Consider the Creatures

Along the way to our ministry areas, we encounter the many street dogs and cats. There’s also plenty of chickens, pigs, and goats that mull about.

I’m used to sweet and docile pets you can pet and play with, and while these animals are sweet, they also carry diseases within them that I don’t want or need. They’re numerous, often traveling together and napping beneath the shade in the heat of the day. Many will join us during our Bible studies, sitting by our feet quietly, hoping someone decides to give them something to eat. The nationals will shoo them away when they’re too loud or cast a sly eye toward an unwatched plate of food, but they always return to the doorstep, patiently waiting in sweet relaxation. 

As I’ve seen them, I’ve often marveled at how many there are and how they maintain themselves. Completely reliant on others for daily sustenance, they contentedly wait for meals from dinner tables and stray crumbs from sari-sari stores. In this, I’ve been reminded of the love and faithfulness of the Lord, as He has said: 

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  -Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬-‭27‬. 

If even the many street animals of the Philippines can assuredly be cared for without owners, then how much more can and will God provide for us, the ones made in His image and whom He loved enough to die for? He is the Great Provider, the One who knows how to give good gifts, and wants to bless us greatly. With this in mind, I am reminded and encouraged to 

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.  -Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬-‭34‬. 

And so we persist after the Lord, trusting Him to provide ministry opportunities and to watch over us for our daily needs. And we will continue to look at the cute animals, wishing to pet them but refraining because I’ve been told that the health shots cost a lot to get.

Please pray for the Philippines to truly rely on the Lord for their spiritual, physical, and mental needs. 

Pray for Filipinos to seek first His Kingdom, trusting in Him to provide as they focus on more eternal matters. 

—MaKenna, Philippines Media Intern

Camiguin Island