The end is drawing near. The last month of the Race is just around the corner and my journey around the world is coming to a close.
I must say I am excited to come home and see my family and my friends and my dog, but I definitely break when I think of all the hard goodbyes to come. I could never be ready to say goodbye to the people on my squad and in the Philippines who have become as close as family.
God has blessed me so much here, in my last country, with beautiful relationships. Ministry does not feel forced or like a chore, it feels like friendship and love and life. I have made friends that will last a lifetime and I have enjoyed every second of it.
Though we do have some scheduled ministry, most of my days are spent spending time with my new friends from a place called the JAZ home. It is a home for girls who have needed to be removed from situations in their own houses.
These 36 sisters are fun and loving and adorable and every second I spend with them just makes me love them more. They bring me so much joy and Jesus. They are remarkable girls who have triumphed over darkness and now bring penetrating light. I thank God for them and their beauty everyday.
The scheduled ministry we do is also amazing. Kids International Ministries (KIM), where we work, is a terrific organization that does a lot of good work in Manila.
They have feedings everyday at 9am and 4pm at different villages near our home where they provide food and basic health supplies. I always love jumping in on open feedings to play with the cutest kids I have ever laid eyes on.
They have a children’s home as well that house children of all ages. That means some of my days, I can spend time holding babies or playing with toddlers. While other days, I can be playing volleyball and basketball with the older girls and boys.
Furthermore, my squad has started a small summer camp for the community girls that live around our ministry house. Tuesday through Thursday from 8-11 we get the girls together for a bible story, drama class, arts and crafts, and games. It is hot, but so much fun. One day, two kids and I spent an entire 30 minute art class laughing, for basically no reason at all. My heart flew.
One of my favorite ministries at KIM is swimming ministry. Everyday we will bring children in from the community to swim at the pool where we live. It is probably the most fun pool I have ever been in. It has a two slides and two platforms to jump off of. Nothing is better than going down the slide hundreds of times with a giggling girl who grabs your hand at the end and says “again, again”.
So thank you, thank you to all my supporters who have brought me here on this experience. If it wasn’t for you, I would never have been able to go on this incredible journey. I certainly will not come back the same person I was before I left.
Through these past 8 months, I have experienced Jesus and life on a whole new level. I have met and found Jesus, then given and shared him with others. I have learned God’s love for me and how to love others better than ever before. My heart has been broken and healed, broken and healed. My life has been changed and I am forever grateful, so thank you for all who have donated, prayed, read my blogs, or loved me from afar. It has impacted me and others around this world, more than you would ever know.
May God Bless you
Much love, Kaela
