“You are important”. These are the words spoken to me last night by a 12-year old Filipino girl named Sunshine as she cupped my face and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
Every time I start to try and explain what this month has been for me so far, I just shake my head and smile, because I honestly cannot put it into words. It has been beautiful, life-giving, exhausting, sweaty and just filled with so much depth. And it is only the beginning.
This month we are working with a ministry called Kids International Ministries (KIM www.kidsim.org) The sky is truly the limit with this ministry. They provide opportunities for us to work in an orphanage, play with babies, do construction, feed the community, work with street children, disciple young men and women in the community, lead bible studies etc… . Basically, if you have a passion for something in particular, as long as it is furthering the Kingdom of God, you can go for it. This ministry was started about 5 years ago by Jeff Long and his family and they completely encompass “living out the Gospel”. As Jeff has said to us numerous times, this ministry is not about “Jeff Long” and how big his ministry gets, rather it’s about stewarding and cultivating desires into successful ministries that bring glory to the Lord.
This month the Lord has very specifically placed two ministries into my lap. One of them is “Josie’s Angels”, a home for girls ages 9-17 who have been victims of sexual and/or physical abuse. This house was started just this last summer by one of Jeff’s daughters, Josie. She had started a bible study about a year earlier and the girls in the community just flooded to it. She started going to the homes of these girls, just to get a feel for their home environment, and found out that a lot of abuse was happening. After a few months of praying about starting a home, she decided to go for it. Josie’s Place is now a beautiful, tranquil home for 26 amazing little girls. They truly are all angels. I am going to be able to spend a few hours at this home almost every day and even spend some nights there, loving on and taking care of the girls.
Another area of ministry that literally just fell into my lap is working with and learning from the ministry’s social workers. There are five social workers that work at the orphanage. They work to provide homes for these children, whether that be with a relative in Manila, or a family living in the US. Working with international adoption has been something that has been laid on my heart ever since I started considering what I wanted my future to look like, so having the opportunity to help out and shadow these workers is absolutely invaluable.
Besides these being my main priorities, I am going to go out and do the community feedings as much as possible, as well as help run a bible study for the young girls in the community, and also play with the street children Thursday nights. It is going to be a busy, but so rewarding month and a half. I can’t wait to just completely pour myself out, because I know I will be filled in even greater ways. The blessings of this month truly overwhelm me.
