The tile of this post is for my teammates. It has a meaning to go along with a passage we studied the other night as a squad. It’s a crazy and bold statement, but one that I have to express. But it just doesn’t really fit with this blog right now, which is to first say, “Welcome to Manila!” So feel free to ask me more about it if you like. Otherwise, just keep reading and enjoy. First things first, just wanted to let
everyone know that we arrived here safe and sound. After leaving LA late Saturday night, we
slept, ate, watched movies and did whatever else we could think of to pass the
flight over the Pacific before landing here early Monday morning. (Not a typo). It’s felt a little strange so far these first few days, though. For starters, I’ve already been to the Philippines, so
I feel comfortable here despite the fact that my previous journey was just an
11 day trek. I have also been signed up
for the World Race for nearly a year now, so there is just a peace of being
where I was called and anticipation to really dive in deep and get going. Finally, we’ve also started with more training
and we’re staying at the Ritz of missionary housing. For our training week, we are staying at
K.I.M. – Kids International Ministry – where 4 of the other teams (not my team,
Judah) will spend the remainder of their time in the Philippines. The best way to describe this place that I’ve
heard is that Jeff Long, the man behind it all, has been building an ark here
like Noah. For many years getting
started it might have been hard to see where he was going or others might have
thought he was crazy to invest so much into this one place. Yet now, it is exponentially increasing in
the fruit that it bears and that is evident from walking around the
community. We’re living the good life
here, and this is not at all what I expected right off the bat.
In a couple days, we will leave this hidden Garden of Eden
that has been created from the years of love, sweat, and toil of a faithful
few. From here, Team Judah will be heading straight to
the dumps. And I could not be more
excited! For the next month, we will live
in a landfill with the 4,000 others who already inhabit it. There is one small school in the middle, so
we’ve been told, where I think we will spend a lot of our time. Jake, the administrative angel for the squad
visited earlier this week to check out the scene and get the report. He came back and was actually a little sick
that night after just a brief time surrounded by the filth and smells. Judah has consistently said that we
want the most challenging assignments and God is graciously answering those
prayers. Many times our prayers can be a
very dangerous thing when they are actually aligned with God’s will – dangerous
in the fact that he just might give them to us. We may be fools and have no idea what this really means, though we
nevertheless say, “We are ready! Take us
to the dumps!”
Finally, I’m learning so much that this trip is not about
us. God doesn’t need us to do his
work. God graciously allows us to
join in His work and will use us for His glory. And at the same time, I’m learning that this trip has everything
to do with us. We’re not just here to do
good deeds for 11 months. We are here
learn, grow, and become exactly who God made us to be; to take that home with
us for the rest of our lives so that we may radically and positively change the
world for His kingdom. Time after time
you realize that changing the world begins with the changing of oneself.
