The Philippines are magunda. The people here are magunda.
The animals here are magunda. God’s creation is magunda. God is magunda. This
Tagalog word means beautiful.
Since arriving in Puerto Galera, I have been in awe of God’s
creation. We are surrounded by mountains, the jungle, an ocean, palm trees,
beautiful flowers, colorful butterflies, and lots and lots of adorable little
Filipino children. My team has the privilege of living in the home of Pastor Al
and his family. They have been cooking us incredible Filipino meals, teaching
us about the language and the culture, and worshipping the Lord with us daily.
I love that Christ followers all over the world share an immediate bond of
loving and serving the same God. How awesome.
I am learning a lot about ministering to others by simply
living along side of them. The women here taught us to wash our clothes in the
river the other day. I absolutely loved it! The river water is very clear and
is always running, which makes it easier to clean the clothes. Most people here
bathe in the river, so we have been doing the same. The one bath I’ve taken in
five days was also a shower because it started to pour down rain! Even though
bathing and washing clothes are very simple tasks, I am realizing that teaching
other people tasks or concepts brings the teachers a great amount of joy. Yesterday
a little girl looked up at my face and said, “Teach me.” She didn’t care what I
taught her, but she wanted to learn. After I taught her some English, math, and
music, I asked her to teach me her language. Her face lit up. I could tell it
made her feel special and loved that someone older than her wanted to learn the
knowledge that she had.
Saying that our schedule here is relaxed is an
understatement. But through the easy-going nature of the Filipinos, I am
learning that merely living alongside of people – walking where they walk,
eating what they eat, manually flushing the toilets as they do, washing our
clothes where they do – brings encouragement and excitement to people.
Maybe we are in the Philippines to confirm our brothers and
sisters’ faith in Christ. Maybe we are here to remind them that where they are
living is beautiful and everyday is a gift from the Lord. Maybe we are here to let
these children know they are beautiful. Maybe we are here to affirm them that
having a pet monkey is one of the coolest things in the world (having a pet
monkey is one of my life goals and it has come true for a month!). Maybe we are
here to encourage the pastor’s family by worshipping our incredibly powerful
God together.
Whatever the reason, I have faith that the Holy Spirit is
working in ways my team and I will never see. I have faith that He is stirring
hearts, turning heads His way, and reviving the hearts of His followers. Praise
God that He knows everything and we don’t. Praise God that He doesn’t need our
help to further His Kingdom, yet chooses
to use us.
