There are certain moments in life when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there will be memories that are never forgotten. Moments when you know in the present that there will be something you cherish and think about for years to come. I had the honor and privilege to experience several of these moments this past month in the Philippines. I was able to witness hearts shaped and formed right before my eyes. I was given front row seats to intimate moments where young kids experienced the love of Jesus for the very first time. I will never forget those smiles. I will never forget the look in their eyes. I will never forget the sound of the laughter. I will never forget that overwhelming sense of joy.
This month was “Manistry” month. All of us S Squad fellas split off from the ladies and made our way to the island of Mindanao where we would then travel to the city of Cagayan De Oro (CDO). Here, we would be helping with a ministry called “Street Light” working specifically with the street kids of an area known as Divisario. The very first day, the very first hour of being in CDO, God made it known that this month was going to be special.
The three young women who started the ministry had just purchased a center with the future intent of having it be a place for all the kids to come learn, hangout, or escape from the street. The center was about a month old when we arrived and unloaded all of our gear, making it our short-time home. The girls started to explain the ministry and how the Lord had led them to pick ten kids from the streets, who they put the majority of their focus into helping. The girls explained that this ministry is very new and that they are still in the process of listening to God and learning what He wants them to do with it. They told us a little about the kids and how hard it is to find them on a regular basis because they have no regular home. Natalie, one of the brains behind Street Light, said, “Sometimes, it’s weeks before we see them all together…or even see them at all.” Just as she was saying that, five of the ten showed up! Natalie stood there for a moment with this look of shock and awe, proceeded to smile, and then said, “You guys don’t even know. This is a miracle. This never happens.”
Well, that abnormality soon became the normal. In fact, that is all I ever came to know while in CDO. With each and everyday that came, our love for those kids became stronger and stronger. With each and everyday, it became more and more clear that God had laid before us the opportunity to do something great in the lives of His young children. I can say with all honesty and humility, that we loved those kids, and those kids loved us. They made the choice to let us be a part of their lives; they welcomed us into their hearts. That is a gift that I will never take for granted, a gift that comes with a responsibility that is never to be taken lightly.
So what did I see? What did I experience with them? What memories am I talking about? I will never forget that first day when those five children showed up with their tails tucked, and we put all our plans on the back burner to hang out and get them smiling and laughing. I will never erase the images of one of the boys named JR, as he would scale our backs like a monkey. I won’t ever forget how much it hurt looking out the window and seeing one of our boys smoking a cigarette, high off this drug called rugby (roofing glue), and holding out his hands demanding food. I won’t ever forget the transition that was made from being seen as a person only their to give them things, to then being seen as a friend and companion.
After two weeks, our team had to leave CDO and go help with another ministry up in the mountains for a week. Upon our return to CDO, there was a group of us that five of the boys selected to go to a church camp with them. For each of the boys, there was one of us picked to go with them. The four others and I learned that we were leaving for the two-day camp literally 10 minutes after we got back to CDO. I admit that I was not that thrilled about going. It was cool that I was picked to go, but I was tired. All I really wanted to do was go to the grocery store, snag some bread and a Coke, and chill. God had other plans. I was paired up with a kid named Neil John. He is the older brother of Angie (the only girl in the 10) and JR. Up until this point, Neil John wanted nothing to do with us. We would go hang out and have a good time with the other nine, but he would hang back and watch with this face of discontent. It was another miracle that Neil John even chose to go to the camp as Natalie stated! This camp was a huge turning point for our time in CDO. More importantly, I believe this camp was a monumental turning point in the lives of those boys. God made his way into the hearts of those kids over those couple days, and we were able to see the effects in the days to come.
Neil John was a different person. One of the first things he did when he got back from camp was take away the rugby from his younger brother JR (8 years old). Before camp, Neil John may have been the one who would give him and the other boys rugby!
Our last night of ministry in Divisario was simply amazing. Everything just seemed to come together perfectly. Some of us were running around playing tag, some of us were seeing how many kids we could pile on our backs and do push ups, a couple of us were beat boxing and free styling with the kids, and others were just rough housing and playing around. I don’t know if I have ever experienced such all around joy as I did that night. I remember seeing Natalie sitting down and just watching everything happen. I remember the smile she had and how clearly it communicated how her heart was feeling. In that brief moment, it became clear to me just how great that month had been. I remembered the beginning, and then I came back to the present and could not help but tear up. The fruits of our labor were all around us. The joy and love of the Lord was so clear and so powerful in that moment. God had taken us through an awesome journey, and it just so happened that our journey intersected with the journey that each and every one of those kids was on. In that time, those kids felt love in ways that they had never felt before. In that time, we were able to be play a role in the plan that God had to change the lives of those kids forever.
I won’t ever stop thanking God for those moments and memories. I won’t ever forget the names or faces. I will not take lightly the responsibilities that come with mutual love. I won’t ever stop praying for those kids, so help me, God.
