“Beautiful is win!!! Beautiful is win!!!” was a phrase heard many times this past weekend up at Camp New Beginnings. After the street boys kept calling us ‘beautiful’ we decided to just embrace it and called our group of kids Team Beautiful for the various competitions we did throughout camp. Because we are a group of winners, obviously we won the obstacle course, the line game, the life-size shoots & ladders, and the scavenger hunt. At the conclusion of every event (that we won) the boys would yell, “Beautiful is win!!!” in their broken English to celebrate our victory.
In an odd way, I feel like this phrase very much embodies our experience thus far in the Philippines.
We are staying at this gorgeous retreat center tucked away in the mountainous jungle of San Mateo, Rizal. About a 90-second hike from our camp grounds are the largest 10 Commandment Tablets in the world. This place oozes of peace and rest and relaxation. With the distant outline of bustling Manila on the horizon, I can’t help but be so thankful for this month’s daily reprieve of our simple setting. The splendor and majesty of God are reflected every evening in the sunset and we are reminded of His strength and beauty every morning waking to the sight of clouds brushing the mountainous valley below us. This beautiful, beautiful place is a win.
Camp New Beginnings is a beautiful place. But they’re also doing beautiful things. Hoards of women pour into the sanctuary on Wednesdays to receive free care from their clinic. They begin with a morning devotion and then do a mini health educational lecture including baby massages. This week we gave the women manicures and pedicures as they waited to see the midwife for a prenatal check-up or a baby exam. I had the opportunity to shadow Natalie, the midwife, in the clinic as she took blood pressure and weight and gave them prenatal vitamins. There were many beautiful moments but one particularly took my breath away. During one exam, a pregnant woman brought her 5-year-old daughter in with her as she got her check-up. Natalie was listening to the baby’s heartbeat through a baby heart monitor and she passed the monitor to the older sister for her to hear her younger sibling’s heartbeat before she/he was ever born. God was so clearly on display. He cares for us while we are still in the womb. He delights over us, loves to hear our heartbeat before we ever breathe our first breath. I was reminded of the beauty of His unending love for us. Beautiful is win.
The beauty of Jesus’ backwards kingdom was reflected in the street kids camp. We brought in 11 kids off the streets for a 3-day spiritual retreat. When they arrived, they were a mess. Physically filthy, some of them still coming off of the high of sniffing solvent, a common drug used here to dampen their appetite. They showed up with everything they own – which was the shirt off their back and a few pesos in their pockets. It was a quick gut check for how blessed I am to have my 5 rotating World Race outfits that I’m sure my team is sick of seeing by now but it’s 4 more than these boys may ever have! The feeling of never really being “home” on the Race was put into perspective knowing these boys literally do not have a home to go back to once they left camp. As we struggle through the intricacies of community, they reminded us of how simple it can be to love one another with a deep brotherly affection that protects one another despite flaws or weaknesses. Through these beautifully messy street boys, the Lord reminded us how he has showered us with blessing and how He will use even kids off of the street to speak to us. Beautiful is win.
Ultimately, it hasn’t been the gorgeous scenery, or the mamas hearing their babies heartbeats, or the beauty of boys singing praise songs together that have been the most beautiful part of this month. These are mere glimpses into the beautiful, beautiful heart of my Father who is on my side, fighting for me, and that my friends, is a beautiful win.
Forever His,
Grace
