Oh the Joys...

Wow, it has been an amazing week in the Cape! We have been helping with kids club every day this week, and oh what a blessing it has been!!! Monday and Wednesday we were at Mountain View, which is about a 15-20 minute walk through the community (amazing!!) from Ocean View, and Tuesday and today (Thursday here) we stayed at Ocean View. The kids are absolutely amazing. I loooove to be greeted by precious African kids racing down the street to jump into my arms. It is a precious, priceless moment. Yesterday and today, the kids decided to dog pile on Michelle, which is equally as amazing. Today before kids club started, several kids worked together to pick me up, and I thought that I was going to be thrown over a huge wall--that is how strong they are! So much fun!!! I wish I could describe each of these kids' faces...they are absolutely beautiful, crafted only in the image of God, and I can only imagine the depth of their stories.

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 :)

How can I stand here...and not be moved by You?

I was telling one of our team members today how I already feel that I have had an amazing spiritual journey in South Africa and we have not yet started our ministry projects with Living Hope. We have spent the last few days getting acquainted with Cape Town and the surrounding area, and I continue to be amazed daily at the beauty of the Lord revealed in Creation. Today we attended a church called Masiphuwalele Baptist, an all-black church in a poor black community called Masiphuwalele (try saying that five times fast!). I joked with my roommates before leaving the house this morning that we would be worshipping God today in a way that we have never worshipped before, and boy was I right! We arrived at the church to the most amazing sound of Africans loudly and boldly singing praises to the Lord. I cannot describe the beauty of their voices as they rejoiced simply to be alive. Though I understood very few of the words they were singing, I felt completely free to follow the Spirit's guiding and to worship the Lord with gladness. What a blessing.

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

The beauty of the Lord, revealed in the Cape!

Hi to everyone from South Africa!! I am truly in the most beautiful place on earth, and I so happen to be staying in the most perfect spot of the most beautiful place. When I walk out the door of the Team House, to my right is a huge mountain, and directly in front of me is the most beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean. The last two days have been spent getting acquainted with Cape Town and Living Hope, the organization through which we will be serving next week. Not only am I totally in love with Cape Town, I am also in love with Living Hope. Their vision and passion is exactly what I dream of doing in the world! They have sites in the various communities throughout Cape Town that seek to meet the people of the community where they are. LH challenges Capetonians (did I spell that right?) to dream big and imagine a life beyond the slums in which many of them live. LH offers numerous programs to empower people in the community to do and be something truly great and amazing. They have a wound dressing station at one location, classes to teach people to sew and garden at another, kids clubs for after school all over...they also have a place where really sick and/or dying people can come and hopefully get better, but if they do not get better, they at least have a place to die in peace and dignity. We have not yet worked with LH, but we got the tour of their locations yesterday. I am so pumped to dive right in and serve with LH!!!

Today has been an incredible day. After watching the sun set over the water while sitting on a rock in the ocean last night, we rose early this morning to take a ferry ride to Robben Island, where we were amazed and surrounded by God's incredible beauty revealed through Creation. When we arrived at Robben Island, we got a tour and were educated on what exactly Robben Island is. For those who don't know (because I did not know before reading the book for this class), Robben Island is the prison island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 13 (is that right? ha!) years before finally rising to become South Africa's president back in the day. We actually were led on a tour through the maximum security prison, where Mandela was, by a man who is a former prisoner of Robben Island. The men (the island was only for black male prisoners) had all been imprisoned for sabotage and fighting against the government. When I asked our guide (a precious, precious man) if the prisoners there were actually guilty of their charges, he responded by saying that each of RI's prisoners had been activists in fighting politically against the apartheid government. I am not going to write a book here about the apartheid govt., but I will say that I really respect Mandela, our tour guide, and the other former prisoners who risked (and some who gave) their lives to fight for the freedom that belongs to all human beings. Their prison cells (for the ones in the highest security section, who had individual cells) were smaller than the dog kennels where the security dogs resided when not "on duty". All they had in their tiny cell was a small window, a blanket, a small mat that looked like worn-out carpet scraps, and a 5-gallon (or x-liter, because they are on the metric system here) bucket they used as their "bathroom". How absolutely incredible it was to stand where Mandela stood and to see the lime quarry where he spent every day of several years digging through rock with his bare hands and to see and take a picture with a man who was imprisoned there with him for the same cause! I respect their courage and their ambition to make not only their own lives better, but also the lives of generations of South Africans to come. Amazing.

After Robben Island, we went to Table Mountain, a huge mountain that has a "flat" top, thus named Table Mountain, and got to ride a cable car to the very top, where we walked around and explored. I have never seen anything as magnificent as I have seen yesterday and today. At every moment in Cape Town, I am overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounds me, and I cannot help but want to sing praises to the Lord! Pictures absolutely cannot capture the beauty and majesty of the Creation of our Lord.

Though we have only been acquainting ourselves with Cape Town, I wish I could tell you all the things the Lord is doing spiritually, but I do not think I can because I do not really know myself! I just know He is at work. Do you know what it is like when you know something incredible is about to come your way but you cannot even imagine what it might be? Yeah, that's a really cool thing, and that is where I am. I feel like something huge and life-changing is just around the corner, but I absolutely do not know what it is, so I lift myself up to the Creator of the beauty that surrounds me. The Lord makes incredible goodness and beauty from nothing, and He will make something incredible out of me and out of the precious people living in Cape Town and all over the world. Woo hooo!!! :)

Blessings to all, and to all a good night!

Hi to all! I have some updating to do! Yesterday we visited the dumpsite, and it was an incredible time! We purchased juice and bread for about 500 people, along with packs of school supplies for those who are in school. The social worker and secretary, Mae, met with the leaders of the dumpsite and squatter areas to get lists of children who are in school. It was an absolutely incredible day.

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!**

Another Update!

Hi all! We unexpectedly got the opportunity today to come to SM Mall in Cebu City, which is a good distance from the orphanage, so we don't come here unless we need to. They have free internet here in the mall, so we are at Starbucks once again utiliting the free wifi! Arnell needed the driver to go to his office, which is not far from SM, so he said we should join him since our plans for after washing clothes this morning didn't work out. To update, Colleen arrived from San Antonio, TX, yesterday morning, just in time for our trip to Camotes Island! We weren't supposed to go to Camotes until today, but Arnell's friend who owns the ferry we rode called yesterday and said we could ride yesterday. Arnell told us we should leave in 15 minutes, but none of us had showered, brushed our teeth, or packed for an overnight stay! It was rather crazy. When we finally got to the boat, it was almost an hour since the time they were supposed to depart! Oops. We packed as fast as we could! Yesterday on Camotes, we visited the property Arnell owns there that is a possible new location of the orphanage, since the owner is selling the property we are renting now on Cebu Island. It would be great to buy the property from him, but it is very expensive. He is asking about $200,000 in American dollars, which the Rescue Ministries does not have, so if anyone wants to donate, send it on! :) But after we visited that site, Arnell took us to his friend's resort (I know, staying at a resort in a third world country is pretty crazy), where we got to swim awhile in the ocean. It was fun and very relaxing! And the ferry ride over was absolutely beautiful, but I forgot my camera (and my pesos!) :/ Oh well!

I am really glad Colleen is here now. She was a Journeyman in Manila for two years several years ago, at the same time Dustin was a Journeyman in Cebu. She is very familiar with the culture and is confident about going places and getting things we need. She is also a lot of fun to be around, so that is a good thing! :) I know she will add a lot to our small group and that our faithful God will continue to use her in amazing ways as He already has!

On Tuesday (the day before Colleen got here), we had a "courtesy call" (i.e., meeting) with the principal of the high school where our older kids attend. We told her a little bit about Wesley Home for Youth, and she told us about their school. It is very poor. She shared with us that each month, each student is asked to pay 45 pesos to help with the costs of the school, since the goverenment does not give much help. 45 pesos equals one American dollar. It costs a dollar a month for a child to attend school. But many cannot afford it, so many do not get an education. It costs a dollar a month for a child to stay in school so they can have a better job in the future. So...I'm thinking we need to do some fundraising or something to help those who cannot afford it. I can afford a dollar a month, no problem! There is a PTA meeting at the high school Sunday morning that the principal invited us to, so we may attend that.

Today, after we returned from Camotes (the ferry left at 5:30 AM this morning!), we got to go back to the high school because little Michelle's music class was doing a little presentation. I think it was supposed to be just for their class, but when she told me about it, I wanted to go! So the four of us went, and we were the only ones there to watch! The class (which is about 85 students..the teacher-student ratio is about 1/85 or so..crazy!) was divided into four groups, and each group presented a song with motions. It was fun to watch! And the kids acted like we were celebrities when we arrived. They all looked at us and waved and wanted to say hello! We get a lot of that here. It's not everyday that Filipinos see an American, especially at a high school, so they get excited when they see one..or four.

This is the class performing for us outside...

Today is Mrs. Pam's birthday! It is Filipino tradition that on your birthday, you give gifts and buy dinner for your friends, rather than them doing it for you. That's a fun thought :) But I hope she has a great birthday. We'll have to sneak off to buy her a cake as a surprise ;) This morning, after Michelle's presentation, Linda, the ya-ya (nanny) made Mrs. Pam chicken adobo, rice, and pancit (pronounced pon-sit) for her birthday. It is also Filipino tradition to eat pancit (long, tiny noodles) on your birthday for long life. We try to be cultural :)

This is a picture of her birthday breakfast...

Tomorrow we plan to eat lunch with Ben and Bayon from Project Mercy in Mandaue City and perhaps visit Prayer Mountain with Pastora Salve from Zion Prayer Garden, the church we attend here and are trying to partner with. She lives near the orphanage and has a mountain that she calls her Prayer Mountain. She has asked us to visit it, so maybe we can do that after we visit Project Mercy tomorrow. Then Saturday, we are planning to go to the dumpsite and hand out snacks and school supplies for the kids who cannot afford them. There, we will (hopefully) pick out 2 more kids to bring to the orphanage. So please pray for us as we do that, that there may be opportunities to make good relationships with these people, which is a big part of Filipino culture (close relationships), and that we may know whom God would have at Wesley.

These people are the poorest of the poor, the lowest of the low, those Jesus came to save, and those He has called us to. Pray that doors may be opened for the Gospel and that we may be prepared to share it. Please pray that we will be filled with the Spirit every moment we are here, that we will make the most of every opportunity, and that we will not miss anything God has for us to do. Please pray that the people here will be open to talk about the Lord and His Gospel, because it is very common for them to agree with a missionary and accept whatever he/she says because of their generosity and kindness without fully understanding. While we want to be generous and kind, we also want them to fully understand and not just say they do to please us. Pray that they may come to know God and love and serve Him faithfully. Pray that we will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, and not just church-goers or people who are willing to pray one prayer and never think about God again. We bought 30 Bibles in the Cebuano language, since most of them are uneducated and cannot speak English, so pray that as they are given God's Word that they will begin to love it and seek Him. Pray that doors may be open and that hearts will be tender to the Spirit's call.

Please also be in prayer for our team, as we are over the halfway point in our trip. Pray that we will be filled with the Spirit and be sensitive to what He would have us do. It seems that because Arnell has been so good about taking care of us and making sure we have a driver to take us where we need to go and because Mrs. Pam has been needing to rest because of her leg, that we have not gotten out into the community as much as we would like. It is absolutely wonderful to have our personal driver to take us places in the orphanage's Tamaraw, but we want to be careful to not seclude ourselves from the people. Please pray for boldness and opportunitites to engage in people's lives here, to get to know them and show God's love. Please pray that we will make good use of the time God has given us and that we will be on His agenda and not our own. Pray that we may be encouraged and unified, patient with one another, and patient with God. God always works on His time table and not ours, so pray for us to wait on the Lord, yet to not waste time. Pray that we will have the Spirit's strength to do the things we need to do, to go where we need to go, and to share where we need to share. Jonathan has gotten several opportunities to have deep conversations with Glenn, the oldest boy at the orphanage, the one all the other kids look up to for guidance and wisdom. He has been asking many questions about the Bible and has said that he knows very little about it, but he wants to know more so that he can lead the other kids in the right way for their lives. He shared with Jonathan the other night some things about his home life that were terrible situations to be in, so he is very thankful to be at Wesley. And we are thankful for him being there!

I know I've said it over and over, but please just be in prayer for us. Lift us up, for encouragement, guidance, wisdom, sensitivity to the Spirit, discipline to grow and rely on the Lord, opportunities, and everything we need. God is God of His mission field, and we are simply His workers. But please pray that we may be the faithful workers the Creator of the Universe desires and deserves. God bless you all!

Hi everyone! I apologize for not having updated my blog in awhile. We haven't had any internet access for about a week, and before that, I was typing up something to post, but I never finished it in time to post it before we lost the internet. The past week has been pretty crazy! But it has been good :) The first week we were here, we visited most of the kids’ homes. I think we have about 2 more to visit. Their homes are astonishing. Daisy lived in a one-bedroom home that is smaller than many closets in America. Her mom, 2 siblings, and Katherine’s grandmother all live there now, and Katherine and Daisy lived there before moving to the orphanage. There is no electricity, and even during the day there is no light that enters their home. The ply-wood walls go to the ceiling, so there is also no air circulation. Her mom hospitably welcomed us into their home and lit a candle for us to see. They have nothing. A few clothes, but other than that, nothing. Her mom sells cigarettes to make money, and she said that if she had the opportunity to do something else, she would. That is her only job opportunity.

This is the tiny walkway to their home...

And what you see below is not just one room of the home, it is the home! As I said, there is no electricity there, so she lit a candle for us to see by.

Little Michelle’s family lives in a slightly larger one-bedroom home. They actually share a living room with another family, where they cook and welcome visitors. We sat on the only bench in the home. The walls are cement blocks, and the floor is rock. Their means of cooking is over a fire, and I saw a tiny child’s flip-flop (they call them “slippers”) in the ashes. The room where they live and sleep is “upstairs”, over this living room. The walls of the bedroom are made of cardboard. We didn’t get to go in the bedroom, but I’m sure they sleep on the floor like most poor Filipinos.

This is their bedroom...

Glenn’s family lives up a mountain, so we got to go hiking when we visited his home! His mom led us up the rocky mountain (not to be confused with the Rocky Mountains!) to their home. They have a real turkey walking around outside their home! It just hangs out with the chickens! I suppose they will eat it someday. His home is also only one room. Their kitchen area is outside, which is common in the Philippines. The kitchen at the orphanage is outside. I showed Glenn the pictures I took of his house, and he showed me the corner he used to sleep in. There is no bed or pillow or sheets, just the dirty floor.

This is us hiking...

And this is us in their home. Glenn's corner is the one you see behind us.

All the kids have similar stories. I don’t really know what to think of it all; I don’t really know what to do to help. But God will lead as we seek Him. The kids are such a blessing. Little Katherine was sad the other night because she misses her family. Being the youngest, it is probably harder for her to adjust than it is for the older ones. Mrs. Pam went with her to her room as she cried. Then when she came back downstairs, I gave her a big hug and told her it would be okay. I held her for a minute and told her I loved her. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes as I spoke. Has she ever been told that someone loves her? I then just held her for a few minutes. Mrs. Pam and I (and I’m sure Jonathan as well) believe she needs lots of love and attention, and she may not be getting that right now. So I will be sure to spend more quality time with her. :)

I also upset little John Lloyd that same night. Earlier that day, he brought a huge bug inside the orphanage and showed it to me. I of course screamed, "Dili!" (No!) and told him to take it back outside! I was joking when I said it (I mean, I really did want him to take it outside, but I did not mean to be rude to him). A while later, as several of the kids and I were laughing inside, I saw his little head through the window of the front door. I told him to come inside, but he just bent down and hid. When I went outside to see what was the matter, Jeraluz said he was upset that he had scared me with the bug. He shrank down low on the ground, and as Jeraluz was telling me what was wrong, he ran into a dark corner outside the orphanage and hid. I felt awful! My little, precious John Lloyd was upset that he had scared me! I wish I could go back in time and change my reaction to the bug; I just felt absolutely awful!

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. :)

Last Saturday, the kids found a bird! Rodel, the driver of the orphanage’s tamaraw, grabbed it off of a low tree branch. The kids held it like it was a little hamster! I have never held a bird like that before, but I held it and let it eat out of my hand! It is yellowish-green with touches of blue, quite beautiful! The kids put it in a pet carrier that was outside in the pavilion. It didn't live long. The kids said it was a love bird and couldn't live without its mate. This is me holding the bird... :)

We wash our clothes in two tubs with powder detergent! It’s kind of fun! Today at the store we bought the bar detergent (it looks just like soap, but it's for washing clothes by hand), so we will see how that goes! This is us washing clothes...

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!

Mabuhay (Welcome) to the Philippines!

Hello to all from Cebu! We made it here safely at 5:45 AM yesterday morning. We were thankful that we had no trouble the entire trip! Arnell, Dustin Gent’s Filipino “Buddy”, picked us up from the airport. After a 30-hour flight, we were exhausted and hungry! Arnell drove us through the crazy streets of Cebu to the orphanage, about a 30-minute drive. I was excited to see the Philippines again! When we first arrived on our last trip, I was overwhelmed by jet lag and culture shock, which is a terrible mixture of emotions, but since this is my second trip, it was not as difficult. Of course, it is always difficult to see poor little children alone on the streets, begging for food and money.
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!

Jet lag + lots of flies + beautiful oceans and skies = Welcome to the Philippines!

Hi from Cebu! We made it here safely after about 26 hours of traveling. There were no real complications with the travel, so it was not as difficult as it was long! :) The poverty here is like nothing I have ever seen. I have heard about it and seen pictures, but it was not until I came and saw the people, their living conditions, and smelled the air they breathe, that I could truly picture the reality of it. I feel that I have truly been hiding away in a safe bubble, unaware of the conditions of the "real world", and by that I mean the extreme poverty of the people here. When Jonathan showed me pictures from his first trip, I was truly moved by them, but when I saw the little girl barefoot standing beside the fence looking confused at the white people around her, the pictures came to life, and it was very moving to see the reality of their lives.

Yesterday, Saturday in Cebu, after our arrival, we visited the cathedral of the Santo Nino (the babydoll they worship), and I was amazed. We had to wait in a long line that stretched through several doorways and hallways to see the actual Santo Nino, which lives in a glass box with many worshippers. In particular, I saw a lady with a young daughter (she was amazed to see white people!) who caught my attention. The worshippers of the Santo Nino kiss a glass box containing some sort of medallion in front of the glass case holding the SN, then they would put their hands to the glass case and silently pray to this non-living babydoll. The lady I watched stood there as if she was begging the Santo Nino for something. It is almost like the people are so poor they pray to this doll to help them, but what hope does it offer? A book I was reading on the plane ride talked about how our Savior has wound marks in His hands, because He suffered and bled for us, but no other god has such wounds. I wonder what it must be like to worship the Santo Nino and to place all my faith in something that is not real. And yet, perhaps in a sense I do that every day. Not to a babydoll and not necessarily intentionally, but how much time do I spend before my Heavenly Father everyday compared to how much time I spend doing other things? We visited First Baptist Cebu this morning, and the preacher spoke about the passage in Luke that contains Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane, where He asks the Father to remove the cup from Him, yet He surrenders to the Father's will and not His own. The pastor spoke about how before Jesus did anything, whether service or missions or whatever He did, He prayed to the Father about it. He would wake up early in the morning to do this. Hearing this was convicting.

After church this morning, we visited the dumpsites, where hundreds of people live. I saw one tiny child washing the family's dishes out of a tiny container filled with soapy water. I saw children running around with no shoes and some with no clothes. I saw kids and a few adults going into the dump to search for garbage and things they could sell or use for their survival. I saw the smoke from where the government has burned "houses" in the dumpsites because they are not getting tax money from the families who live there. Hundreds of people.

I must confess my slight discouragement. I know that I am called to Missions, and I know that my calling came from John chapter 1, where John says that the Light that shines into the darkness that does not understand it, became flesh and made His dwelling among us. I know that I am called to become like the people I am called to serve and to live among them, allowing the Light of the World to shine through me into a darkness that is so dark. I know that I am called to this, yet I find my spiritual self battling my worldliness, as I realize how drastic of a change that will mean from the American life we are used to living. After seeing these people and being among them, I cannot return untouched and unchanged. I cannot ignore such a thing as this. And I cannot deny a calling I prayed to receive. Yet I realize and am grieved by how difficult it would be to change my life in such a way, and only because I am grieved that I am so accustomed to my own way of life. While in church this morning, I begged God's forgiveness for how little I needed Him. All I could pray was "Forgive me God, forgive me!" We sang several songs in the church that were actually familiar to me, and I noticed a trend among them all. They all talked about how everyday we will walk with God and trust that He is all we need. One in particular said, "Better than the riches of this world, better than the sound of my friends' voices, better than getting what I say I need, Your love is..." And the songs went on to say how everyday we'll follow after God and seek His face as all we need, and I found myself unable to sing these words because I honestly didn't know if they were really true of myself. I want them to be, I do! It is like Paul said in Romans, I do not understand what I do! The pastor of FBC Cebu said the reason we need to pray much is because temptation is a strong and powerful thing. Perhaps it is so strong and powerful we do not realize it. I find that there are daily battles against things that take away my need for God, like having everything "I say I need" at my fingertips, with plenty of money in my wallet to get these things. When I think about the kids in the dumpsites, I wonder if they have really ever held money in their little hands. Definitely not as much as I have. And it's not fair, and I don't know what to do about it. Perhaps that will be the topic of many prayers to come....

1800's house + beautiful artwork = third-world country, here I come!

So I have been waiting all day to update everyone on what God is doing! It pumps me up!! Yesterday, we finished Sequoyah's house, the one with all the crazy stuff happening, and to be honest I was afraid to go to the house on Sunday, but by yesterday, I didn't want to leave. God gave me a heart for Sequoyah and her neighbor Jazzbo (ha, love the name! and yes, they have a little "thang" goin on). They are the craziest, most "different" people I've ever met, but Lord have mercy, I have listened to story after story, and I just absolutely love the people! I feel like God has given me a new love for people and a new burning passion for Himself, as I have been praying for. I have struggled forever with anxiety, just always feeling overwhelmed by things, and so lately I've been praying for God to take that away, to increase my faith, and help me see things more clearly, as He does. I want to see and love people the way He does. And I want to fall absolutely and passionately in love with Him. And I cannot explain the things He has done in my heart just this week. Every day as I have been working, He has constantly been on my mind. God and I have laughed together, cried together (in my mind, because my eyes don't tear easily anymore, which is sad), I've gotten mad while He laughs, and we've just enjoyed each other! The song "Yearn" by Shane and Shane is my theme song for the week. (It says, "I want to yearn for you; I want to burn with passion for You, only You.") I want to fall in absolute head-over-heels love with my God and with the people He has created, and I feel like He has done that this week. I have been much less anxious that usual, except for earlier tonight when I had an anxiety attack, which went away with time, prayer, and trust, as I felt God gently drawing me nearer to Himself and inreasing my faith that He is all I need. As I look back over the summer, the past two weeks, and my entire life, I can see in a new light traces of God's hand at work. It amazes me that every single moment in my life comes together to make me who I am, a vessel for the Lord to use in incredible ways. (A good song for that? Bless the Broken Road..my goodness, they've got me listening to country!) And I've decided that the reason I've never truly been satisfied with society and with "stuff" is because I've not been created for it (of course, we know that, but do we actually live and believe it?). It seems like it really takes us going out completely on a limb, trusting God to lead us on and take care of our every need, to realize that He is truly all we need. It is easy to sit in a nice air-conditioned, padded-pew church building and sing about how God is our All in All or our only hope, or all we desire, but it is different when you go to a house that belongs to an incredible artist with three children who have all lived in a house with no walls and wide-open windows for 4 years and spent 3 winters without insulation or any kind of warmth. The house? Beautiful. Cassie's (the mother) artwork? Incredible. The small "farm" on their property? Priceless. It made me cry. And it is here, and it is in the face of Jazzbo, a rough pot-bellied man with tattoos all over both arms, who smokes and lives with another guy in a house with a roof that needs to be replaced, but who cares for people like no other, it is in these places and faces that I see Christ. And it is this Christ, this Love that has given its all for me, that I give my life to follow. We sing the song that says, "I give my life to follow everything I believe in.." but what does this truly mean for us? For me, it means the poor. That's my passion. That's my heart. And it didn't come from me. But I love my God more passionately for having mercy and grace upon me and opening my eyes to the greatness of Who He is in the face of precious people. And as I sit here, writing about this Love, listening the 70's song "Let's Groove Tonight", I worship my God. I pour out my heart to Him as I pour out my heart to You about how He is loving me and loving these families. I don't think I can ever look at the world in the same way again. The way I've seen my Lord work, the way I've seen Him love the people that the world turns away, draws me to my knees in prayer and praise, begging God to lead me to those who don't know Him. "May the Lord bless us and make His face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on Earth, Your salvation among all nations..." And so I pray that they may know. God, that they may know...

oops!

Actually, I just realized that the story I referred to in that last post, I only posted half of here..I just sent it in messages to people. So here is the story..somewhat backwards and out of order, but here nonetheless! :) (So read this first, then the one that's called "I want to yearn for You...") :)


Hi guys, I know I've already asked this, but I must ask again. As I said before, the house we are at this week has some major spiritual warfare going on. It's honestly like nothing I've ever seen or felt before. I sensed it Friday when we visited the house, and tonight it has reached the strongest it's been. My roommate, who is also on my site, and I were talking about the day, and we sensed it here. Well, first, I'll tell you about today. Actually, let's back up to yesterday..

So I went into the week really hoping that ministering to the homeowner was my job, and excitedly looked forward to what the Lord would do through me. I tried several times to leave whatever job I was doing to go speak with her, praying I would not miss an opportunity. But every time I would try to talk to her, it seemed the conversation went nowhere, except to talk about anxiety, which I have struggled with and can relate to. But I just knew God was working, so I waited patiently. Then, I saw that a lady from the church group was talking with her outside on the swing. Of course at first there was a small sense of jealousy, because after all that was my job! but I was really all right with it, because I realized that it is not about me being used, but about her seeing the Lord. God gave me a total peace about her talking with the homeowner instead of me, but I continued to be in constant prayer.

Then today, I was working on scraping some window trim on the outside of the house, and I felt the most calm I've felt in 2 days, and I just prayed and talked with God and just had a good ol' time alone on that ladder. And I prayed for her. The homeowner had her best friend over today, and the two of them plus the lady from the church (Sharon) sat in the bedroom literally all morning talking, and I could tell it was a very good thing. Her bedroom is open to the walkway that leads to the washroom (which the precious girls scraped for 2 days, then found that the sheetrock underneath was molded and needed to be replaced..needless to say, they enjoyed demolition :) ), so we could see them talking. There came a time when the girls needed a break because the room is so small and hot (by the way, I was totally put in charge of that project, and we were rockin it!). So while they were gone, I was going to go see what needed to be done next, but I stopped outside the room to just listen to the conversation. I didn't hear much, but Sharon, the lady from our church group, was saying something about how God frees us from guilt. I felt the need to pray, and to pray vigilently.

So I went into the kitchen and sat down and just prayed. Then I looked over into the pantry, where there is a staircase in the floor that leads underneath the house. This, I believe, is where her husband had some of the computers set up for watching the boys, so I knew it was just an awful place. I could feel something, some spirit, as I was going down, but I knew I needed to be there. It was secluded and quiet. And I got down on my knees, in the nasty dirt, and just prayed. I thought of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, and how He prayed so passionately and so hard because the devil was all around Him. The more I prayed, the more I felt the need to pray, as I began to feel that the devil had a huge stronghold on the house. I realized that where I was is possibly one of the most unholy places there. I prayed and prayed, and then a song came to mind that says "Blow, mighty breath of God, move upon this place. Oh, mighty breath of God, come in power and grace...". Then I prayed some more and came up from underneath the house, where I joined the group to eat lunch.

I got the opportunity to pray over lunch, which was cool. Then after lunch I was taken off the site and told to go to another, which desperately needed to be finished today. There, I enjoyed beautiful scenery, while at the same time feeling like I was in a third-world country because of the condition of the place. It made me excited, because that's where I want to be one day! :) And there was this dog there, named Dixie, who seemed to have very little human contact. She was chained to a tree, with a very short leash, she had no bowl but her food was lying on the ground, and it was rather obvious that she couldn't go far because of the massive buildup of droppings to the side of where she was. So I played with her, layed with her in the grass while she layed on top of me, and then shoveled poop in the Name of Jesus so that she could have a cleaner environment :) And that made me happy..a great blessing in the midst of all the craziness.

But then tonight, my roommate and I came to our apartment, where we talked about some things. Then the conversation turned to the house, and we talked about materials we need for tomorrow and things like that. I shared with her the story of today, and how I prayed under the house. And then we both agreed that we felt a very strong spirit there in our apartment, and it was not the Spirit of God. So we vigilently prayed. We just prayed and prayed and prayed, because there was nothing else we could do. Then I began to sing. And so we sang. And prayed some more. Then we talked about other things, and then we prayed again. Then we decided we needed to go to bed :) And so she did, but well now here I am typing this, because I wanted to do it before I went to bed. But before she went off, we decided that tomorrow while Sharon and another lady from the church take the homeowner and her friend out to lunch, we will get the entire group together and pray over each room of the house and over the neighborhood. And so that is what we plan to do. And I have a peace that by tomorrow all will be well. I really do. And I praise my God, and I rejoice, because He is revealing His power to us. And His glory will be over this house like no other. And that, dear friends, is the power of our God, and the power of prayer. "If My people, who are called by My Name, would humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear, and I will forgive, and I will heal their land." And so let us pray. :)

I want to yearn for You, I want to burn with passion over You and only You..

hey guys! sorry I've left you hanging without the finish to the story of last week, but we've been super busy. So here goes..The next day, we got to the house, and I was just, well, scared. But I knew I must trust my God. After we had talked with the youth minister about our plan to pray through the house (he agreed and informed me that other people in the group had said something about the eerieness), I went to work in the laundry room, where we were having to redo the entire wall of sheetrock, and I told the other missionary with me there that I just couldn't handle it, it was just too much. She told me just to go outside, so I obeyed and went to climbing a ladder to scrape a window. I couldn't make it far up the ladder before I just wanted to cry before the Lord. I told Him how I just couldn't handle it..it was just too much! And I felt His loving arms surround me, and He told me that that day I would feel some of the deepest darkness I had ever experienced, but that day the house would be His. So I just trusted and remained in Him. I couldn't pray, I couldn't find words. I just knew He was there and so I tried to still my mind and just know that He is God.

So after lunch, we all stood on the deck outside, read some Scripture, and prayed. Then we went inside to the living room and did the same, then we sang. And so I figured that after that, all would be well, but my fellow missionary friend and I agreed that it was not completely ok. But I trusted and remained in Christ. And by the end of the day, I felt at peace.

I was placed back at the same house this week with another church group. I guess God isn't done there! Seeing pictures of the house gives me a creepy feeling. When I was told I was going back there, I didn't want to go, but I knew I needed to. I knew I needed to see her again, for some reason. So I went obediently. And I had the best time!

The day began on a bad foot; I was in a bad mood because I wanted to wake up early this morning to spend time with the Lord, but once again I was awakened at the exact time I was supposed to be gone. And so I got left. And I was rather overwhelmed over everything..feeling frustrated with myself (stupid selfishness..) because I could not get it together, anxiety about going to the house again, fear of what might be, everything. Just a sour mood..not of God. And my partner for the week was obviously in a bad mood. But I had had a great conversation with a wonderful lady last night (wink wink), who encouraged me to just learn to enjoy God and spend time with Him, to fast from something and just to focus on Him. So I decided I would fast from worrying about the future and everything that goes with that (which is a kop-out fast until the Lord reveals what He really wants me to fast from), and I would focus on the Lord and His goodness, seeking His plan, and praising Him today. And it was the best day! I spent some time in the morning in the laundry room (as I had already started to say before) with this lady, who told me her incredible story about how her husband wanted a divorce but she didn't want one, but how God showed her she should, and so she did. Not long after, he was put in prison for selling illegal drugs. Then the Lord led her to go to the Catholic church, where He led other people to come to her and seek her out on playing the organ for them. She was confident that it was the Lord protecting her from what could have been had she not allowed the divorce. Then I left the room for a minute, thinking about the homeowner and her friend who had been talking in the living room all morning. So I went and asked them what they were talking about..then her friend broke down and shared about how her husband has an alcohol problem and wants a divorce, not because of another woman, but because of partying. He told her it hurt him that he had such a great woman at home and treated her as he did. She of course didn't want a divorce, because after all the Lord does not like divorce. So I got to share with her a little of my passion for waiting for God's best in marriage, which somehow by God's cool work, helped her. Then I told her she should talk to Mrs. Jackie, the lady who had been working in the laundry room with me. So I just left them alone and went to pray.

This day has just been sprinkled with the Lord's blessings. Just when I've needed extra strength or encouragement, it's been right there. Just when I needed someone to make me laugh, I got a text message. And so here I am, just longing to fall in love with my God again. As A.W. Tozer said, "God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made thirsty still." Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. And Isaiah 53 has been on my heart and mind, about God's love displayed in Christ. "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Praise be to God for His indescribable gift!

Crazy Intense..coming right up!

Hey guys, sorry it's been awhile since I've updated, but God has been doing some absolutely incredible things this past week. But I just wanted to ask everyone to please be in special prayer for our group this week. My group in particular, a group from a church called Temple Baptist from South Carolina (funny, I know), 2 other summer missionaries, and I will be working at a house with some pretty intense situations. The lady who owns the house was married to a man who wired the entire house with cameras to spy on their child and his friends. When his wife, the homeowner, discovered this, she turned him in, and he committed suicide in their house. There are many things that need to be done on the house itself, but I have been given the special mission of spending a lot of time with the homeowner, just being there for her to talk to and just to do some intense head-on ministry.

When I discovered all this on Friday, I was absolutely pumped about going this week. We visited the house on Friday, and when we got onto the street, I seriously felt like I was in a third-world country..it just looks so homely and poor. And when we arrived at the house, I could feel the Spirit of God strong around the house, but as the weekend has transpired, things have changed. I have felt some pretty intense spiritual things, and I think this week will be a very intense time of some spiritual warfare, like nothing I've ever seen before. I was laying in bed last night at like 4:30 in the morning (I know I just said last night and in the morning in the same sentence, but you catch my drift) and was praying because I was still wide awake. And I began to think about the power of God and how incredible it would be to actually see the glory of God, as we often pray. I am constantly praying for God's glory in this city, but I thought of it in a different way last night. When Moses asked to see God, God pretty much said to him, "no buddy, you think you want to see Me, but you can't handle it!" So in His love and grace He hid Moses in the cleft of the mountain and allowed him to see only his backside, because He said no one can see His face and live. So I prayed something bold; to see the glory and power of God displayed in my life. I suppose Satan didn't like that too much!

Today after church I began to feel sick, so I didn't eat lunch, then after we arrived at the Minsitry Center to get things ready for the week and for orientation tonight, I began to feel really week and light-headed. I honestly felt like it was Satan because I knew we would have a crazy intense week ahead. But at the same time God used it for His glory because it gave me some time to spend alone in prayer, as I left the Ministry Center and returned to the apartment for some rest. While "resting", I could just sense God's Spirit telling me to be still, to rest in Him, allthewhile feeling very anxious and uneasy about something. And I honestly feel like there is some major spiritual battle going on that I cannot see, and I think it will probably carry over into the week. So I will spend much time in prayer, listening to and waiting for God. I will try hard to rejoice and be joyful, because it is easy to be discouraged and feel weak. But my God is not weak. He conquered death and the grave, and nothing in all creation can separate me from His love. There is something incredible that God is preparing us for this week, and I can't wait to find out what it is! But I will not be so foolish as to think that I can by any means do this in my own power. So I ask you to be in constant prayer with me for this family and their healing. And I ask you to remember all God's people throughout the world and pray for boldness, opportunity, and clarity of words in presenting the gospel, as Paul instructs us to do. "For we have not been given a spirit of timidity and fear, but of love and a sound mind." "Mercy triumphs over judgment." "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." "The Lord will fight the battle; you need only to be still." "Be still and know that I am God..." "Trust in the Lord will ALL your heart and do not lean on your own understanding."

All of life comes down to just one thing; that's to know You, oh Jesus, and to make You known

Wow, this has been one of the most incredible days of the summer. I look back on this day, and I can see traces of God's glory all over it. It started when I way overslept. We were supposed to be at the ministry center at 6:30 this morning..my roommate came in my room at 6:28 wondering where I was. So I jumped up, threw on my clothes, brushed my teeth and threw water on my face, and out the door I went with untied shoelaces. So no time for quiet time with God! But you know, last night something seemed to tell me that would happen (again!) this morning. So when I woke up, I realized how rediculous it is for me to get frustrated with myself (as I usually do) with not waking up or being awake enough to spend time with the Lord, when there is an entire day to talk to Him. I mean, it is important, it's very important! But I don't need to put God in a box and say He can only use me if I convince myself I've spent enough time in His Word and in prayer every morning, especially when it ends up being almost legalistic. Anyway, that's not the good part..

So I'm with this group this week, Lakeview Baptist Church from Lewisburg, TN (small town, small church, great passion for Christ). And there's this one lady in particular who literally keeps me going through the day when I get so sleepy. Her name is Minnie (yes, like Minnie Mouse), and I tell you she is the craziest thing I've ever met, but she is an absolute blessing. And the entire group is, really! They are all just so fabulous, and I feel like I've made a new family! Which is good, because I go through Lewisburg when traveling to Shelbyville to visit my cousins, so now I have a place to stop in good ol' Lewisburg before getting stopped for a speeding ticket in Cornersville (inside family joke). And this week we're at Mrs. Bibbins house. She is an 84-year old, precious lady who lost her husband 5 years ago. She says she never imagined she'd have to live without him, because they married so young (for 60-something years!!). Her 54-year old daughter lives with her, who has had lots of medical problems, including cancer, and has to sleep with an oxygen machine every night. There are also 2 little 7-year old boys running around all day who just steal my heart! But I feel a very special drawing to this family. The house they live in is built on a hill, and through time the foundation has made the house actually seem like it is built on a hill, because all the floors inside are sloped, as are the walls, and well let's just say there's a lot that needs to be done.

Here's a picture of pulling up the subflooring to fix some joists, as best we could! We did this in a couple of places throughout the house, but other than that we're just going to lay lauan and put in some flooring!

Anyway, so enough about the work. The important stuff..I was talking with one of my missionary partners for the week about missions and being called to the mission field as a career. We were talking about selling everything and going, and he got really excited and told me I needed to talk to this man and woman who are literally selling all they have, house and all, and going to the foreign mission field. I thought it was kind of strange for me to just randomly call them during the middle of the day, but he absolutely insisted, so I did, and I'm glad I did. He (the man) couldn't talk much, but he gave me his home phone number and told me to call and talk to his wife later tonight. So after we got back from AO and from our little run to Wal-Mart (we got off early tonight, and it was wonderful!), I called her, and I kid you not I had chills the entire time we talked. She has no idea how much of a blessing she was to me, a complete sock in the head from God, being like, ok wake up! :) She talked about some experiences she has had on the field and how she knows that the Lord is calling them to go now. I can't share all she said, but it was incredible. It was an absolute clear sign from God, giving me confidence, guidance, and people who know what they're doing (contacts!) that I need to follow Him to whatever crazy place He may lead me in the future. It was so exciting, so I got on my knees and praised God, then I surrendered and said here I am, send me! I can't wait to see where the Lord leads me in the future.

So I couldn't stay on the floor for too long, because I had to go play tennis with my group (I love these people!). I really only expected Minnie and this other precious lady named Tammy (the youth minister's wife) to be there, but several of the group showed up. Travis, the youth minister, and I played a short round (I wooped his tail), then we let other people have their turn. Before we met up though, when we were talking on the phone, deciding what time to meet up, I told them I would tell them in person what it was, but that something very exciting was happening (that would be the phone call). So when they got there, I excitedly explained the conversation. Of course, no one was as excited as I was, but through it, Travis and I ended up talking for at least an hour about missions, martyrs, true faith, the ruts the American church is in, music (he plays guitar and piano, writes music, and even has a recording studio..legit!), and movies. God continues to confirm in my heart His calling, and I could not be happier than to think that He has considered me worthy. What greater thing is there, than to know Christ and to make Him known? That's what we live for, what we were created to do. So then after we played tennis (or they played and we talked), the ladies walked me back to my apartment, and we stood and talked for awhile about everything! I shared with them my struggles, my fears, and my clear calling. Which reminds me..

I don't think I've shared with everyone the story of my specific calling. Maybe I have, but if so I'll share it again, just because it makes me happy :) So for the past semester, I struggled so very much with everything-changing my major, where my life is going, and even whether I believe in this God and this Bible. Crazy as it is, through all the struggle over whether I even believed in God, my heart was always stirred when I heard a sermon or something talking about missions or about the precious poor people who have never heard any news of hope in the world. Though I struggled with whether I believed the Bible, I never quit searching, and God was more than faithful. Looking back, I'm sure it was an absolute time of spiritual warfare, and I didn't even know it; God preparing me for whatever lies ahead, and Satan for sure not liking God's work in me. So anyway, through the semester, the thought of career missions was constantly on my mind, but I was never sure exactly what God wanted me to do. I remember praying specifically, starting right before I came here, about why I was always stirred for this. Many times I was completely taking it by faith that the God I was praying to even existed, because it sure didn't feel like it. But I remember asking God why every time I heard about missions or someone talk about their ministry to the inner-city children, or whatever, my heart was stirred and I wanted to be there. I didn't understand why, if I questioned God so much, I cared anything about the tribes deep in the heart of the African jungle who have never heard the name of Jesus. And it didn't take long for God to respond. He led me to John 1, and a few verses stood out to me. It says, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.." Jesus came to earth and dwelled AMONG us, which means He was on our level, He got down and dirty with us and LIVED with us! And He has called us to do the same with sinners. Then it says "and we have beheld His glory, of the One and Only, sent from the Father full of grace and truth." (FULL of GRACE and TRUTH! Christ has come not to condemn the world, but to fulfill the law in love and to preach the gospel of grace! And we have seen this glory, we have heard the gospel and experienced His healing touch!) But then the very next verse says "And John testifies concerning this." And in that moment, I felt the Lord clearly say, "Come, follow Me in this." And since then, there has been an absolute peace, no doubt, that this was God and His calling.

So anyway, I'm super pumped about what God is doing, and to find out where He is leading me. I will try to let everyone know any updates, but for now, I'm hoping to go back to Mrs. Bibbins's house tomorrow and hang out with them some more.

Just for fun, here are some pictures of some of the things we did today.. :)

We snapped some beans for Mrs. Bibbins. Thanks, mom, for all the years of practice for this day! ;) It was Will's (dude in the black) first time to ever snap beans..he's from Maryland!

My group convinced me to try peanuts in a coke..very interesting! I had never heard of this before. And another thing I had never heard of that I ate on my sandwich at lunch..yellow tomatoes! Mom, you've never shared that experience with me! :)

And also just for your pleasure, here is my favorite picture from our site..it just makes me happy, just because :)

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Thank You, Lord, for this opportunity.

Over the Mountain and through the woods..

Wow, this week has been incredible. Well, today specifically. Yesterday was a little crazy..not bad, just, well, Monday. It's the first day we begin our project and that with our new groups, so we are just getting to know one another for the first time on Mondays. Anyway, it seemed as if God was blessing me around every corner today. Our group of missionaries have begun to study the book of James in our nightly study times (we've finished Ephesians and Philippians). So I began this morning digging into James 1 after last night, when I spent about an hour reading and studying. Several things in it stuck out to me, some very important things, like how the Lord uses trials to teach us perseverance, which must finish its work to make us mature and complete, not lacking anything. So first we see that God desires for us to be mature and complete and lack nothing. Then we see that the actual work is perseverance (perseverance must finish its work), and the avenue by which this is attained is trials of many kinds. And we are commanded to consider them pure joy. Like, hello! Crazy! We can, and must, rejoice when things are difficult or crazy or not what we want them to be or whatever (as if we truly know what it means to suffer), because that is our hope, as Paul talks about in Romans (to set our hope fully on glory).

So after my personal study and a delicious breakfast at New Blackwell BC, we headed to our site, which is about 45 minutes of pure beauty away from the church. The view on this trip is seriously beyond anything I've ever seen. And we get to see it everyday this week! But the cool thing today was when the leader of the youth group decided to spend some time visiting the "scenic overlook" on the side of the road on the way to the site. It was absolutely one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. And I said "who made this? God!" :) But I sat down and just looked out over the mountain, seeing the lower mountains and the huge lake with the fog and the tee-tiny little bridge off in the distance, and I began to sing. The song that goes "Your love is higher than the mountains, deeper than the oceans, wider than the heavens, and brighter than the stars, and I will sing how wonderful You are" is what I sang to the Lord first. Then the song "You are God" (the Charlie Hall one) came next. Then it was the Lord who spoke. And He quoted to me Habakkuk 1:5, "For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe if told." Wow, what an incredible moment!

This week we are roofing and laying flooring in a house that belongs to a couple in their 70s who have many medical problems and cannot get around much. While it is easy to get consumed in the job, especially when it's a roofing job, which I am convinced has become my favorite thing, the Lord has reminded me to slow down and not forget the people. The beautiful trip that is literally over the mountains and through the woods is also landmarked with small, humble dwellings that are at times a little shocking. There was one little house-thing in a curve where I literally said "does someone live there?" I feel like I am in a third-world country at times. But, I tell you, it is the most exciting thing! I'm reading this book called The Ragamuffin Gospel (by Brennan Manning, I recommend it to anyone) which talks about the religious barriers we many times put on people and upon who Jesus was, but how He many times hung around the nasty, "unclean" people. It has really changed my view of who Jesus was and is. Where I thought at one time I had pretty little lines drawn around who Jesus is, now there are only smudged gray areas. To think that the person of Jesus, who came in the flesh FULL of GRACE and TRUTH, the representation of God's love for mankind, is not at all confined to the small lines I drew for Him! He is far beyond my wildest imagination. And this has helped me to accept not only other people, but also myself. And to accept that there is no greater love than God's. ("Greater love has no man than this, but that he lay down his life for his friends.") Wow, the amazing grace and love of our God! And what a cool thing, what an honor, to be here and to use my hands and feet, to get nasty and dirty, sweaty and smelly, all in the Name of Jesus. That gets me excited! That gets me pumped not only about this week, but the rest of the summer, and, strangely, about going back to school with no major! It gets me excited to think of all the cool things God has planned for my life, that I may be "poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from our faith". What an honor, what a blessing.

I wish I could share all the cool things God has done just in this one day, but it's late and I need a shower! So God bless you all, and may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you! :)

P.S. I definitely just pulled a tick out of my back from crawling under the house today. All in the Name of Jesus! :)

Broken Water Lines and Horizontal Skirting

So this week has definitely been another great one. I was back at the place I was my very first week here-a trailer belonging to a precious woman with 3 children, who just went through a nasty divorce. She got the trailer from her deceased sister, but it needed much work. She hired some people to do the work, but they ripped her off about $15,000, still leaving the trailer in pretty bad condition. My first week here, I didn't know what in the world I was doing! But the group worked hard, and there was a different group the following week who also made some headway on it. I don't think anyone was there last week, then this week of course, I was there. At first it was discouraging, because we had already been working for so long on the trailer, but it seemed to be getting nowhere. We kept running into new problems, having to make trips to Lowe's more than once in a day for supplies. But Wednesday was very encouraging, because we got some tile and some carpet laid in the floor. That made it look so much better! Then we got some cabinets and countertop, which made it look more and more like a home..finally! Today, another missionary and I went back to the site (our volunteer church group left early this morning, as they usually do on Fridays) to finish up some plumbing, which ended up taking literally all day! We got to crawl under the house with all the huge spiders and other creepy-crawlies, get wet and muddy from the leaks, and feel high from the primer and adhesive for the pipes. What great fun! Really, it was a lot of fun, and I hope we have finally given her water to the bathrooms! It has not been pressurized yet, because we wanted to let everything dry well, but hopefully it will all be well!

Yesterday, before the church group left, we got to pray with the homeowner and her grandmother and present them with a Bible that both groups signed. The homeowner prayed over us, thanking God for taking care of her in such a rough time in her life and for always being faithful. She prayed blessings upon us, and man were we blessed! It was just cool to think of how far the trailer had come from day one, and to think that there is still much work to be done, but that it is almost liveable! (That was a tri-compound sentence, if that's possible!) It was cool to be a part of that blessing. And her grandmother, we called her Mammaw, had been faithful through the week to bring us super-sugary kool-aid, and today she brought us some fresh, hot, made-from-scratch cake (DELICIOUS!). What a blessing it has been to walk with this family through this tough time! While we have been working on the trailer (and before we came) they were all living in Mammaw's house along with the deceased sister's child. I think they said there were like 7 people living in that house at once. Lots of kids! And one of Mammaw's cats had three little kittens, so we enjoyed playing with them when we took a bathroom break up the hill to Mammaw's house.

What a blessing it was to work with my church group this week, Lynwood Baptist, from Cape Girardeau, MO. (Hope I spelled that right) The women from their group stayed most of the time at the Ministry Center working with Kid's Klub, so the majority of the time it was just me and the guys on the job site. But they were hard workers, and we got a lot done. Mr. Dale kept us alive with his excited humor, and Mr. Bill tried :). I'm kidding, Mr. Bill was great. Jared and Billy worked hard on the deck and teaching me to install vinyl skirting (hence the title of the post, horizontal skirting. Adam, my missionary partner for the week, tried to show me how to do the skirting..let's just say he was wrong! :) ). And of course there was my partner Adam, and what can I say? It was an interesting week with all the van swappage! (different story for a different day.) All in all, it has been a great week, and I think the Lord is teaching me much about trusting Him. Things don't always go as we would like them to, they rarely do, but His way is always best, and we must learn to trust Him with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding! :)

God bless.

Soup Kitchens and Leaky Roofs

This week has been good..I have really felt the Lord stirring my heart. I don't know for what exactly, other than to realize my need for Him, and to trust in and rely on Him and the sufficient grace He gives. Today was rather eye-opening..there were many moments where I saw the Lord at work. It has rained every day this week, and that is just not good when you're trying to roof a house. It seems as if every day we have been surprised by rain and had to quickly cover the roof with tarps to keep the water out of the house (we are re-roofing the entire thing because it has pretty much rotted away, and when it rains, it rains in the house, know what I mean?). Yesterday we had to quit roofing around 3:30ish (we normally work til 5) because of a surprise thunderstorm, so we left after we covered the house with tarps and plastic. When we arrived at the house this morning, there was a note on the door from the homeowner saying that the roof had leaked through the night (there was a huge thunderstorm, threatening tornadoes, last night) and the lady, who has many health problems, had to leave and spend the night with her neighbor. That hit hard. Then the men were standing around, asking where the roof had leaked inside, no one knew, so I, being the oh-so-very-smart woman that I am, went inside to answer the question for myself! (ha!) Anyway, as I walked through the house, which I had done a couple of times before in the week, I took the time this time to notice how the people live. In one room (there were no bedroom doors in the house, only sheets hung over the doorway), there was a mattress and box springs on the floor, no bed frame, and in another room on the floor was just a mattress, with no box springs or frame. There was a little bit of furniture, but nothing matched, and well, you know. When you walk up the stairs, you have to bend over or you will hit your head because the ceiling comes so low at the bottom of the staircase. One of the biggest things that struck me when I walked in her bedroom (which is the first room you walk into when you walk in the front door) was that her bed (she sleeps in a hospital bed) was wet. This room is where most of the water comes in. Her comforter and quilt were soaked from the leaky roof. Had she stayed there last night, what would she have done? Could she even have stayed there? And how do you greet a person when you see them for the first time after that?

So needless to say, I was a little depressed for the first part of the day! But the Spirit reminded me that I needed to preach the gospel to myself. Then He continually blessed me with good conversation here and there throughout the day. One boy, who came for the first time today, when I asked him his favorite Scripture, told me a legit story about how people made fun of him when he was young, so much so that he was suicidal. But God had brought him to Isaiah 40 and said to him that "youths may grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings as eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint." And that had literally saved his life, he said. Just a cool time when the Lord kicked me in the pants again for judgin folks.

And later this afternoon, I had a conversation with my supervisor, talking about the Word. In our nightly services, he always speaks, but he never cracks the Bible. He always uses stories to say things, but never uses scripture. The Lord graciously opened up a conversation about it, and he talked about how he doesn't know exactly what the "word of God" means (like when He promises that His Word will not return to Him void)..he explained that in the early church the disciples didn't use scripture to talk to one another, but they told people about Jesus and what He did. So my supervisor made a good point in saying that we many times get caught up in what's right and wrong, what's biblical and unbiblical, yet many times we forget simply who Jesus was. Anyway, this is a man I've been praying for since I got here..just something about him, the Spirit has placed him on my heart. So tonight during the service he shared scripture, and by goodness it was legit! It was just powerful. And I think I've just settled in my heart after prayer and some struggling that I just need the Word, the written Word, because it's just so good. I've tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and I don't want to rely on my own understanding of the world..I'm too crazy for that. I need the Word. All of it, even the parts I don't like because they hurt my feelings. God, give us a passion for Your Word! And may it go forth into all nations, to the places it is not known! And so friends, let us pray. And let us share the Word in word and in deed, relying solely on the power of the Spirit to lead us.

Grace and peace be with your spirit! :)