Who knew that just one week could have the biggest impact on my life? The first week spent in the Philippines and my life was wrecked. Wipe Every Tear was the organization that we worked with for parent vision week. Let me just tell you, they have something powerful going on there! God is so powerful and strong in their ministry. You can feel it as soon as you talk to anyone there. It has been a while since I have felt that on the Race. Don?t get me wrong, the ministries we have worked with have been great, but Wipe Every Tear has something completely different about it.
Getting to spend the week doing ministry with my mom was so amazing. I loved seeing her just jump right into the work we were doing and not even second guessing anything. You never know how people will react in new situations, and I think my mom did absolutely fantastic. It was like she had been on the Race with us. What we did for the week was incredible. I have never seen an organization work this way.
In Thailand we did bar ministry. It was amazing to see how it all worked and what we could do to help, but the bar ministry we did here in the Philippines was way different. This time we went out as parents and kids, partnered with another parent and kid in our case since it was just mom and I. We went with a girl who had left the sex trade. That alone is completely unheard of. Usually once the girls get out they never want to go back into those bars. These girls are so strong and they lead us into the bars and translate for us. Because of their testimonies about Wipe Every Tear, more girls are willing to leave the sex industry. It was incredible to see those girls talk to the girls in the bars about how Wipe Every Tear has changed their lives. They had this glow in their eyes about the wonders that have happened to them because they left the bars. Just so you know, Wipe Every Tear gets the girls out and sends them to school for free. That is a huge deal here. Most of the girls want to go to school but can?t afford it. After talking to the girls in the bars and seeing if they are interested in leaving, we give them the option to leave that night and come back with us to the safe house. That?s also something that is not common. Usually you build a relationship with them and then start to slowly help them leave. Here you don?t do that. You can take them away that night if they want to come. We had 9 girls in the span of 2 days come back with us. How crazy is that??? God was seriously moving that week.
In the week that I was there I also found a few things I had been missing. I realized that I had been missing my passion for the Race. The Race had become just normal life for me; the glamor had worn off. I didn?t have the same drive in me anymore. Seeing the excitement in the parents brought back some of my excitement for the Race. I also found some of the joy I had been missing. The main thing I found was my perception of what is normal. Poverty had become just a normal thing for me to live in and see. It didn?t faze me anymore. I forgot what it even looked like. Now I see the harsh conditions again that people live in. I see the hard times they all share. I am no longer accustomed to it. I never even realized that I had become jaded. I am so thankful that my eyes were opened back up. Keeping perspective of what is normal is hard to do. I just pray that I can keep that perspective intact. In one week my whole life was flipped upside down. It is a week I have needed for a long time.
I still need $2,445 to complete the Race. If you would like to support me in that click on the support me link at the top of my blog. Thank you!
