As I sit here writing this is can see and feel the innumerable bug bites lining my arms, legs, face and back from sleeping outside on the balcony here at the ministry. They ache and itch and cause me to be constantly aware of how far I am from normalcy. While I find myself far from normalcy, I cannot begin to explain how much I feel at home. It's crazy to think that living on the other side of the world can still feel like home even though there's an ocean in between me and what I've always known. I have been sweaty since the moment we walked off of the plane into the airport, I can't keep my hands any shade other than grey and my feet have an outline of dirt constantly, in fact I can see the clean places where my chacos have rested upon. I wouldn't trade these things for my complacency. I don't want complacency, I want His Kingdom.
We have walked the streets every day several times a day and I see the same faces of people living their lives. I've seen the happiness in their eyes, I've felt the sincerity and the warmth in their touch. I've seen Love here. Just speaking the name Jesus here beings a smile to most people's faces.
They toil endlessly day in and day out. By 4:30am most of the Philippino community is awake and ready to start their day. They get everything all set up and ready by the time the sun comes up and they're usually ready to return home by about 10am. Every single day is the same thing for them. Over and over. It's how they do life, it's what they are about. Figuring out how to thrive in a world of limited means. While that happiness sits so easily on their faces, you can see the struggle. You can tell they know that Jesus is something that is something meant to be rejoiced in and that He is good, but they can't quite figure out why.
I pray that this month here is spent doing nothing less than showing them the Kingdom that they are part of. The Kingdom that doesn't require them to toil endlessly to survive. The Kingdom that assures them of their worth. The Kingdom that is waiting for them with open arms. I pray that we are every bit of the Kingdom that they need to see. That they come running and know that He is so good.
May we skip the worthless things bring Worth.
