I always find it difficult to sum up our months. How do you
put into words watching people’s life change, seeing what deep love looks like,
describing the heartaches we witness; words do not always suffice. It’s worth
the effort though, even if I do not do them justice.
Ministries this month: orphanage, kids camp (Awana), prison,
IVCF (college ministry), work around the property, and loving on each other.
Orphanage.
I love those kids so
much. I am going to miss them. Even if they do have explosive diarrhea, projectile
vomiting, throwing tantrums, refusing to shower and get ready, refusing to eat,
the crying; all of it. Even so, the moments when they smile, laugh, give you a
hug and a kiss, tell you they love you, get sad when you leave because your
eight hour shift is now over, they get crazy close to learning how to walk;
those are the moments that make every dirty diaper worth it. And honestly, I
don’t mind the craziness and difficult parts of the children; when you love
someone that stuff just doesn’t seem that bad. We had a great time taking the kids to a local pool, watching the kids be kids when a lot of that has been stripped from them is so incredibly rewarding.
one of the children who has cerebral palsy. He as neglected as a child so now
has trouble with motor skills and is two but cannot talk. Just spending an hour
doing PT I saw amazing improvements. Keep this little boy in your prayers. 🙂
Kids camp (Awana)
It was your typical Christian kids camp, with singing, games, bible study,
scripture memory, and food. It was a blast. Even though I loved dancing around
and playing with the kids, the bible studies were my favorite. Week one I
helped out with a women’s bible study for the Mom’s that were there, (well, the
translator really did most of the talking), and that week, after coming for
four months, one of the women accepted Christ. I also helped out with the high
schoolers were we had deep conversations about God’s love for them, so amazing.
A few of us also were able to take two girls out to the local festival, walk, talk about deep personal things, and go do karaoke. I was able to get really close with one girl, Davie Love. I will miss her
terribly. She drew me this picture:
Prison
Unfortunately the prison ministry only lasted one week, but
being there was moving. We were able to sit with some of the prisons and talk
with them, and play a fun game as well. We heard stories of God changing lives
in that place, and were able to witness a little as well. One of the amazing
stories is that an entire cell (about 50 men squashed into the size of my
bedroom on bunk beds), all came to know the Lord. Instead of begging people for
money when they came to the prison so they could buy shampoo and other
necessities, William Miller, a former world racer, taught them a business plan.
They sell beaded jewelry. I am proudly sporting mine this very second.
IVCF
leaders of the twice a week meeting we helped out with. These students amaze
me, truly amaze me. Not only did they
lead worship, an icebreaker, and a talk twice a week at the IVCF meetings, they
also volunteered at basically everything they could. They were the ones who
actually ran the Awana camp, we just sort of assisted them. They invited us to
help out with them at this high school retreat, where the speaker talked about
sex and how true love waits where we lead discussions. They put together a
dinner and huge banquet about love, all set up by them. The list goes on and on
about these students, I was truly inspired by them!
Work around the property
This consisted of many things. We were building a church
(cementing, digging..the usual), weeding a field, and sorting a linen closet. I
ended up being delegated to be in charge of the linen closet, and so saw many
hours in that room. Weeding the field was back breaking, but a few of my
squadmates and I say it was one of our favorite days because we had such
amazing and deep conversations. As we weeded the fields God weeded our hearts.
So good :). The church was also back breaking, but getting to work alongside
the Pilipino workers was so rewarding. It was hard, it was muddy, and it was
hot, but I loved it.
Loving each other
room with twelve girls in bunk beds (sorority anyone). We had girl time where
we would sit and talk as a group, and just go do fun things. Having that
community of women this month truly made the month so incredibly amazing. These
women I work with are amazing women of God that I was honored to learn about
their lives, and just learn from them. I
love our women so much and will be sad when I do not have them anymore on a
daily basis.
you can see from my last two blogs), and in the hearts of those at the camp.
Mt. Moriah will be a place that I will remember fondly. The staff was amazing,
the children were hard at times but such a joy, and the community was amazing.
Philippines, I will miss you.
