It’s been 5 days since we’ve landed in the Philippines and already, I LOVE it!! The Philippines may just be my new favourite country.
The region we’re staying in is called Antipolo. It’s located just next to Manila in the mountains, and everyday I’m blown away by how beautiful it is and how blessed I am to be here. The people are the most genuine I’ve ever met, and even with a little bit of a language barrier I still feel like a celebrity walking down the street as people wave good morning to me and ask me how I like their country so far.
Beautiful Antipolo!
Our main ministry here is called The Children’s Garden. They house up to 20 boys aged 12-18 who come from rough backgrounds – the streets, drug and alcohol abuse, gang violence, you get the picture.
A couple of days ago we had some street kids over to hang out and have dinner with. One of the boys tapped on my shoulder and said “that used to be me”. He shared with me that he lived on the streets, stole, smoked weed, and drank. He was six years old when all of that started. When he was 13 years old he came to live at the Children’s Garden and he said that it was the best thing to have ever happened to him. He was safe there. He met Jesus there. Now he wants to be a missionary. This boy genuinely loves the Lord with his whole heart. He knows how broken he once was and he’s gotten to experience God restore him and redeem him. Now he wants nothing more that to offer that restoration to those around him.
It’s crazy, because in meeting these boys you would never know the things they’ve gone through. They’re the sweetest, most hardworking, well-behaved teenage boys I think I’ve ever met. They immediately welcomed us into their home (literally – we live with them) and everyday I feel more loved by them than the last.
Our time with them consists of a BUNCH of basketball – seriously, these kids are basically at NBA level (I will be too by the end of this month – watch out world, here I come), the younger ones poking me and pulling my hair (I’ve made it), and simply living life with them. It’s crazy how much influence we have with them even when we don’t realize it.
Yesterday morning I was sitting on the couch having quiet time with Jesus when Adonis (he’s 17 and the sweetest) came and sat on the couch beside me. We didn’t talk, we just did our own thing as we sat on the couch together. Soon enough Adonis got up, looked over my shoulder at what I was reading, grabbed his Bible and opened up to the same thing. We spent the next half hour reading our Bibles together, mine in English and his in Tagalog. It was such a joy to see that just by seeking Jesus, Papa is using us to help these boys seek Him out more too.
These boys have already captured my heart. From day one our team has been saying that we already don’t want to leave them at the end of the month, but I’m so excited to see what God does in them this month and what He continues to do beyond that.
Pray for these boys too, guys. Each of them have their own insane stories of loss, but I’m so encouraged that Papa has His story of redemption for each of their lives’. Pray that they would seek Him, and that they would continue to allow Him to soften their already softened hearts to love, forgive, and trust Him. Each of them are at their own place with God right now, but it’s beautiful to see that each of them know above all else that they are forgiven, chosen, and loved by the God of the universe.
Some of the boys at the Children’s Garden! (and Stella – Stella is not a boy)
