This is a summary of my time in the Philippines and some of my thoughts 🙂
Month 4: Tacloban, Philippines
Ministry: Kids International Ministries (KIM), stayed at their location called “The Lighthouse”
Team JesusFreakz_15 (an all-girls team of 15: Me, Victoria, Grace T., Katy, Amy, Jeni, Rebecca, Marsha, Kathleen, Grace C., Lauren, Jay, Jamie, Dottie, Ashley)
What each day of the week looked like:
Sundays: Church 9:00- We could choose between the American church called Victory, or the Filipino church…I tried both and LOVED each one. My friend Lanie translated for me while at the Filipino church. Victory Church was also amazing, the worship band was incredible and the Pastor challenged us all in the discipline of fasting for prayer. It was located in a movie theater at the local mall, so after church we would hang out at the mall for the rest of the day. We watched one of our friends named Aaron in a dance competition at the mall one Sunday. Sundays were probably my favorite day of the week 🙂
Mondays: Ministry- Since our group was so big, we divided into groups of 5 and had a rotation of ministries happening at all times. The three ministries were: construction (helping with the addition of the building already in place), feeding program (taking containers of food to the local villages and schools…favorite), and open-ended (prayer walks, making Christmas cards, wrapping Christmas presents).
Tuesdays: Ministry- rotation of construction, feeding program, and open-ended
Wednesdays: Off day!!! Relaxed, walked to the beach, went for bike rides, stared at the ocean for hours…stuff like that.
Thursdays-Saturdays: Ministry- rotation of construction, feeding program, and open-ended
Challenges of the month: Being on such a large team, not having good wifi, being away from family and friends during the holidays, saying goodbye to the babies in the orphanage, seeing the effects of Typhoon Yolonda which was a devastating typhoon in 2013…the city is still recovering, but they have such hope and faith in God. They are being restored every day, which was a beautiful thing to witness.
Awesomeness: Supernatural joy- peace- and a feeling of fullness all month (especially on Christmas Eve/Day), Victory Church’s worship band and their version of “O Holy Night”..WOW, hearing personal stories from the locals about Typhoon Yolanda…for example, one guy survived by climbing a tree and held on for hours as the wind beat him and the rain felt like needles on his skin…what a miracle, star gazing on the top of the shipping containers, getting to FaceTime my family on Christmas Day, leading worship with my guitar, holding the babies in the orphanage, getting the window seat in the van, going to InfiniTea with the team (really good tea with black pearl things in the bottom of it, so good), watching Christmas movies with everyone, going to the mall and shopping, cooking deviled eggs for the team for Christmas dinner, playing with the newborn kitties, helping out in the preschool room when I had free time, singing karaoke on Christmas Eve, going to the beach and seeing the baptism of my teammate Kathleen, having a lot of open space to journal and have alone time, being the “guests of honor” at the women’s Christmas party and singing songs for them, going to the little store in the village with Amy to get Sprites and talk about life, delivering presents to the adults in the village, the Christmas party for the kids and getting to hand them their shoebox presents, going out to dinner for Lauren’s birthday, gaining a new understanding and appreciation of the birth of Jesus…and the fullness I had once I let the significance of this good and perfect gift sink into my spirit.
Sights/Colors: Christmas lights, Christmas trees, the ocean, shacks for houses, the basketball court, amazing sunsets, kids everywhere
Sounds to remember: motorcycles, people talking in the house at all hours, the television and Christmas movies, the newborn kitties, the newborn pigs, the newborn chickens, the newborn goat, hammers and chainsaws at the construction site, fans on full-blast, Santa’s sleighbells on the roof (hey a girl can dream right??), fireworks and those homemade blast thingys that are really loud and sound like a gunshot
People: Filipino people are the friendliest I have met on the Race so far…their outlook on life is incredible. They have genuine joy written on their faces despite hardships. They are very clean which is a part of their culture…we would take our shoes off before going in the house and keep everything tidy. They always wear a smile and would give you the shirt off their backs. I would love to go back here someday and see the people from “The Lighthouse” again.
Favorite Verses of the Month: Ephesians 6:10-18 (Putting on the whole armor of God), Galatians 5:25- Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
My own personal Bible readings: John, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Finished memorizing Colossians 3…yippee!!!!
As expected, Christmas looked much different for me on the Race than it has in the past at home. All month I meditated on the gift of Jesus…what this really meant for the world. I’ve known the answers my whole life, but I realized I wasn’t really living like I had received the best gift that was ever given. I examined myself, realizing some ugly truths, such as how I get caught up in the materialistic side of Christmas (and life in general). Back home I want to be opening the newest iPhone and the cutest clothes on Christmas morning. The truth hurts. It’s ugly. To think that we need anything other than Jesus is a sad place to be.
This side of Christmas, this materialistic side, was non-existent for my Christmas 2015. It was actually impossible. I didn’t have a choice whether or not to let this materialistic side flourish. Even if I wanted to use my money to buy myself a nice present at the mall, I wouldn’t have enough room for anything extra in my backpack anyways.
My team did a $5 Secret Santa gift exchange…Christmas morning I opened 4 packages of gum, 1 box of tea bags, and 2 chocolate bars. But the best part of our gift exchange was showering that person with encouragement and reasons why you were thankful for them. The gifts lied in the peace I felt while reading the Christmas story in Luke, letting the story break my heart to the point of tears. I want that. I want to realize my need for Jesus every single day. I want to wake up in the morning and receive a renewed awareness of the gift of Jesus Christ. I didn’t fully appreciate the gift of Jesus until it was all I opened on Christmas. Maybe this is why people who are poor are so rich in faith…He is truly all they have, so they are able to rely on Him without distractions. The fullness God gave me for Christmas 2015 was worth more than any present I could ever purchase at the mall.
