Philippines:
In the Philippines we lived in the small village in the mountains outside of Manila. There we lived with a Pastor, his wife, and their four beautiful children. We worked with one of the local church leaders doing a VBS outreach for kids in the slums, hosting a "spa day" for the mothers of the community, and facilitating a youth conference where 3 young men accepted Christ (praise The Lord!). 
(two of Pastor's kids– Jomwell and Mica Joy)
the VBS in the slums was very eye opening for me. this area had some of the most extreme poverty we have seen on the race so far. The average age of the population in that community was probably 12 years old or younger. the few adults that live there spend their days working in the garbage dump scavenging for recyclable materials that they can sell for little to nothing. sometimes the kids are forced to work there as well starting as young as 4 years old. many of the children have no parents at all and are being raised by the older children in the village. it's hard to say how many are actually orphans, because even the ones with parents go unloved and unnoticed. school doesn't exist for these kids. they spend their days working alongside their parents in the dumps, playing games in the dirt with empty soda bottles, or caring for the younger kids of the group.
I remember our very first day in this scavenging community…we were playing a game of tag with the kids, and a little girl about 2 years old got knocked over and began to cry. i bent down and picked her up to console her…she was sweaty, snotty nosed, dirty from head to toe, and cute as a button. I looked around expecting to see a mother walking towards me to tend to her child. but instead of a mother, i see another little girl– maybe four years old and just as cute– coming towards me. without words she ran over to me, took the two year old from my arms and started taking care of her like a mother would do. She wiped her eyes and her nose, dusted off her knees, and held her hand as they walked away. i watched them walk off, and no one claimed either of them. a four year old taking care of a 2 year old. children raising children.
(VBS with the kids in the scavenging community)
as you can imagine, this was such a difficult thing for me to process. i wanted to scoop all of them up and bring them home with me right now! and those of you who know my mom know that she would take them in a heartbeat!
i was easily overwhelmed and heartbroken at the same time. "i'm only here for a month…What impact can i truly have on the lives of these kids? there's no way i can save them. this problem is too big for me!"
The Lord quickly responded to me
"You're right. The problem IS too big…for YOU. Good thing it's not up to you, right?"
I remembered the verse that says, "HE who began a good work in us will carry it out to completion…"
it's not our job to save people, no matter how noble the cause. Ultimately that work is up to God. We only have to be willing to play our part in the story.
some of us plant the seeds, some of us water and nurture, and some of us get to see the harvest when the time is right.
The Lord reminded me in that moment, "Jordan you are here to simply love. Love them the way I love them. Don't underestimate the power of the seeds you plant."
So that's just what we did. we loved them. we held their hands, snuggled, and gave more hugs than i can remember. we played countless games of duck duck goose, sang silly songs, and made fools of ourselves doing bible story skits. at one point during probably our 27th round of duck duck goose, i looked up and saw every single face in that community was smiling. everyone was laughing. literally everyone. something as simple and silly as duck duck goose brought so much joy to a community that is normally so sad.
The Lord said to me "Look at the joy you bring with you everywhere you go. This is why I've brought you here. This joy is contagious and will bring them to Me."
I often think about those two little girls i met on my first day in the slums. when i remember their sweet faces, it would be easy to be discouraged because of their situation. instead, i smile with hope because i know they have a Father in heaven who loves them and cares for them even more than i ever could. I know i can trust that HE will take care of them just like He always has.
God wants to use you in mighty ways even through the most simple things. Look for ways to impact those around you by simple gestures of love. it may seem insignificant at the time, but The Lord uses the seeds you plant in order to bring people to Himself. When we make ourselves available to play a part in God's story…that's when beautiful things happen.
** Side note: as we left the philippines, another squad of world racers came in right behind us to continue what we started. a few days after we left the country, the deadly typhoons hit– killing many filipinos, and devastating countless homes. It was a miracle that our squad made it out before the destruction hit, and an even bigger miracle that our fellow world racers are safe. please continue to pray for the philippines and the relief effort there.
