Thursday, June 2, 2011
Oh the Joys...
Our mornings this week have been spent in four hours of lectures, followed in the evening after kids club by 1.5 more hours of lectures. We have packed a loooot into 4 days' lectures, and there have been some amazing discussions...lots to soak up and from which to learn! I am so blessed to be here on this trip. Not only am I blessed altogether to be in Cape Town and South Africa, I am further blessed by the amazing things God is doing here, and not to mention the great group that surrounds me. They are the happiest, most encouraging and uplifting people. I learn a lot from our professors, but I also learn a lot from my fellow students. They are an amazing blessing, and the trip would definitely not be the same without them.
As you know, my senior year of college is rapidly approaching, and along with it is coming the stress of figuring out what to do next! I am not really worried about it, but I am concerned and seeking. I want to change the world, I know that. And I am called to career missions, so I know that also. I have also been called to "incarnational missions" (I learned that term this week that applies to my calling 2 years ago), which means living among and like the people (my calling comes from John 1..check it out!). There are tons of opportunities and doors open wide for needs that need to be met in the world; I just need to pray for discernment about which avenue is the one for me. Do I go to seminary right after graduation, or do I wait a little while? And regardless of that, in what should I major for my graduate studies? What will be most effective in changing the world? "Your calling lies at the point at which your greatest desires meet the world's greatest needs." But what are the world's greatest needs? They are many!!! I will change the world, I guarantee that, but I cannot fix everything. So what exactly and specifically is my calling? I dunno. And what is my greatest passion? To know God and make God known. To change the world and point people to the feet of the One who made them and loves them with an undying love. To change things not only spiritually but also physically for people, especially those living in less-than-human conditions, which sadly is probably most of the world's population. My passion is to be the hands and feet of Christ daily to all people and all peoples. So in order to do these things and to be what God wants me to be, where do I go from here? I dunno. For now it is to go on my knees in prayer at the foot of the cross. The Lord will lead me there in the Lord's timing. I will just wait on Him. But not a passive wait; no, I will wait actively, seeking to serve and not be served. Woo hoooo!!! :)
"The Lord's Spirit has come upon me, because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers, and to say, `This is the year of the Lord's favor.' " --Luke 4:18-19.
Peace :)
Sunday, May 29, 2011
How can I stand here...and not be moved by You?
After church, we went to see a community of African penguins (an incredible experience) and then headed up to Cape Point, the southernmost tip of the African continent. We "hiked" (I put it in quotes because while it is a straight up climb, the way is paved) up the mountain to a lighthouse, where we were surrounded on every side by the vast, beautiful ocean. It is the place where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, and it is an absolutely incredible sight. I cannot put into words the beauty that surrounded us there.
Again I will say that I continue to stand amazed at the beauty of the Lord. And I feel very encouraged spiritually, because I am reminded again and again that the Lord has huge and amazing plans for my life that I cannot myself imagine. My human brain is incapable of thinking up the designs to create something as beautiful as Africa, much less the entire world, and my mind definitely cannot design amazing plans for my life. My prayer for the last few months has been, "Lord, do that for which we know not how to ask; do that which we cannot imagine." And the Lord continues to pour out His goodness, faithfulness, and beauty upon my life, and I stand utterly amazed. The Lord is highly creative, and I truly think He loves surprising His children with the awesome things He can do.
Please pray for us, as tomorrow we will begin class and our ministry project at Living Hope. I don't know exactly where we will be placed, as LH has several campuses throughout Cape Town, but I do know that we are in for an absolutely amazing experience! Please join me in praying for the Lord to do what we cannot even imagine, both in us and through us. And stand back with me, watch, and be amazed at what the Lord reveals to us all. :)
Blessings! Love you all!!
Michelle
Friday, May 27, 2011
The beauty of the Lord, revealed in the Cape!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
First, we went to Umapad dumpsite to give our gifts. At the entrance to the dumpsite, there was a home where about 30 or so kids assembled. We gave them food, drink, and school supplies for those on the list. They were in amazement to see white people! They were really cool. Then, we went into the actual dump, where Marit, the Filipina who led us through the dumpsite last time and remembered us this time, went into the home area to tell everyone to come to the area right past the entrance. We gave the food, drinks, and school supplies out and hung out for awhile there. The kids there are great. We saw the little girl that we saw on our trip in January who has two twisted legs. I discovered that her name is Maricel, and she was not born with twisted legs. When she was younger, she fell into a hole and broke both legs, so they just grew very crooked. I was very much impacted by her, because at the very end of the semester, I broke my pinky and had surgery on it. A pinky finger! I had surgery, so my pinky will be fine, but poor Maricel broke both her legs and cannot walk, and she didn’t get to have surgery. It’s just not fair. But I told her that she was very pretty, which is absolutely true. She is a beautiful little girl. Her baby brother was sitting in the wheelchair with her, covering up her twisted left leg, so I got to hold him. I do love Filipino children!
This is me with Maricel...
And this is me holding her brother...
We hung out at that place for quite awhile, so it was neat to hang out with those who are the poorest of the poor, those who inhabit the ends of the earth. The darkness in this corner of the world is so thick. People live in terrible conditions without knowledge of a God who loves and saves. So we will tell them! :) I feel something drawing me to these places, that all may know our glorious God. Scripture promises that one day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So we pray that even in the darkest places on earth, where a baby doll is held high and worshipped, along with drugs and selling children as prostitutes, where young children scavage through garbage to find things to make money for their families, a place where people don’t know that they are loved and worth anything and that the God of the Universe has a glorious plan for their lives, that our God will break down every stronghold that stands and that He will be God of the Philippines and of all the earth. It is my desire to see all people praise the Lord and to be a part of what God is doing to lead us to that place. So I am very thankful to be here :)
We also bought 30 Bibles in Cebuano, because most of the people in the dumpsite are uneducated and cannot speak English. It was very neat to see how proud the people were of their new Bibles (Biblias). They were very thankful for them, and some even began to read them while we were there! A very cool opportunity, to give the Word of the Lord to those He came to save. I hope to learn a little more Cebuano so maybe I can go back sometime and teach them about the Bibles we gave them. After all, we were told to make disciples!
After staying in the dumpsite for awhile, we went to a squatter area that is very near the dumpsite, where Marit (our “guide”) lives. Her daughter is one of the 7 (we thought we would only have 5, but it turns out there’s 7!) kids that we have to choose 2 from to come live at Wesley. It is a crazy decision to be told to make, but we have prayed for God’s clear direction, so we trust that it will come in His timing and in His way. We met the 7 kids and their families and gave them a special bag filled with soap, toothbrushes, a washcloth, etc. Please be in prayer for us in the next few days as we select the 2 God would have come to Wesley. Pray that we may not choose based on the cuteness of the kids or simply what a paper says about them, but that we will listen to the Spirit’s guidance (they’re all adorable, by the way). We told the parents that they would find out by Friday who is chosen, so we need to bathe ourselves in prayer!
We also have another big decision to make while we’re here that we need your prayers for. The orphanage is in desperate need of a director, someone who will oversee things at Wesley, give the kids structured discipline, and lead them in spiritual matters. We long to establish a consistent Bible study time with the kids, so that when we leave hopefully it will continue. We already have one of the pastors from Zion Prayer Garden, a church in nearby Consolacion, who has volunteered to come every Saturday to spend time teaching the kids about the Bible. My prayer is that these kids and their families will love the Lord, serve Him, and seek Him. He has such incredible plans for their lives, and I can’t wait to discover what those are.
Please be in prayer for us, as we have only a week and a few days left before we head home. I can’t believe how fast the time has flown, and I am definitely not ready to leave my precious children! I feel like they have become my own. I feel like I am finally belonging in the Philippines! The culture shock was a little difficult at first, but I’m adjusting. I am definitely not ready to go home. But please pray for us continually, that we will use our time as God would have us. Pray that we have clear direction on who He would have come to live at Wesley and who He would have as the director. Please pray that we will be strong in His strength and feel His presence and guidance, as we have already experienced great opposition from the enemy. Our God is much bigger than anything in this world or outside this world. Colossians 1 says that all things were made by Him and for Him and that in Him all things hold together. Chapter 2 says that He disarmed that powers and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Our God is big, and He is mighty to save. Pray that strongholds and idols will come tumbling down, that God will have complete reign in the Philippines and in the dark places where children are prostituted by their families to make money and where kids scavage through garbage for hours to find things that can be recycled so their families can have money to eat. Pray for these people, the lowest of the low, that they may know God and that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Pray that He would be the God of the Philippines and not a little baby doll. Pray that people would love God passionately and whole-heartedly and that they will serve Him. Pray that our God will take His place and be worshipped at His throne. Pray that our hearts would be strengthened, protected, and guided. Pray that we will encourage one another and be continually reminded that our God is greater than anything that can stand against. If our God is for us, who can be against us? Jesus Christ, who died and was resurrected, is at the right hand of God the Father and is also interceding for us (see Romans 8:31-34). May we cling to His promises and trust in His power. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. Pray that the whole world, even the invisible things, will fall in worship and praise of our glorious, Almighty God. Pray that God will show His strength in healing the sick and lame, as He has done many times in the past, and that He will receive the praise. Pray that He alone will be worshipped and praised. May He have the throne of our hearts.
I hope all is well for you all back home. We miss you all, and we will be home soon! Pray for safety in travel and that until then we will make the most of every opportunity. God’s peace be with you all.
**This was written on Sunday, but I am only now having the chance to post it (on Wednesday), so sorry for the delay!**
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Another Update!
Monday, June 28, 2010
To switch gears, we also visited the Santo Nino Friday afternoon. Mrs. Pam had never been there, and it is something that I think is very important to understand about Filipino culture.
We have also been cooking most of our own meals! That is different for all three of us, I would say, because I usually let the cafeteria at school cook my food for me, and I know Mrs. Pam really likes to eat out. Jonathan and I cook some in America, but, well, it’s just different here! Yesterday, we made pancakes in a wok! (All the cooking is done outside.) The utensils are pretty limited here, but we did all right! They may not have looked like pancakes, but they tasted good! The boxed pancake mix here comes with a small package of syrup, so yesterday we had pancakes with chocolate syrup. It doesn’t totally replace the chocolate chip pancakes we’re used to, but it was very good! :)
The kids love Frisbee, especially John Lloyd. We brought two Frisbees with us, and John Lloyd is always asking us to play with him. He also loves to take pictures and for someone to take a picture of him. He has two main poses. One is him smiling and putting two fingers around his face, a common pose in the Philippines. The other main one is him standing as straight as he can, hands by his side, looking as serious as he can. He’s so precious! When we were here in January, I wanted to take his little sister home with me, but now I think I want him to come with me too! :) And John Lloyd has given me permission several times to take her to America with me. :)
As for future plans, Saturday we plan to do a feeding at the dumpsites. We think we may give out pre-packed bags of school supplies and snacks, as well as a Cebuano Bible to each family. Please be in prayer for us as we do that. We will also be looking for 2 more kids to live at the orphanage. Arnell has expressed that it is our decision to choose those 2 kids! That's pretty crazy, so please pray that the Spirit leads us in that decision. We also plan to visit the Camodes Islands Thursday, so that should be an adventure! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we seek the Father's guidance on what His will is for us here. It seems to be a day-by-day thing! But we have had many wonderful opportunities to love on the kids at the orphanage, and Glenn and John Michael have so many questions for Jonathan about the Bible! Please keep him in your prayers, that the Spirit may fill and guide him as he teaches the oldest kids in the orphanage. The younger kids look up to the oldest boy, which is Glenn, so it is wonderful and a super God-thing that he is seeking to lead them in the right direction! He knows that the kids look up to him, and he has expressed that he wants to teach and lead them in the best way possible, which is why he is seeking knowledge about the Bible. It is very encouraging to see his desire :)
That's about all I have to share with you for now, but we know that God will continue to work and move in amazing ways! Please keep us in your prayers, that we may be in the Father's will, guided by the Spirit, and that we may be faithful to accomplish what God wants us to accomplish while we are here. Please pray that we will wait patiently for God to act, as the last verse in Psalm 27 instructs. Please pray also that we will have the strength to do what we need to do. We are not used to the heat here, so we get weary much more easily. But all will be well! I hope things are well in America and that God is blessing you all immensely! Take care!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Mabuhay (Welcome) to the Philippines!
At the orphanage, the new ya-ya, Linda, made us breakfast, which consisted of rice, hot dogs without buns, and pork. Arnell then took us to his home, where we got showers and slept on beds! After the long plane ride and spending six hours in Manila’s airport unable to sleep, we were thankful to lie flat on beds! We then went shopping for groceries for this week at the mall. By the time we returned to the orphanage, some of the kids were home from school, so it was exciting to see them for the first time in months! I was delighted that they remembered my name :) Of course, I can never forget theirs.
Shortly after we returned, we went to lie down in the air conditioned bedroom Boboy fixed for us in the area they originally were going to use as a study room for the kids. They have put a double-sized bed in there! Mrs. Pam and I slept on the bed, and Jonathan used the stack of mattresses we all bought when we were here in January. We probably layed down just for a “nap” around 6:00, but I didn’t wake back up until midnight! Because we had skipped dinner, I was hungry, so I went downstairs to make a peanut butter sandwich. I do love their peanut butter! We awoke this morning around 5:30, so we got to eat breakfast with the kids. How good it was to see them all again! (Today is June 17 where we are.)
Today Arnell has planned for us to visit 3 of the kids’ families. If I remember correctly, we will see Geraluz, Katherine, and Michelle’s families. I’m pretty excited about getting to see and meet some of them! I know Arnell has an itinerary planned out for us every day we are here, but we all know how planning mission trips goes..God always changes our plans! I would much rather do things His way, though, seeing as how it is His mission field. With that said, I have no idea what all God has in store for us in the coming weeks. I can’t wait to discover what it is that He plans to do in and through us! It’s exciting to think about how our efforts here will have an impact not only in the years to come, but also into eternity. I look forward to sharing with you all everything God is doing, but for now, that is all I have!
Some things to be praying for:
-We are so very thankful to have nice, comfy beds, an air condition, and food in a third-world country!
-We are thankful for Arnell, his knowledge, connections with people, and hospitality!
-It is so absolutely wonderful to be here, and I am thankful God is here with us and making his presence known in our hearts!
-Please pray for us as we venture into the communities here and are surrounded by incredible needs. Though Jonathan and I have been here before, Mrs. Pam has not, and it will be difficult for all of us to take in and process everything. Pray that we may be able to think straight amid all the need and that God will make us sensitive to His Spirit. Pray that we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what He has for us to do. Pray that we will be on God’s agenda and not our own, and that we will clearly know what He has called us to do while we are here (and that we will be faithful to accomplish it!).
I want to share with you some Scripture that I was reading on the plane (I would insert “yesterday”, but I’m not quite sure what day it was!). It’s Romans 8:29-39.
“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? …. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
A few things this teaches me: One, verse 30 says “And those He predestined, He also called…” What an amazing thing it is to be called by God just like Paul and the rest of the disciples/apostles! How amazing it is to be called to missions and to be a part of God advancing the Kingdom! And this call is not just for Jonathan, Mrs. Pam, and me, but it is for everyone, all of God’s people. It says that “those He predestined, He also called…” If He has predestined us and called us to faith in Him, He has also called us to follow and serve Him and seek to advance the Kingdom.
Two, the second part of verse 31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” What a great promise to cling to as we will surely face the fiery arrows of the evil one! If the God of Glory is on our side, who can stand against us?! The One who conquered death is on our side..He’s got our backs! And so we are and will continue to be victorious. :)
The third thing God has pointed out to me in this passage is that verse 35 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” I think this applies to the people in the dumpsites and slums, those tucked away in corners where they will never be seen, those the world has forgotten. Shall their hunger, their hardship, their persecution by their corrupt government, their literal lack of clothes (there are children and a few adults who have no clothes and walk around absolutely naked), the danger they face by living in dangerous areas, and their absolute poverty separate them from God’s love? Not at all. In fact, I find that I can feel the love of God radiating from Heaven and in my own heart for these forgotten people.
Before we left America, Jonathan and I were talking with his dad one night, and Mr. Steve (Jonathan’s dad) made a comment that many times people say that this is a “God-forsaken place.” I think the 3 of us agreed that it is indeed not God-forsaken, but rather man-forsaken. Our ways of living in America, closed off from the realities of the poorest parts of the world, often keep us from doing anything about the needs others face. And not just the physical needs, but also their spiritual needs to know God and to know love. And so that is part of our mission here..to share the love of Christ and to spread the message of the Risen Christ. God bless you all, and I hope things are well for you back home!