It’s day two of our month eight squad debrief, and I’m in
Manila, Philippines. I’m in a bit of a funk, and I blame it on the ministry we
just left. This month was different; it was the month I’ve been waiting for –
the month that felt like home, the month that God allowed my heart to open and
hurt, the month I got my hands dirty. When Saturday comes, I’ll be ready to
move on to our next country, and I’ll be excited to discover what God has for
us these final three months, but right now, I’m processing. Here are a few
things that made February in the Philippines so special:
God blessed me like crazy. From
the moment we set down on these islands, God has gone out of His way to let me
know He’s thinking of me. I don’t consider myself to be particularly gifted
with children – certainly not the most gifted of the people on my team – but as
soon as we arrived to our waypoint the first nite in Manila, a little boy approached
me and nestled up to my legs. When Team FORCE and our partner team for the
month arrived to our home of Puerto Galera, we quickly discovered the entire
island is basically covered with mountains, rivers, and beaches – great news
for me and fellow adventure enthusiast James Woodley. Other blessings included
amazing food during a month that I was doing my best to pinch pennies, an
opportunity to ride scooters part of the way around the island with my sisters
Alicia Tarjeft + Micah Higgins + Amanda Burkett, and an amazing two weeks with our
squad leaders, Lia Frederick and Joshua Maisner. Amongst it all, though, it’s
all the little things I may not have even journaled about that spoke to me
loudest at the time – a teammate coming around the corner just when I needed
it, an hour under the vast mango tree to hear God clearly, a song played on an
old, beat-up guitar that showed me Filipino leaders will rise up from this generation.
God, your provision is so great.
Awesome family. The
organization we were partnered with this month is called Threads of Hope. The
story of this group is one that is so simple and so owned by God that it makes
a somewhat-still-corporate-minded youngster like me ask a million questions
about all the considerations that haven’t been made. The founder, Alex Kuhlow, has
seriously expanded my ideas of what it means to be a good steward of what God
has given us, simply by truthfully recalling the story God gave to him, time
and time again, and constantly resisting the temptation to put a framework
around what God is doing. I challenge you to read the story here, and see if it
moves you. By the prayerful ways and simple guidance of Threads of Hope, the
community has received a huge ministry center/chapel, a pastor and his family
who serve one-hundred-percent, one-hundred-percent of the time, and most
importantly, a way to earn a living and hear the Word of God.
A sustainable lifestyle. During
most of the Race, I’ve struggled to work my butt off, to always ‘choose in’, be
completely present – I’ve found that the closer I am to God’s will, the more
the enemy attacks me, whether it be through complacency, tiredness, lies about
my identity, or other tricksy methods. But I knew God had been saving something
for me this month. That’s not to say that every other month I didn’t try, that
I didn’t put what I had into the outreaches we were partnered with. But during
this season, when I poured out, God poured back into me; and the harder I
pushed, the more He said to me about who I am and what my role is in The Body.
This month was about relationships – about sipping coffee and discussing with Pastor
Al the vision for the church, having a beer with a Norwegian on holiday and
discussing what’s worth doing in life, and uniting with my brothers by climbing
rocks and pioneering a natural waterslide. And everywhere, the tools God has
been equipping me with – discernment, prophecy, intercession – found their way
into my hands.
Now I’m going to allow
Michael Buble to sing a love song to the Philippines on behalf of God – a song
I attempted to karaoke a couple times during the month. Many Filipinos love
karaoke. And basketball.
