Today is Sunday, September 15 and it marks nearly one week in the Philippines. As I sit here lying on the top bunk, on the forth floor of our building, with listening to the rain and feeling the cool breeze blow through my open window, I couldn’t be more content. My heart is full, so full. The reality that the Lord has blessed me with the most beautiful opportunity – I can’t even believe it. Even as I sit here amidst that reality, I just can’t believe it.
After a grueling 20+hour travel day, full of airplanes, a short stop in Tokyo, more airplanes, and buses, we arrived in the Philippines late Monday night. Ministry started Tuesday. This month we are working with Kid’s International Ministry (K.I.M), which is based out of Manila. They have several facets of ministry, and while are time here in the Philippines is going to be a little shorter than what we will typically see on the race, V squad gets to dip our toes into every aspect of the ministry. Oh, have I mentioned that my whole squad is together this month, because we are. And it’s been great.
K.I.M. has an orphanage, school, and women’s home that they run. This month we get to work with all three. My team has mostly been spending time with a few of the community girls, and that time has been SO FULL. I love every moment of loving on these sweet children. Their hearts are so big, their laughter so full, the smiles so bright, and their beauty is beyond anything you could imagine. Some of the girls come from a rough home life. But we can be a safe haven for them, even if only for a few hours. We can be a place where they can come and relax, let loose, and be little girls who can laugh and have fun. We can be a safe place for them to learn about Jesus. That’s the most important thing about what we are doing. Jesus. While loving them is so vital, the best way we can love them is by sharing Jesus to them. That’s it. That’s so huge.
“When the crowd gathered again, the people brought their children to see Jesus, hoping that He might grant them His blessing through His touch. His disciples turned them all away; when Jesus saw this, He was incensed. He said ‘Let the children come to Me, and don’t ever stand in their way, for this is what the kingdom of God is all about. Truly anyone who doesn’t accept the kingdom of God as a little child does can never enter it.’ Jesus gathered the children in His arms, and He laid His hands on them to bless them.”
-Mark 10:13-16 (The Voice)
A lot of these sweet little girls lost their innocent naivety and childhood a long time ago, but our hope is that this month we can begin to pave the way for them to find a new type of freedom; the best type of freedom. Jesus.
Please pray for my team and the rest of V squad as we continue to get over jet lag and learn to deal with new weather and handle exhaustion. Please pray that the Lord will continue to fill us up and give us give us rest and strength as we pour into the Filipino people in our community.
