We have been in the Philippines for roughly two weeks.
My prayer before I left for the Philippines was that the Lord would allow me to
walk in His Spirit, to abide. During
this time, the Lord has taught us so much as a team about listening for His
voice and then walking in what He says. The very first small group we had with
the girls in the house, we talked about a Helper that we have as daughters of
Christ. This Helper is the Holy Spirit.
During our first week, we were so overwhelmed. There are so
many ministries in Manila that it was very easy to say, “I want to do it
all!” We had a moment over lunch one day where we just did not know where
the Lord wanted us. There were so many places and so many people that could use
extra hands.
However, we knew the Lord wanted us to be a mile deep in a
few places rather than many places only an inch deep. It was just such a hard decision, and we were
tempted to make this decision ourselves. But we prayed. We prayed right then that
the Lord would guide us, that He would direct us. Later that day, a missionary
here in Manila spoke some very wise words to us: “The worst thing you can do is
a lot of good things that the Lord didn’t ask you to do.” This statement
resonated with all of us, and we knew by the glances from each other that the
Lord had spoken to us. We desperately needed to listen to where He wanted us to serve.
We continued praying each morning that the Holy Spirit would
guide us on that particular day. This required, and still requires daily, us
trying to listen the Lord. It’s
difficult to listen sometimes, but we prayed believing the Lord would show us. We
have found ourselves in two very special places, the pregnancy clinic and
community feedings.
At the pregnancy clinic, we begin the morning with Bible
Study led by women in the community. We then take blood pressure, weigh babies,
check baby umbilical cords, and check pulse. These are all things we had no
idea how to do before we were taught our first day. It’s chaotic and wonderful.
The women at this clinic are our age or younger which makes it easier to relate
to them and just have intentional conversations.
The feedings happen in two villages near our home base. We
simply travel to these communities where children and adults bring their bowls,
cups, and anything else they can find so that we can give them some nutritious
food. At these communities, we have
already met some very special people.
God has blessed these ministries in the past week and has
brought so many people into our lives that would not have been otherwise.
Please be praying over relationships to continue to grow in both of these
places in the next few weeks. May we
continue to hear the voice of our Shepherd and follow it.
“The sheep hear His voice, and he calls his own sheep by
name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before
them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” John 10:3-4
May it be so.