We are the Big Sister Squad serving in Manila, Philippines. Time has flown by since we have arrived. We have already met so many special faces that we will never forget. The faces of babies, children, and mothers have already found a direct route to our hearts that could have only been put there by our God.
Praise be to God from whom all blessings flow.
Our specific mission while here is to be big sisters to
young girls who have been abused in some way. Our house is a refuge of sorts,
and we have witnessed first-hand the healing power of our Lord to turn all
circumstances into a new, beautiful creation.
These girls, 34 in all, have been through so many hardships,
yet they love the Lord with such a passion unlike anything I have ever seen.
We are learning so much from them daily.
The girls are in school daily so we spend most of the
time with them in the afternoons and on the weekends. They arrive home from
school with lots of homework, so we do our best to help them anyway that we
can. Of course, part of being a big sister is making sure that life is fun! We
try to plan fun events for the girls so that they get a break from homework.
Some afternoons we might go swimming or for a jog down the road. The latter
involves jogging up several “mountains” so my legs are quite sore at the
moment. This past weekend, we had a pizza night and taught the girls how to
make homemade pizza. We all had a blast! Music always fills the house—piano,
guitar, and singing. It is a beautiful sound. There’s a great atmosphere here
at the house, and the Lord is providing many opportunities for us to love these
girls and show them Jesus.
We have Bible Study groups that meet twice a week; this
is precious time with the girls that we enjoy. This is a time to reflect on
how God is speaking to us through His Word and how we are responding to His
voice. We are also about to begin going on “dates” with the girls. This will be
one-on-one time that we get to spend with each of the girls, and we are so very
excited to begin!
As a team, the Lord hand-picked each of us to be together—we
work so well together and have formed, what we anticipate to be, lifelong friendships. We have
also adopted a team member from last year’s Nehemiah Team to join us this summer. Ashley has stepped in and helped us more than we could have ever
imagined... she is truly is an answer to prayer. We have all prayed intensely that
the Lord would burden our hearts together and use us to be Big Sisters with an
eternal impact.
Please be praying
that God’s Spirit would continue to grow, heal, and restore young hearts for
His glory.