Sunday, September 12, 2010

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

update


we are still currently in Tuguegarou. Doing the same old thing..eat, sleep, share testimonies haa. We are thinking of making t-shirts :P It has been rather repetitive and getting a little old. Everyday we visit a new church and play a song and share testimonies then pray then maybe eat lunch with them, then go house to house and pray. Or go to a high school and go room to room doing the same skit over and over again and sharing testimonies. It leaves you feeling as though they don't really get the point of why we are here and I can see our energy and excitement draining from having to do the same thing all the time :( Our team really misses doing bar ministry and working with prostitutes. We found some bars in the main city the other day so we are hoping our contact will take us in and let us work with the girls. I think its different here, I don't think they usually do bar ministry in these parts so Pastor Samson seems skeptical about how it all works..and I don't think he understands that we have been working closely with this type of stuff our entire outreach so far. So things like that have been frustrating and draining. Its hard to believe we fly out in two weeks! I know I will miss this culture and all the adventures we've had so much. But I will defiantly not miss the bug-bites haha I am currently COVERED! and itch soooo much! its awful :( my legs burn from the bites. Where we are sleeping is crawling in ant and flea looking things. You really cant get away from it. Some good news though haha I have been able to make connections with two neighbor girls next door. I met them at one of the churches and found out they lived so close so its been fun going over and hanging out and meeting their families :) We've also made good connections and relationships with the two boys that help drive us around places, they are student helpers that the pastor knows. I'm realizing that my passion is one-on-one discipleship rather than speaking in front of churches and school. I'd much rather just hangout with someone for the day and swap stories and mentor to them...so i'm thankful for getting to know the girls next door. The other morning I was restless and couldn't sleep so I went out at around 6:30 and decide to go for a walk and go shooting. I met this sweet grandma next door (lola is what they call grandma) and I sat down with her for about 45 minutes just talking. She is so sweet and loved having her photo taken which is always a plus :) her english was pretty good and we were able to have a nice conversation. great way to start off a morning. days start early here in the Philippines so when you sleep in you miss a lot it seems. so i've been trying to get awake and get out early. I'm realizing God's faithfulness so much in my life and his protection. I would have never imagined my life to be taking me to all the places it has and how God was preparing me in different ways through my past experiences with things for now, and how he's going to use now and things i'm learning and going through to prepare me for the plans he has for my future. It's so comforting knowing we serve a BiG God who is totally 100percent in control :) His strength has been so evident throughout this outreach, I haven't had a time yet where I have fully "crashed" or gotten sick..he's kept me going day after day and given me energy and joy. This past 6 month adventure and time with my father has been incredible and grown me in many ways, i've discovered new things and realized things in my own life and heart that need working. He is so faithful in the way he gently shows us these things. I seriously can't believe we will all be heading home soon, it has gone so fast! haha. anyway I believe thats all the updates for now. untill next time.. thank you so much for reading and checking in! :) above is a video my friend the lovely bethany jeffery has made of our outreach thus far. The video I made from our time in the tribes is in the process of being uploaded... so that is soon to come! enjoy!