The last week flew by in a flash!
My four days in California were very relaxing and fun. I got to see my old roomie Wendy, and spent some time at the beach with a team member. I also got some great goodbye meals provided by my grandmother.
The plane ride was not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. Although a 15 hour plane ride can hardly compare to the 36 hour one I took to Indonesia! But we all made it to Manilla safely, and without ANY problems whatsoever.
So now the fun starts…
We are still going through some training before we jump into ministry. A lot of it is spiritual preparation and more team bonding. I love how intentional AIM is about team building! A poorly united team can definitely ruin this experience and ministry. But there has already been some fun times. I have already tried some of the Philippino fine cuisine. That included some cooked pigs blood, pig intestines, pig year, and a bulet (prounounced BAH-loot), or a duck egg that has been fertilized and gestating for 21 days, then boiled. You crack the egg, such out the juice, and then eat a duck fetus, that has some feathers and a beak. But really they have been feeding us quite well. We really have been spoiled by the accommodations. Although they are not able to do anything about the stifling humidity!!! If you think Texas is humid, you would keel over in the Philippines!!!
Personally I am in an interesting place. My team went to International House of Prayer (IHOP) with my team members 2 weeks ago. There I was in awe of the power of Christ and prayer. It was such a spiritually cleansing time for me. I really felt like God was laying a foundation while I rested in his presence during the worship and prayer at IHOP. No one can deny that this whole experience is the next phase in life, and as God has spent the past few months clearing out the rubble, he is now preparing the ground the build again. Many of this revelation came from receiving a prophecy while I was there. I won’t go into details of what all was said, but much of it was God telling me that all of the struggles, frustrations, disappointments and pains of the past three or four years were coming to a close. God has seen my faithfulness in these times and he wanted me to know that they were coming to an end. I was also encouraged in some of my giftings and ministries that I was going to have.
I am currently in the process of tying up all the lose ends of the previous phase. God has brought an understanding about the past four years that I so desired while I went through it. Now that it is becoming clear, I am in awe of what he has been growing in me; gifts I never felt worthy to receive, a heart full of compassion, and a boldness that will allow me to step into all the roles he has for me.
I am excited that you are joining with me in the journey. It is so hard to explain fully what God is doing in my heart. But I promise as this year unfolds, it will become clearer, to you and to me. So tune in next week to see what happens. ☺
