The Chinese people love spicy food! The first time you befriend a Chinese person they will immediately ask you if you have tried Hot Pot yet. We were fortunate to try it on our second night in China. We stumbled into a restaurant, not knowing what we were getting ourselves into. After an entertaining round of ordering which included about 20 minutes of confused pointing, the waiter took sympathy on us and brought Marisa back to the kitchen so she could point to what we wanted. We then received a huge bowl of oil and chili sauce which was put under a flame and brought to boiling. We learned hot pot was similar to fondue...only a lot spicier!!! Team Judah was brought to tears as we shoved cucumbers in our mouths to sooth are burning tongues and chugged bottle after bottle of coke.
CHINESE HOTELS:
One of the areas we stayed in was mildly affected by the earthquake that was in China in May. Upon our arrival to the hotel, we were greeted with what looked like a demolition sight, complete with men on ladders tearing down dry wall. IT appears that this hotel suffered some cosmetic damage and chose the precise time we were there to do some remodeling. After stepping over boards with nails in them, and dodging the falling dry wall, we climb seven flights of stairs (the Chinese don't believe in elevators). The rest of the week included ducking from exposed wires, trying not to slip on the muddy tile stairs that were formerly carpeted, and of course, all the joyful sounds that go along with a remodel.
SPLIT BOTTOM PANTS:
The Chinese don't believe in diapers. Therefore their children, under the age of about three have pants that are split for their hiney to the front so they can go whenever they want (yes, even on sidewalks)
SPITTING:
The Chinese Spit...a lot
SQUATTY POTTIES
As if squatties are unpleasant enough, a squattie on the train is the worse. You can imagine the problems caused when trying to aim while moving back and forth. Not to mention when you flush it drops straight ont the track. This creates a nice little draft on your bare bum, which, when the train goes through a tunnel, is actually strong enough to shoot it's liquid contents back at you.
And FINALLY...
Imagine a white girl running in a long skirt and flip flops in a 900 year old village, with temples all over the place, and Chinese yelling at you. This is my lie.
Thank you all for you support whether it be financially or through prayers. God has been so faithful in providing for this trip and I cannot express my gratitude.
I wanted to keep everyone well informed about where I am at, and a specific number that you can pray for me for. I am currently short $4,881. This is what will get me to my ultimate goal of $13,800. I did learn that any amount over that can go to reimbursing me for costs for this trip which were not included in that estimate. These included shots, plane tickets to training camp and tickets to L.A as well.
As of right now I am where I need to be financially, but that doesn't mean the prayers and support should stop!!! Keep it up!!! :)
Everyone knows the story of Pandora’s Box. A woman opens a box releasing all the spirits of men into the world. She is able to hold on to one, which is hope, preserving the belief that despite all the things that go wrong in the world there is still something to have faith in.
I had a box like this but mine was a little backwards. Locked securely away was my heart, with everything God wanted me to experience with him. I’m not just talking a good quiet time, or good worship. I’m talking about the love a HUSBAND has for his wife and GIFTS that are so abundant they flow like oil. In this box was an intimacy with God like non other. My relationship with God was great and I thought I had reached a secure place with it, but like the layers of an onion, I was feeling that God wanted to peel the next layer and reveal more. I was ready for it, but it just wasn’t happening. While the things in Pandora’s Box were supposed to be locked securely, the things in my box were suppose to be released onto the world! If this box was opened I could fully unleash love, peace, and KINGDOM, onto the world. But how do I open it?
This has been my burning question for the past few weeks. God moved in me at launch training, but since I had hit a wall and could not figure how to get past it. I prayed and prayed that God would reveal to me what it was. That he would unlock the box and all the contents would spill forth. The more I tried though, the more frustrated I got because I didn’t have the answer.
We are at debrief right now, getting filled up on teaching and some much needed rest. It is here that God answered my question. The key to my box was intimacy. To know God the way that he knows me, the way a husband and wife know each other. Can you fathom a relationship with God like that? A relationship where you burn for God? Where every waking moment your spirit is crying out? To know God this way is to get oil (Matthew 25:1-13). To be ready when the bridegroom comes so that he will say “I KNOW you�. This is different than being saved. Yes God knows you and he formed you, but how deep do you let him into your heart? How well do YOU know him? Do you love him like a faithful wife? Do you hear him as plainly as you hear your father?
At this realization my heart wept. I had NOT been a faithful wife to Him. I had made excuses, and tried to do so much on my own. But he LOVES me beyond what I can fathom. As I prayed and repented to him he sent me a gift. A small frog hopped across the path I was walking and stopped before me (if you didn’t know, I love frogs). It was so simple, yet so beautiful. It was a love offering. A gift to show me he loves me!
Without this king of love, every ministry I try to start or serve in will not bear fruit. I will merely be a doer for him, which may look good on paper, but it is the LOVERS that will bring KINGDOM.
So I thought this blog was only going to be an update because I didn't feel like I had any pearls of wisdom to offer, but God has been teaching me something pretty spectacular.
It all started last Saturday when we went to T.G.I. Friday's to celebrate a teammate's birthday. We were all excited about an American feast, until later that night when three of us had stomach issues from the food, myself included. Mine wasn't too sever, but it was bad enough that I didn't go to church. By that afternoon I felt better, just really weak. I went to the dumps on Monday and went about the day, but was not able to take part in the Soccer ministry that day. A little disheartening, but I can sacrifice one day to get better right...?
Well...? Things went a little differently...
Tuesday I was up and running. Feeling grateful that my illness only took me out of my ministry and service for a few days I got right back into my routine and was glad to get back to the school to start helping again. Wednesday night was youth group which was so much fun. My teammate, Janina, has been helping me get over the fear of playing the guitar in front of people, basically by forcing me to do it anyways. While we were hanging out with the kids, she brought the guitar over to me, and the tab book and said we are playing this song for the kids. After running through it a couple of times, I felt prepared enough. After we gave our sermon, we finished with our song. I got up on stage with Janina and the rest of our choir, and before I knew it, the drummer, base guitar, and keyboard were up there too all playing behind me. Of course I messed up, but picked right back up and continued the rest of the song. It was a very different experience for me and was a lot fun. Maybe I can do this whole guitar thing. What another great way I can minister!!!
Alas, there was this little cold that my teammates have passed around like money when the nation isn't in a financial crisis. And yes...I got sick. It hit me hard on Saturday, our day off, and the day a couple of teammates and I planned to go to Taal Volcano. But I thought, I'm tough, I can make it through and enjoy the day. Well I made it through, but after an hour and a half bus ride, thirty minute tricycle ride, a boat ride, a hike up the side of the volcano, and then do it all over again on the return trip, only to get stuck in hot smelly traffic, all while sneezing and feeling like your head was going to explode, it turned out to not be the most enjoyable trip. I'm glad I went, but Sunday God was pretty firm with me when he said you need to rest!!! I slept for 12 and a half hours on Saturday night, didn't go to church and am still about to cough up a lung today.
God is telling me to rest. But more so, God is humbling me. I haven't been to the dumps since last Wednesday for one reason or another. I have been sick twice in a week a half and am unable to continue with many of the ministries I started here. And in all this God is reminding me, it's not about me. It's not about my abilities, its not about my gifts and talents, it is about him. It's about serving him and glorifying him! My pride is something that has plagued me since high school. I know I am prideful, and I try to control it, but I am not able to do it alone. I like when God reminds me that I can't do things on my own, because then I realized how much I try to do things on my own and how hard it really is.
While I was contemplating this blog yesterday, I thought about Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This verse has always encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone. But then I thought about the flip side. I can't do anything without Christ. I can try, but it is never as good as it could be with God. What if that verse read "I can ONLY do ANYthing through Christ who strengthens me"? WOW! What a difference that adjustment makes! But it's true, and while God did not put this sickness in me, he loves using it to teach me a lesson. I need him in EVERYTHING I do...not just the times that I'm being stretched. My gifts and abilities are not my own, they are God's and he has entrusted me with them to be a good steward of those gifts. So if you think you're pretty spectacular and talented, stop thinking it's about you. It's not.
We were all greeted with an odor that hits you like a punch. The van slowly rocks and rolls forward in four inches of liquid mud as we get our first sights of the feeble shelters that house entire families in the Pilipino dump. Naked and caked with mud, children walk barefoot in flooded corridors of sewage, playing with makeshift toys that have been abandoned by their former owners. Then the van turns into a shell of a building made of cinder blocks and tin roofing that serves as the school. In the midst of this destitute land we are welcomed with the wide smiles and enthusiastic waves of school children who are given a chance for a better life.
This is a glimpse of what my first day at the dump was like. I've heard stories of this place, I've seen pictures, but none of that can ever prepare anyone for this experience. We toured the dump that is home to 5,000 Pilipino families. It is natural to want to pity them, but as I trudged through the mud in my oversized goulashes, I saw families who have close to nothing, yet are so rich in love for each other. Even though they have no electricity, or running water, they lack nothing. There is a spirit of contentment that is unlike any in a western commercialist society. God is in that dump. He is blessing those people, and it is we have so much to learn!
The following days we spent serving the school that is at the center of the dump. They have a lot of needed organization, so three of my team members and I spent the past three days cleaning out the storage closet. Now let me tell you about this storage closet. When it rains, the whole school floods, including this room. Piles and piles of boxes had suffered severe water damage and not even the Principal knew what was in any of them. The first day, we took inventory of the boxes we could get to that didn't have too much damage. The second day...that's when the fun starts. We dawned our battle gear and faced colonies of cock roaches and came face to face with two spiders about four inches wide laying eggs. Your heart gets going when you pull out a box and that mamba jamba is on the side of it. Today, we were prepared. We expected cockroaches, we expected some more spiders, but did NOT expect the 10 lb rat that crawled out from a pile of rotting cardboard, nor the three that followed it later in the day. The epitome came when we lifted the crates used to keep the boxes out of rising water and played wack-a-roach as they scattered for freedom and found 11 rat babies, barely a few days old. I am glad to say that job is done!
Who know what tomorrow holds! There has been talk of some sports ministry with the kids. That would be refreshing. But I think God has really used this closet, (as well as the mounds of books that needed sorting in the Library that my other team members faced) to test our obedience. We asked to be here and to go to the hard places. Well we're here, and who wouldn't want to know how far we are truly willing to go before the storm hits?
My four days in California were very relaxing and fun. I got to see my old roomie Wendy, and spent some time at the beach with a team member. I also got some great goodbye meals provided by my grandmother.
The plane ride was not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. Although a 15 hour plane ride can hardly compare to the 36 hour one I took to Indonesia! But we all made it to Manilla safely, and without ANY problems whatsoever.
So now the fun starts...
We are still going through some training before we jump into ministry. A lot of it is spiritual preparation and more team bonding. I love how intentional AIM is about team building! A poorly united team can definitely ruin this experience and ministry. But there has already been some fun times. I have already tried some of the Philippino fine cuisine. That included some cooked pigs blood, pig intestines, pig year, and a bulet (prounounced BAH-loot), or a duck egg that has been fertilized and gestating for 21 days, then boiled. You crack the egg, such out the juice, and then eat a duck fetus, that has some feathers and a beak. But really they have been feeding us quite well. We really have been spoiled by the accommodations. Although they are not able to do anything about the stifling humidity!!! If you think Texas is humid, you would keel over in the Philippines!!!
Personally I am in an interesting place. My team went to International House of Prayer (IHOP) with my team members 2 weeks ago. There I was in awe of the power of Christ and prayer. It was such a spiritually cleansing time for me. I really felt like God was laying a foundation while I rested in his presence during the worship and prayer at IHOP. No one can deny that this whole experience is the next phase in life, and as God has spent the past few months clearing out the rubble, he is now preparing the ground the build again. Many of this revelation came from receiving a prophecy while I was there. I won't go into details of what all was said, but much of it was God telling me that all of the struggles, frustrations, disappointments and pains of the past three or four years were coming to a close. God has seen my faithfulness in these times and he wanted me to know that they were coming to an end. I was also encouraged in some of my giftings and ministries that I was going to have.
I am currently in the process of tying up all the lose ends of the previous phase. God has brought an understanding about the past four years that I so desired while I went through it. Now that it is becoming clear, I am in awe of what he has been growing in me; gifts I never felt worthy to receive, a heart full of compassion, and a boldness that will allow me to step into all the roles he has for me.
I am excited that you are joining with me in the journey. It is so hard to explain fully what God is doing in my heart. But I promise as this year unfolds, it will become clearer, to you and to me. So tune in next week to see what happens. ☺
Well friends, I apologize for not being diligent last week with my blog posts. To be honest, I didn't want to really be around my computer...not sure why...maybe I was passive aggressively angry with it...but we have made up and are enjoying a cloudy morning here in Austin. So I don't have any one cool story to tell you guys...I have four! :) I apologize for the length (This is what happens when you don't update regularly!) but read it all...its good! :)
ONE:
This fund raising thing! WHEW is it stressful! But last Sunday at church God spoke and brought me peace! :) My church has been discussing Money, and what the Bible says about managing your money effectively, and how you can use it to bless God responsibly. My pastors sermons were very interesting and informative, and I found it interesting that we were talking about financial issues when I need this huge chunk of money. So last week he talked about debt. He shared some awesome stories of how God delivered people from 40-50, 000 dollar debt in a year or two, and really emphasized the point that if you are responsible with your money as God has asked, and you bless God with your money, he will bless you ten fold! Then at the end of the sermon he invited anyone who was in need of any kind of financial blessing to come up front and get prayed for. As he as inviting us, I realized I was on the verge of tears. I was up front in a flash. When I started to pray to God the tears came, and I began to understand how worried I was about this. A couple of my friends came up and prayed for me and one said something that really spoke to me. He went with me to Indonesia, so he understands the pressures of fund raising.
"I remember trying to raise money for Indo, and the feeling that I was never doing enough. Always thinking I need to send out one more support letter, or have another fund raiser. But we don't need to strive when God is willing to bless us"
That statement was so timely. I was coming off a week where I felt like I wasn't doing enough. I thought I wasn't praying enough, or that I needed to fast more, or spend more time with God. While all those things are well and good, they mean nothing without faith that he will provide. Where was my faith? This past Sunday, a couple from the body got up and had a word for the congregation. They were calling to God for big things to happen and just kept sayings "Surprise us with...Surprise us by..." I couldn't help but think "why would we be surprised to see God move like that? I shouldn't be surprised when God blesses me with a large sum of money (I definitely will be) but if nothing is too big for our God, why do I act and think like it is?
The moral of this story is simple: GOD WILL PROVIDE
TWO:
This one will be brief because I don't want to dwell on it.
Satan attacked again this past Friday night. This time it was through a very real and intense dream, timed perfectly when both of my room mates were gone for the weekend to Dallas.
Please keep praying for protection from these attacks. Satan knows exactly how to get me that makes me question my identity in Christ. He's good, he's done his homework, but my God is still stronger :)
THREE:
I am learning more and more that there really is strength in vulnerability. Lately there has been a lack of openness between me and my room mates. After praying and discussing it in depth, me and one of my room mates decided to take this problem on and brought it to my second room mate Sunday night.
WHAT A NIGHT OF FREEDOM!!!
God was with us as all of us talked and expressed our hearts and fears about sharing certain things with each other, and how that truly affects our perceptions of each other. There were of course tears, but as hard as being vulnerable is (at least for me) I am in awe of how it strengthens friendships. Usually after a conversation like this, the next morning I wake up defenses up, a little embarrassed that I let anyone in. Monday morning, there was a smidgeon of that, but it's gotten smaller, and each time I do this, that regret is smaller and smaller. If you knew me 4 years ago...it was virtually impossible to get me to open up, but God has been so faithful as I learn to open up to people...esp girls! I love my room mates and have never felt closer to them!!!
FOUR:
This one is really good!!!
So three years ago I was in a really poopy relationship that really shattered my faith in God. I knew God was still there, and still believed he had the best for me, but I was very mad at him. As a result my intimacy with him suffered and all desire to know him better was really hit or miss. I tried to read my bible and spend time with him, but there was no passion in it which made it almost pointless. As a part of this journey toward the World Race, God has really sought to heal our relationship. The past 9 months have been about gaining trust in him again and in his plan and let me tell you, there have been some high highs and some low lows! But the joy I once had when I spent time with him has slowly but surely come back and our relationship is stronger than I can ever remember it being! However, there was still on thing missing. Worship time for the past few years has been very difficult for me. The words had little meaning to me and there was again, no passion in what I was saying. I used to be very punctual when it came to getting to church so that I didn't miss any of the worship, but the past year or so, I would get to church late, arriving just at the tail end of worship. I would try to get there on time, but when singing doesn't have the same effect it used to, its hard to motivate yourself to go.
Well, the past month the passion and desire to worship has been stirred up in me again, and as such, I began getting to church on time!!! This past Sunday though, was the pinnacle, and I know that I have come full circle because I was worshiping like a mad women! There was so much joy, passion and desire there that it was hard to contain! What freedom!!! And I am so grateful that God was so patient but pursuant in healing our relationship. I have never felt so intimate with God and am so excited to see what he has for us and this adventure we are going on! :)
The war has begun...I know this because last night, Satan attacked...
Lately, I have been going to bed at a reasonable hour....around 9 o'clock...Ok so I'm an old lady...but it is reasonable!!! Anyway, it has been so amazing and rejuvenating. And since I have been going to bed earlier, I have not faced many opportunities for Satan to attack me when my defenses are down, which seems to be the danger the longer you stay up. Because of this recent practice, I almost think I was more susceptible being out of "practice".
So last night I was babysitting and was so tired I fell asleep on their couch until the parents came home about 10:30. We talked some and by the time I left it was a little after 11. Now just for a disclaimer...the following were merely a vision...this did not actually happen. And I want it to be said in advance....I am sorry if I offend and guy with this blog...I am not a man hating macho feminist or anything and I certainly do not think men are inherently disrespectful to women...with that said...
I began to think about the race and visualizing events that might occur. After doing this a while I got this horrific vision in my head of a man, taking me away from my team and trying to rape me. In it I either was able to fight my way free, or a team member would save me, but I still felt the embarrassment of it actually happen. I then had a vision of having to tell the AIM leaders and them telling me that I should go home and deal with this with a counselor or something. I remember telling them I can keep going, but saying this with my head down.
After thinking this for a few minutes I thought..."Why is this in my head? This is not from God" and began praying. Alas, with my defenses being down I quickly lost focus and the bad thoughts returned but this time I noticed how stirred my spirit was. It has been prophesied over me that God has given me tremendous strength, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It's been hard for me to understand what people mean when they say I have this strength, but lately God has been revealing this gift to me. So I identified this stirring as my strength of my spirit responding to such a gruesome image.
And then, I began to get angry at the fictional man who did this, and the real men who do this to defenseless women. The stirring in my spirit that I thought was my strength building was really anger and resentment that was coming out against men. And then my thoughts began to attack the roles of women, our nurturing and serving side that are sometimes used to subjegate women in a subservient role. And then my own thoughts started attacking me. "why would you want to put yourself in that position? Why would you want to get married and have some man think he's better than you?" Then, Satan faltered...
"There's so much SHAME in that".
The word that broke the spell: SHAME. Immediately I knew that this was not my own passions or desires speaking, that this was not from God and this was not truth. This was an attack. OF COURSE! I was tired, it has been a long day at work, and it was late. I almost kicked myself for being so blind, but quickly began shouting truth in my car, rebuking Satan and his attack.
Satan knows I am passionate about encouraging and empowering women who are abused, or degraded. He also knows my own personal searches on what it means to be a women of God, and how I, personally can reflect God's beauty while still maintaining my Tom-boy-esque personality. If you read my "I am woman, hear me roar" blog, you would learn that I feel like my role this upcoming year is to empower women and challenge the perceptions many people have about women. How great is it going to be to destroy the fabric of lies Satan has created in this area? He's scared, that's why he attacked me last night. And as far as I'm concerned, he better be cowering in a corner, because me, and my team, and our God are about to rock his world!
So Fri night I got a call from one of my closest friends who told me that her husband's mom was in a really bad car accident. She is not breathing on her own and is in a coma with neck fractures and hemorrhaging in her brain.
There's also a possibility she may have damage to her spinal chord, but they aren't sure yet and she might have to face future surgeries for her neck.
Please send her your prayers as her body deals with this trauma and pray for fast and miraculous healing. Also keep my friend and her husband and their family in your prayers as they seek comfort and understanding for this tragic event.
Back in the real world. I hit the ground running, immediately fighting everything the world could throw at me...
My flight got in around 7 on Sunday night and being on Georgia time I was ready for bed at like 9. Bright and early (and I mean early), I was up and working out at the gym. Having spent the past week with some amazing people whom I love dearly, it was hard to think of the next 7 weeks. Trying to get in a routine seemed almost pointless, when all i can think is how ready I am to be on the race and not have to worry about the mundane things I am doing right now. On Mondays and Tuesdays I usually go to my internship for 3 to 4 hours and then have the rest of the day to myself. But due to being gone for a week, I had to go make up time at my full time job after my internship. No worries...it makes for a long day, but I could do it. So there I was, having gotten up at 5:30 (due to being on Georgia time still...thank you AIM) I was feeling good. My workout was good, God was good, everything was good. So I pulled all my dress clothes out for my internship, including my shoes, and go to the dressing room, leaving my shoes behind on the bench while I changed. When I came out, everything was as it seemed, so I grabbed my make-up bag and went to a mirror 10 feet away from my locker. When I had finished, I returned to where my locker was and went to put on my shoes only to find them missing. I looked under the bench, in my locker, and asked the locker room attendant who was vacuuming in that section. There was only one other person changing in there with me, whom I noted left rather hastily. Surely she wouldn't have stolen my shoes?!!!! But that is the only conclusion I can come up with..unless my shoes grew feet and they walked off together. If it was someone in need, I probably would have been a little more gracious in departing with them...although...I can't imagine someone in need wanting a pair of dress shoes over comfortable tennis shoes..but I know this woman wasn't in need...she works out at Lifetime Fitness. I pay dues there...I know what you have to budget to go there. It was simply a mind set that she liked my shoes, so much so, that she decided she was going to take them. I resigned to driving back to my house to get another pair of shoes, not necessarily grieving the loss of my shoes...they hurt my feet...but grieving the mind set of our society. How did this kind of behavior become acceptable? And then God showed up.
"How are you going to respond? Are you going to fume, and be angry with this woman because she treated you and your property with no respect? Or are you going to show grace and see the brokeness here in the lies?"
Huh....how often do we make things about ourselves and get wrapped up in how we have been hurt? How often do we fail to see other peoples brokeness? And how often do we dwell on all of that and ignore the blessings God gives us?
Since this incident, I have broken up with my boyfriend, will have worked 7 full days in a row...which typically involves getting yelled at by customers (you'd be surprise how protective people are of their pictures), and have faced general disappointments from friends and family. And you know what...? Maybe its because I'm still on a spiritual high....or maybe because I'm too idealistic to know when something poopy has happened....but i am doing just as good today as I was when I left Georgia. The only answer I can give is that God has been so faithful in the past month and I can't deny what he is doing in my life. For the first time in 5 years, my life makes sense. My skills, heart, and desires all have a direction and purpose and it is all for God. He has truly blessed me with room mates who are fun and awesome, a team that is supportive and encouraging (with impeccable timing, John and Marisa ;) ) and a spirit that is so joy filled. In the midst of a broken world there is hope. God. This first week back has been hard, and tiring, but rather than dwelling on the pains, I chose to focus on the joy of God. He has turned my mourning into dancing.
my routine and was glad to get back to the school to start helping again. Wednesday night was youth group which was so much fun. My teammate, Janina, has been helping me get over the fear of playing the guitar in front of people, basically by forcing me to do it anyways. While we were hanging out with the kids, she brought the guitar over to me, and the tab book and said we are playing this song for the kids. After running through it a couple of times, I felt prepared enough. After we gave our sermon, we finished with our song. I got up on stage with Janina and the rest of our choir, and before I knew it, the drummer, base guitar, and keyboard were up there too all playing behind me. Of course I messed up, but picked right back up and continued the rest of the s
ong. It was a very different experience for me and was a lot fun. Maybe I can do this whole guitar thing. What another great way I can minister!!!
God is telling me to rest. But more so, God is humbling me. I haven't been to the dumps since last Wednesday for one reason or another. I have been sick twice in a week a half and am unable to continue with many of the ministries I started here. And in all this God is reminding me, it's not about me. It's not about my abilities, its not about my gifts and talents, it is about him. It's about serving him and glorifying him! My pride is something that has plagued me since high school. I know I am prideful, and I try to control it, but I am not able to do it alone. I like when God reminds me that I can't do things on my own, because then I realized how much I try to do things on my own and how hard it really is.
We were all greeted with an odor that hits you like a punch. The van slowly rocks and rolls forward in four inches of liquid mud as we get our first sights of the feeble shelters that house entire families in the Pilipino dump. Naked and caked with mud, children walk barefoot in flooded corridors of sewage, playing with makeshift toys that have been abandoned by their former owners. Then the van turns into a shell of a building made of cinder blocks and tin roofing that serves as the school. In the midst of this destitute land we are welcomed with the wide smiles and enthusiastic waves of school children who are given a chance for a better life.
This is a glimpse of what my first day at the dump was like. I've heard stories of this place, I've seen pictures, but none of that can ever prepare anyone for this experience. We toured the dump that is home to 5,000 Pilipino families. It is natural to want to pity them, but as I trudged through the mud in my oversized goulashes, I saw families who have close to nothing, yet are so rich in love for each other. Even though they have no electricity, or running water, they lack nothing. There is a spirit of contentment that is unlike any in a western commercialist society. God is in that dump. He is blessing those people, and it is we have so much to learn!
closet. When it rains, the whole school floods, including this room. Piles and piles of boxes had suffered severe water damage and not even the Principal knew what was in any of them. The first day, we took inventory of the boxes we could get to that didn't have too much damage. The second day...that's when the fun starts. We dawned our battle gear and faced colonies of cock roaches and came face to face with two spiders about four inches wide laying eggs. Your heart gets going when you pull out a box and that mamba jamba is on the side of it. Today, we were prepared. We expected cockroaches, we expected some more spiders, but did NOT expect the 10 lb rat that crawled out from a pile of rotting cardboard, nor the three that followed it later in the day. The epitome came when we lifted the crates used to keep the boxes out of rising water and played wack-a-roach as they scattered for freedom and found 11 rat babies, barely a few days old. I am glad to say that job is done!
Who know what tomorrow holds! There has been talk of some sports ministry with the kids. That would be refreshing. But I think God has really used this closet, (as well as the mounds of books that needed sorting in the Library that my other team members faced) to test our obedience. We asked to be here and to go to the hard places. Well we're here, and who wouldn't want to know how far we are truly willing to go before the storm hits? 
How often do we fail to see other peoples brokeness? And how often do we dwell on all of that and ignore the blessings God gives us?