This month in the
Philippines we have had a lot of initiative based ministry. This means every
afternoon we have options. Some people choose to go to the college to talk to
students. Others go with a local pastor into villages to talk to and pray with
people there. Still others stay and help corral the toddlers in the children’s
home. If that wasn’t enough, some people choose to do an ATL, or ask the Lord
what he wants them to do that day.
Freedom in ministry
is awesome, and something I have really enjoyed, but through it I have really
learned that often times ministry is not what is seems.
When I first heard
about our ministry options this month I was really excited about the children’s
home. Obviously I love children and it is something I hope to do long term in
some capacity. There were also possibilities of helping teach preschool which
made me very excited. So, I thought to myself, I will probably be serving in
the children’s home most days. Imagine my surprise when I heard God telling me
not to spend all my time there, to listen to him concerning where I should go
each day.
So, that’s what I
did. I have spent time in the children’s home and have immediately fallen in
love with the kids. But many afternoons I have found myself heading to town
without much of a plan.
The first day Erin
and I were going to go to the store to price things for ministry, go pray at a
coffee shop, and then meet up with some other girls and talk to college
students. The day started off well, but when we got to the coffee shop the sky
opened up and it stormed for about 2 hours. Luckily, it stopped right before we
were supposed to meet the girls, so we walked over to the college ministry
site. When we got there, Kuya Benny, the man who runs the place had to leave
for an appointment and asked up to be the receptionists while we were gone. So,
we did. Did we talk to any students like we had planned, no. But did we help
someone in their ministry, yes.
Then today Kristy
asked if I wanted to help clean our contacts house, so I said sure. We were
expecting to do actually cleaning, like sweeping, dusting, you know how it
goes. But then we found out that they moved, and what we were really going to
do was pick up a few things from their old house and then organize the kitchen.
Oh, and this only took maybe 2 hours when we had 4. When we were done we ended
up at a coffee shop which was a huge blessing as I checked my e-mail and
received several very encouraging e-mails, just the thing I needed to see at
the time.
So, I’m learning
that there are going to be days where ministry is nothing like I thought it
would be. And you know what, that’s ok. Because our God is a big God and his
plans are so much better than our. He knows exactly who we need to bless each
day and when we need a blessing ourselves. That is how I want to live my life,
following God’s idea of ministry, even when it’s not what it seems.
