ONE WAY, JESUS!

800 high school students + my new pink hair + rockin it out for Jesus all day = best day of my month :]

I woke up on Wednesday not having a clue of what to expect… you get use to it on the race. All I knew was we’d be going to help out with small groups at a high school event for the local graduating seniors (or as they are called here- 4th year students). All five teams would be going with no one left behind for baby duty so I knew it must be a big event. we pull up to the pavilion to easily over 800+ students all dressed in their bright blue and pink uniforms. We take our seats just as the first speaker is stepping up to the stage. I’m expecting the speaker to talk about the students’ future, college… you know the normal senior year talks you hear back home. Instead he begins to present the full on Gospel- the whole Romans road presentation. no reservations. no hidden meanings. the real deal. I then begin to look over the program and see the “future/career” talk is coming later along also with a talk titled “True Love Waits”. interesting…

After the first speaker, we break up into our small groups. There were so many more kids there than planned that each racer- all 30 of us- end up with our own group of about 20 kids. no pressure, right? the first group is mostly a get to know you/ice breaker time. After some fun games, I ask my kids if they have any questions based on the first talk and the one and only question I get is the are you single question. ha great so after ignoring that one then I ask what they are most excited about for college and all the boys practically in unison say “the girls!” OMG I think to myself this is going to be fun… these kids could care less about the Gospel. small group one: failure. how do you make an impact with such short time?

we head back in for the second speaker only to do a fun sing/worship time first. and again to my surprise we are singing full on gospel/church/youth group/christian summer camp songs. my first thought is “this can’t be for a public school, can it??” back in the states this would never fly. teaching the gospel, worshiping the Lord… and later on talking about the importance of abstinence and being informed on STDS. okay maybe the last, but not into this kind of detail- at least not in Texas.

To make a long day short- as the time went on, I began to see a huge culture difference than the kids back home. I’ve never danced and jumped and been that sweaty so much for Jesus like I did this day. it was AWESOME. I felt like I was back at summer camp at Pine Cove only this time around with hundreds of Filipino kids screaming for joy. hundreds of kids jumping out of their comfort zone all for Christ when their image means everything for them at that age. I never would of done what they did at high school. never. I saw their love for Jesus and their pure innocence. and then my heart just broke for them. In the midst of jumping around I realized the pain they did not even know yet. I suddenly wanted to be able to do anything in my power to save them from the world. from heartbreak. from boys. from sex. from it all. to tell them none of that even mattered. but I didn’t know how. how do you talk to kids about stuff like that when you only have 3 small sessions with them? and especially to a culture so shy to even tell you their name. I had know idea what I was doing, but God knew.

I left on a high after doing the train with Kimberly and getting up on stage in front of hundreds for the first time in my life not caring about anything else but worshiping our awesome Father. but I also left upset that I couldn’t of done more. later that night, William (our contact) comes to tell us a couple things about the event that was not normal:

1. the event was not even mandatory for the students. In America, most every kid would of probably just skipped school that day or not have come back after lunch, but I realized how important an education is to the culture here. It is not something that is just freely given to everyone. it is a privilege and when given these kids don’t let their families down. Also, their senior year of high school is when they are 15 and 16, not 18. I thought of myself at 15… I didn’t even know what I wanted to do with my life when I was 20, let alone 15! man. I was more worried about my clothes and image at 15 and boys than about Jesus. than about my future.
2. Will goes on to tell us that the event turned out to be SO big and successful that the principle had already that day scheduled it for next year AND that the surrounding smaller cities already caught word and wanted to schedule the event for their 4th year students for NEXT WEEK.
3. Will tells us that most of the students here in Maylaybalay City call themselves Christians, but only because of their parents. Most of those kids have never truly had the Gospel laid out for them.

so would I say the day was a success. absolutely. not because of the numbers, not because of the fun (even though that was the best part), but because come March these kids will be graduating and most of them heading off to college right down the road. Some will be becoming engineers or doctors or teachers- and these were the more fortune kids. this day was a success because I know they will always remember it. it was not normal for them. it was an experience us growing up back home get to be a part of every summer if not more. for them it was a first and probably last. God had already come before any of us racers and laid the foundation. I pray they keep their innocence. That they remember how much God loves them and made them in His image. I pray pray pray that they never make the mistakes and have to feel the pain that I and so many others have been through at a young age because of the things and people we put our identities in instead of Christ. man my heart breaks for them and even though I didn’t get to share my story with all those kids, God has shown me a whole new area of compassion in me I didn’t even know I had. and I cannot wait to rock it out again for Jesus, just like when I was 14 or now 24… it never gets old! Those kids taught me something this day… to never hold back when it comes to the Lord and to always remember that even just your presence can make an impact when the Lord is shinning brightly from you. Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words 😀