If you were writing to God, what would you say?
Eureka! Oh Tracy, how brilliant you are!
(PS, sorry if the following is scattered and random. It’s how my mind rolls I guess….story of my life!)
Oh my gracious Lord. I’m sitting in Starbucks and my heart is full. Like, so, so sooo full. Partly because I had a delicious raspberry smoothie and piece of banana bread, and partly because Tracy & I just had the most wonderful, transparent heart-to-heart conversation that was an absolute blessing from you. God I’m also thankful for Tracy. Also that a Starbucks is a simple trike and jeepney ride away from where we are living. Sometimes it’s nice t
o have an afternoon that takes you back home to the familiar, you know?
God, my heart is overwhelmed by your faithfulness and your goodness. God, those are such simple truths, but they are blowing my mind right now. God, we are so blessed this month. SO BLESSED! We have an amazing place to live, even if we are sleeping on the balcony and the market and roosters wake me up at 5 am…sorry for how frustrated I get sometimes…lack of sleep can just make a girl grumpy you know? But thank you LORD for Nikki’s earplugs. Those for-real saved my life. We have delicious food cooked for us each day, and a home bustling with people from all over the world. Getting to meet the teams from Australia, and Taylor University and falling in love with little Hanna & Emme from Melbourne. Playing and practicing my Australian accent with them – even though it came out British – Oh Lord! Those were some of the highlights of my days.
God, I love that this month is so chill. I love that I can wake up in the mornings and the first thing I have to “do� is at 11. I love that I can spent hours with you in the morning. I love that I can run in that super nice neighborhood around the golf course. God, you are good. So good. Lord, I’m excited for the ways you are pouring your Holy Spirit into my heart!!! God, I LOVE that you are transforming how I see life; how I see the world. How I want to be that crazy girl completely in love with Jesus. How knowing you and sharing you with others is beginning to be all that matters to me in life.
.JPG)
God. You are so faithful! Girls again!! And 50 of them! Lord, thank you so much that you brought us to a ministry where I can pour into teenage girls. Josie’s ministry with the girls from this neighborhood is perfect! I love praying with them in the mornings. I love talking to them at night on the curb. I love our crazy nights of bible study. I love that they call me “Auntie� Mary and let me play with their hair. I LOOOOOOOOVE that I can speak truth to them and tell them how beautiful they are!
Lord, be with our girls tonight. Let your Holy Spirit fall on bible study. Open the hearts of our girls to the truth of your spirit. Continue to cultivate and take these relationships to deeper places of trust and love. God, I really don’t think I can say it enough. I love you. I love that your plan has me here, in the Philippines. I love that I get to be with girls 24/7. Man, God. You are good. And I love you. Again!
Ok, if you are still reading and find yourself a bit lost, here’s some clarification:
We are spending this month of ministry in Manila, Philippines. Jeff Long is our ministry contact and we are living at his family’s ministry center, YMC. There are other teams living at the center as well, doing various projects – construction, teaching, etc.
Jeff has so many areas of ministry that he’s involved in, it gives our team tons of options of involvement. People are doing daily feedings, working with orphans in the Children’s Home, working with a local prostitute outreach, visiting prisons, and writing for a local street magazine, Jeepney.
Tracy and I are helping his daughter Josie with her ministry with teenage girls. Over the past year, she has built relationships with about 50 girls, ages ranging from 8-17. Her ministry is to keep them in school, show them Christ’s love and model a life centered on God’s truth. Her heart is to inspire her girls to dream big, to have goals and pursue them, and realize that their life does not have to be living on the street and pregnant by age 14. These girls are beautiful. They each have a story. God, I am so thankful I get to be a part of their lives, even for this short amount of time. God, give me your heart for them. Use me to tangibly show them how much you love and treasure them.
As I read over this blog, I may have used LOVE at least 50 times….haha sorry!
