Hello!!
It seems like it has been forever since I have posted an update.
We made it to our ministry host, KIM (Kids International Ministries), on the evening of Tuesday, February 20th. We were not sure what our ministry would really look like this month but we quickly began to dive into all that the Lord has arranged for us here. So far, each of our days are unique and vary from person to person.
Some of the things we have been able to do include construction at the children’s home, helping at the pregnancy center, cooking for the feedings, going to the feedings, doing door to door ministry, praying for people that we meet, and playing with many children.
*Pro tip: don’t challenge anyone in the Philippines at basketball. You will be schooled. You’ll nearly break an ankle. You’ll be out of breath. The 12-year-olds will dribble the ball between your legs and go around you. They will do all kinds of trick plays. You will look like you have never touched a basketball in your life. You will lose. Just don’t.do.it.
As we have finished our first week of ministry here at KIM, I have tried to reflect on my favorite part so far. It’s so hard to choose because the people are amazing, the country is beautiful and there hasn’t been anything that I haven’t enjoyed yet.
But, I did want to share a story from the week.
Saturday we were given the task of going out into various communities to try to make contacts with local churches and set up new feeding ministries.
Our team and our translator travelled by trike and jeepney to get to our locations for the day.
There is this thing that we do on the World Race called ATL (Ask the Lord). This typically looks like doing listening prayer. So, before going into each community, we did listening prayer to seek direction from the Lord. Several images, thoughts, and words were given to each person on the team, including the image of a man under a palm tree, a spotted kitten, the color red, a man with brooms, the number 3, and the phrase “see the tree, follow me.” I always chuckle a little at some of the things that people see or hear or find when doing listening prayer. I must admit I laughed a little at this combination especially since I was the one who saw the image of a man with brooms.
After arriving at one of our locations, we found a church. As one of my squad mates and our translator talked to a lady across the street, the rest of my group sat on some nearby steps. While waiting, a white van pulled up, a man got out and sat under a palm tree (you know, like the image someone had).
We sat there amazed that the Lord had brought us this man. We asked him if he knew about any communities with children that needed to have feeding programs like KIM offers. He pointed us in the direction of a nearby community. After praying for this man, we grabbed our things and began walking to the new location.
As we entered the new community, we were feeling pretty good because the people were very receptive and friendly. We did another form of ATL (ask the locals) to find our where the leaders of the community lived. After a short walk around the community, we found the man who ran the basketball courts. My teammate, the translator and I told the man about the feeding programs and asked him if that was something he would be interested in. He was optimistic and hopeful that this would be something that would be beneficial to the community. Success! We made a new contact!
But the cool thing is that the story doesn’t end there. The Lord provided us with so much confirmation that we were exactly where we were supposed to be.
As we finished the conversation with the man who ran the basketball courts, we turned and saw a man wearing a red shirt carrying many brooms. Again, we were amazed as this was a combination of two of the things that we heard or saw when we were doing listening prayer. We began to walk toward the exit of the community and one of our alumni leaders saw a small kitten. As she picked this kitten up we realized that it was spotted (another confirmation from an earlier picture). We continued walking toward the exit and noticed that the entire time we had been on 3rd street (the number that the Lord gave one of our team members).
The greatness didn’t stop there. The man wearing red and carrying brooms walked out of the community at the same time we were walking out. My word for the month is “risk-taking” so with every ounce of courage and with the encouragement of my team, I walked up to this man, Roger, with the translator and started a conversation with him. I asked him if there was any way that I could pray for him and he told me about his wife who just found out that she has some kind of sickness and his daughter who has constant back pain and tuberculosis. After I prayed for him and his family, he said that he had seen me earlier in the community and knew that God would bring us together. He said that as he went home today he believed that his wife and daughter would be doing better. What a blessing it was to have this encounter with Roger.
We may have still made connections for future feeding programs without stopping for a little while to listen for the Lord’s voice but because we did listen, the Lord blessed us with confirmation that we were exactly where He wanted us to be.
My prayer is that as I go throughout the days, I won’t just listen for the Lord in the big things, but that in each and every moment my heart, my mind, and my ears will be in tune and listening to what He has for me. I hope you will join me on that journey!
