Manila, Philippines. Antipolo City.
Sometimes things seem bleak. We were sleeping in the basement of our home up until a couple days ago when we moved into our new accommodations.
Let's just say I wish we were still in the basement.
Adam calls it the Dungeon. The hallway is saturated with the smells of wet dog and dog food. The rooms fill the air with drying paint. The shower is dirty, ice cold, and the shower head points out toward the toilet that has no toilet seat. The sink by my mattress lying on the floor leaks and soaks my bed. I can hear my teammate in the bathroom, sounds like she's gagging from the nastiness in there.
But as I sit here in the laundry room journaling while the rest of my team is sleeping, I realize there is so much to be thankful for. That although my bed is thin, on the floor, and half soaked, I have a bed to sleep on. That although my room is actually the hallway and reeks of paint as I sleep, I have a place to stay. That although there's almost always too little food and usually consists of stale rice and a small helping of salty vegetables, I have food to eat. And that although we use a toilet that has no seat and take showers in 2 inches of dirty water because the drain is clogged, I have a bathroom to use.
So often I am blind to the fact that the children I play with day to day do not have even the least of what I do. During the feeding outreaches, I look into the homes and see a small living room that doubles as a bedroom for 8 people. Mattress? How about concrete. I see small children, barely old enough to walk, each bringing their own cup or bowl and running from the other side of the slum to get their portion of porridge for the day. Many of them wear clothes with so many holes in them, they're practically falling off. And of course barefoot is the way to go around here.
What's more, my favorite place to go to here is the orphanage down the street. Aside from all these material things, I realize at the very least, I have a mother. A father. A brother and sister. Some of these children don't even have FAMILY.
What have I done to receive such grace? What have I done to deserve a better life than these precious children??
Nothing.
Because that is what grace is. Receiving something that is not deserved. I am entitled to nothing. Everything I have has been given to me for the time being by God and can be taken away in an instant. And I will be content with what I have.
There is always something to be joyful about.
"I have learned to be content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."Phil 4:12-13
I'm now halfway done with my race!!
I am now in a small town called Lugoj in Romania. Most of our ministry here has been manual labor for the new church they are building here. What's cool is that it used to be a bar where all the village men would use their pay checks to drink their lives away, not providing any food money for their families. Since the gospel reached the village, many men have done away with their alcoholic habits and are on fire for God, it's awesome to see. We also had the opportunity to work with a primary school and a local orphanage 🙂 It's pretty cold here, but I really do appreciate that I don't need to worry about mosquitoes. Next week, were off to Timisoara til the end of the month to evangelize with students, then it's off to the Ukraine!
The first half of the race has been an incredible and eye-opening experience thus far.. I made this video to show you all a little of what you've been a part of the past 7 months. Side note: my camera was pickpocketed in the Philippines so I don't have any footage from there, from China, or India!
Thank you all for your support and your prayers. This is for you!
I recommend you watch in HD
Support raising update: It's also around that time I should be fully funded for the race. I still have about $1400 to raise by the end of this month and if this deadline is not met I may have to come home early. Consider supporting me with what you can. I love you all!
And be sure to leave me a comment below! 🙂
