If I have learned anything in my walk with God, it is that He is the orchestrator of divine appointments. He has plans that continue to surprise me and yet feel completely normal.
This month we are all together in the Philippines as an entire squad of 28 racers, with our 4 squad leaders, story leader, and squad mentor. We are staying in Manila at Kid’s International Ministries, where everyday looks different.
Our options for ministry vary each morning and afternoon. We choose from the following: doing construction, assisting at the pre-natal clinic, lifeguarding at the pool, providing extra hands in the kitchen, coaching volleyball and basketball, helping with digital marketing, teaching at the school, caring for children at the kid’s home, and attending feedings throughout the area.
Opportunities to see the Lord at work in the Philippines have been abundant. During our first week here, a few racers stumbled upon a birthday party down the street, and we got to join in the celebration as we sang “Firework” by Katy Perry on the karaoke machine, much to their amusement!
That same week, our host walked around the compound asking if anyone wanted to go to a banquet. It was late and most teams were meeting at this time, so only two of us agreed to go. We each put on a skirt, climbed in the van, picked up a couple of guys on the way up the mountain, and eventually arrived at the Prom! They had been awaiting our arrival and immediately walked us down the red carpet.
Seated at the head table, we got to watch multiple choreographed dance battles, listen to the class history and class prophecies, witness the headmaster pass on the torch of learning and key of responsibility, judge a modeling contest, and crown the King and the Queen. They even asked each of us to give “a message” to a surprisingly captive audience.
At the end of a long night, featuring an unidentifiable fruit dessert, we took way too many pictures and received way too many kisses goodbye. They were incredibly grateful for our presence at their event, and we were overwhelmed at the invitation to participate in such a special night. They had clearly put so much time and effort into the evening. On top of that, they were so quick to welcome us in (despite how under-dressed we were)!
Every weekend, we break into teams and go out into the city to find new places to host feedings. On these days, we ask the Lord for guidance and go where He leads us. This weekend, after another day of ATL, each team debriefed with the group in charge of feedings and said the exact same thing: “We were the answer to their prayers.”
My group caught a Grab that morning, only to get a call back on the drive that the pastor we were seeking out was not available all weekend. We decided to go to Quezon City instead, where we found another pastor who welcomed us in to his church, asked us questions, and walked us all around the area to tour the neighborhoods in need of food.
In one of these communities, we were immediately welcomed into a tent/home in which a woman was lying on a bench next to a baby in a crib, a toddler on the floor, and a few other children coming in and out. She had previously beaten breast cancer, but she was in serious pain that caused her to fear that it had returned. We immediately came to her side and prayed for God’s will and healing over this woman. When she had nowhere to turn, she turned to prayer. When she couldn’t pray for herself, she sought prayers from the pastor and a group of strangers.
The people I met this day were another testament to the power and unity in prayer. These communities had been praying for exactly the feeding program that we had come to offer them, where they can partner alongside K.I.M. for ongoing resources and train their people to cook and participate in the ministry. God let us participate in connecting these unreached people with K.I.M., giving them the agency to run the program themselves, and providing them the resources to sustain the program.
This morning I woke up after twelve straight hours of sleep, an unexpected start for the day. After a long morning of physical labor (hammering and de-nailing wooden planks) in the hot sun, my group returned for lunch with intentions to return to work. Suddenly, we got a call that one of the ladies we had been caring for at the clinic was going into labor. We left immediately, walking through trash and sewage to get to her side in time.
When we got there, the father was waiting outside because filipinos are superstitious that the father’s presence will scare the baby back into the mother’s womb. We took off our shoes and went into the small, dimly lit, un-airconditioned room with the midwife and spent the next two hours encouraging the mother, praying for the delivery, and lending a hand when necessary.
We performed the ultrasound, took her blood pressure, recorded her contractions, clamped and cut the umbilical cord, and swaddle, clean, and clothe the newborn child. This was my first delivery and I felt clueless walking in, but empowered walking out. The mother gave birth to her first child with no medicine and little to comfort her, and she barely made a sound!
The Filipino people are some of the most gracious people I have encountered thus far. They welcomed us into a birthday party to sing karaoke with them, they took us to Prom as guests of honor, they let us help deliver a child, and they helped us jump off of a moving Jeepny (see my instagram for more details)!
Throughout these past few weeks, I have seen the Lord show up in difficult and tense moments, in my cluelessness, and in the celebrations of His people! Not only have I seen Him work here, but He has allowed us to be a part of it! I am humbled by how welcoming His people are and how divinely He has merged each of our paths! This is all for His glory!
