KALIPAY: JOY or HAPPINESS
Finding happiness in things the world is telling you not to.
This summer we learned to die to ourselves through bucket baths, no air conditioning, bugs, and hiking mountains to experience the joy of sharing the Gospel to those who had never heard before.
I’ll miss the people, the motorcycles, the mangoes for sure, but I’ll especially miss that we don’t get to see first hand how God makes the seeds that were planted this summer grow!
-Morgan
Advance Team
Philippines
God, we were Your gardeners
We brought forth our best tools
Most righteous deeds but filthy rags
How could you use such fools?
God, we were Your gardeners
Bound to see what You would do
We tilled the ground and planted seeds
But Father, nothing grew.
God, we were Your gardeners
Watered these people with our tears
Our hearts were shattered, seeds still scattered
Who knew deep roots took years?
God, we were Your gardeners
This ground is hard as clay
With hope we trust, in faith we must
Rejoice, share, teach & pray.
God, we were Your gardeners
Wanting to bring you flowers & bouquets
Instead we'll lift these empty hands
Accept, dear Lord, our praise.
-Meghan
City Talk English Team
Thailand
One of the first days on this new island, we were excited to go out and explore. Surrounded by beauty we were ready to see all that God would do. We headed out to find people. Ten minutes into our walk we happened across a barber shop where a few women sat in front smiling and calling to us. This was enough of an invitation for us to go over and chat with them.
I spoke with the different women about their lives, looking but struggling to find an open door to share the gospel. Just as I began to think we should give up and move on, our translator encouraged me to keep asking questions. Praise God that I did not walk away in those moments! Eventually one of the women *Jewel ended up sharing that she had Christian relatives who had taken her to church a few times and had told her about the story of Jesus. Not only had she heard but her heart would break every time she heard the story of Christ crucified and would cry. She said that each time she heard this story it broke her heart but her Christian family told her to remain in her own religion, Islam. As we began to go deeper we asked if we could go to her house to continue talking.
As we sat in her house which consisted of “kitchen”, bedroom and bathroom all in one room, we discussed more about all that Christ’s crucifixion means for us. She agreed that this story is true and she fully believed. We asked her if she knew all that this meant, that following Christ means turning from sins, and other idols and accepting Jesus as our Lord. After going through all that this meant, we led her in prayer asking for forgiveness of sin, confessing that Jesus is Lord who died and was resurrected to pay for our sins.
We studied John 1 with Jewel two times after she accepted Christ. She had already downloaded the Bible App on her phone, and was experiencing push back from her Muslim community who were suspicious of us visiting at her house. She stood firm in her new faith, seeming not to be afraid of confrontation. We went through the 10 Commandments in Exodus, explained prayer, the importance of reading scripture, worship and sharing her faith. When we visited her the second time she said she had been reading every day in John and felt a peace she couldn’t explain. It was the most encouraging experience of our trip out. Pray for Jewel and her family as they grow in their new faith!
-Jenna
Ex & Ev Team
Southeast Asia
