Lately I have been thinking about what I will say when I get back. The main reason I have been thinking this is that during debrief, we are asked what was the highlight of your month. I wonder, when someone asks me what the best part of my whole trip was, what will I say? I decided to write my highlights of the month.
The best part of the month for me was traveling to see my sister-in-law’s family. The day could not have turned out better. I want to take time to thank Sarah and Lindsey for taking part of the trip with me. I will be the only one of my family members that will be able to meet Rhose’s family. My parents were going to meet Rhose’s parents at Christmas time, but it did not work out. I am so thankful that God allowed this to happen and I still smile thinking of the day.
The days we went to the basketball games were so much fun. I will never forget sitting in the bleachers while two bands and a DJ were competing to be the loudest person. I enjoyed getting to sit between Danny and Colleen and getting to know them more through it. I still don’t understand the rules of basketball in the Philippines, but just being able to go was great.
The children’s home will always have a spot in my heart. I will miss a
ll of the children. I will miss having Man Man and Maricel ask me to tie their shoes in the morning, getting to hold Aya’s hand as we walk to school, the smiles of all the children, and Michael holding my hand asking me to read a book and just drawing me a picture. The children’s home was great. It has got me back on the track of truly loving children for who they are. I am willing to just hold a child’s hand or have a child sit in my lap. I am so thankful that God stretched me to be willing to love children.
I enjoyed getting to know my teammates more. My team was really struggling to be a family when we left Cambodia. We have had great opportunities to hang out. One of the best times was when w
e celebrated Kyle’s birthday. As a team, we went paintballing. It was a great first experience of paintballing and I will admit I did not do very well. Corrigador was so much fun. I enjoyed getting to go hiking, swimming, and touring the island as a team. I now call my team a family. I love each and every one of them. I understand why God put us together. We help each other out in ways that we don’t even understand. Each of us individually balances out our team.
The last thing I will say, I enjoyed the friendships that were built. I will say a little about each of the people. Jeff Long is so awesome. He just gets things done in ways that I could not even imagine. He is a visionary and his ministry is awesome. Rachel and DJ have such a heart for the children at the children’s home. They are so happy to get new children. Both of them have been called to care for the children. Dave has come to the Philippines to help out a local pastor. He also helps Jeff with construction projects around the area. Dave is willing to work hard in order to help out the local community. He has such a heart for the poor people of the area. Marylin is a nurse that helps out with the children in order to make them well without a clinic visit. Marylin loves the children and will stay up all night to make sure that a child gets better. Daisy and Emily are great with the babies next door. They truly love the babies and call them their own. Kim is willing to help where she is needed. She works hard at the school to keep things in line and just be there for her staff members. Arnold and Genesis have given up their lives to live full time at the children’s home. They are willing to help where they are needed. The last one I will mention is Errol. Errol is so awesome. He works as the PE teacher at the school and the activities director at the children’s home. He is truly a witness to the people in the squatter village that he grew up in. God has put some great people in my life this month.
I would love to go back to the Philippines at some point in my life, but we will see what God has planned. I had a great month. I just smile when I think about how stinking awesome(as Sarah would put it) this month was.
Side Note: I will leave tommorrow for a closed country. I will be out of contact for the next month. Please pray for safety as my team travels.
