and appreciate them more than they will ever know.
  25. Don't spend time worrying about your safety.  The life that Christ has called you to live is not a safe one.  But that being said, don't be stupid…common sense is NEVER a bad thing.
  26. Spending a month living in the slums as shown me clearly that not knowing Christ is the ONLY true indication of poverty.
  27. The entirety of God's focus can be on the entire Universe at once…and at the same time the entirety of His love and concern can be completely on me.  He is jealous for me, and his pursuit of my heart is relentless.
  28. Sometimes when you are in the middle of a journey you need to take a step back to clearly see how far you have come since you started…but once you do that, you just need to turn around and keep on going.
  29. You will never get to a point where you have grown enough…where your relationship with God is strong enough…where you look enough like Christ to get comfortable…He can ALWAYS take you further.
So here is to one of the hardest months of my life!
I will always treasure the incredible people I met and the every lesson I learned…I can't wait to see how much further God will take me next month!
 
My team leaves for Thailand in two days.  We are going to be living in the city of Chiang Mai working with an organization called "REMEMBER NHU" that works to prevent children from entering the sex trade.  Check it out! http://www.remembernhu.org