CAT

Cat served on a nanny team in the Philippines during the summer of 2012.

·      Has this summer changed your understanding or view of God as father? I thought I had forgiven my earthly father for leaving my family and I, but this summer God really convicted me of grudges I held against him. I realized even if my dad had stayed, he could not fill all my needs anyway. I’ll be honest, I’m still no where near perfect and I still have hurt feelings concerning my earthly dad but I have truly begun to understand how God is my Abba Father and loves me (and the orphans I’m working with). His love is better than and deeper than anything anyone on the earth could give any of us!
 ·      How did knowing people at home were praying for you affect your performance/determination to finish the race strong?
 It was almost like I could feel their prayers covering not only me, but also my team and the people we were serving. It was the first time I could understand and experience personally how God wants to use prayer as a part of missions. Knowing that I had multiple prayer partners in the States brought the stories of the early church praying earnestly and fervently for each other to life for me.
 ·      Why should people sign up for Nehemiah Teams/P52?
 If anyone has ever thought of being a life long missionary but has never gone on a mission trip longer than a few weeks, they definitely need to be connected to Nehemiah Teams. NT doesn’t sugar coat the hard truths about the missionary life. At the same time, NT helps the participant grow in Christ and truly shows them how awesome it is to be obedient to the Great Commission.
 ·      Is there anything else you would like to share?I was one of those who never thought I was ‘ready.’ I had a slew of excuses and reasons not to go on mission trips. However, I know God called me here this summer mainly because he didn’t let my heart rest about it until I applied and got accepted. Nobody is ready, but that doesn’t change the fact that God calls all Christians to take his gospel of grace to the nations.

trust in the LORD.

It has been a crazy week at Ruel Foundation! There are 3 new babies, all of whom have pretty serious medical conditions and are malnourished. The newest, baby S, is 2 months old and weighs only 4 pounds.

Last week, 2 babies had to spend a few days in the hospital. One of them, baby C, was running fever as Lauren and Tin Tin began their night shift. It's not uncommon for the babies at Ruel to be sick, but around midnight it was clear that the medicine was not helping baby C, and this was more serious than an average fever. They went across the road to wake the Ruel supervisor, who decided baby C needed to go to the hospital. 


Megan went with her to hold baby C, and ended up spending the night with him there (at this hospital an outside caregiver has to stay with the baby at all times). She didn't have time to get money, food, or the phone before she left Ruel, and the Calapan hospital was much different than anything in America. There wasn't much she could do for baby C. She had to depend on the Lord in a completely foreign, scary situation. But she came back to Ruel and shared with the team how He completely provided. Other caregivers in the hospital brought her food and bedding and encouraged her. Baby C's condition improved a lot over the next few days, and both babies were able to come home from the hospital.

The Ruel nannies all shared with me how they have been learning to rely on the Lord's power and not their own strength or knowledge. As the once-foreign rules of childcare become second nature, it's tempting to put your confidence in your own skills or knowledge. But in the past week, the nannies experienced emergency situations where they didn't have the answers. As in Megan's story, they had lean on the Lord for strength, wisdom, and healing. Being used by God isn't a matter of being smart or brave, but coming to Him empty and willing to be filled and poured out.

Life is fragile - especially life in the form of a sick, malnourished baby. Please PRAY for continued healing and strength for baby C and T, who were in the hospital, for baby S, and for baby L, who has congenital heart disease. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and caregivers at Ruel. Pray for Megan, Cat, and Lauren to put their trust in the Lord and depend on Him daily as they continue to work at Ruel.

Here I (Media Mary) am with baby L - she got very upset any time I tried to take a picture

 of her by herself, so this is the best I could do. :)

Grow up in every way into Him.

I (Media Mary) have spent an awful lot of time with babies recently. It has been wonderful and messy and rewarding, but mostly the Lord has used it to remind me how important it is to grow up.


When we first become Christians, we are babies in the faith. We drink spiritual milk, as Paul put it. And at first, that's appropriate. None of the nannies complains that an 18-month-old is still wearing diapers or spilling their soup, because developmentally that's where they should be. But if that baby still struggled to feed themselves as an 8-year-old, it would be another matter. In fact, this summer I have seen several older children who, because of disabilities beyond their control, are physically and mentally still on the level of a 2-year-old. It's heartbreaking.

Spiritually, it's much the same. That's why discipleship is so important: without that growth and discipline, we would all still be baby Christians, stuck in a stage of life that we should have long outgrown. The Lord is mighty and sovereign, but He can't use a stagnant, immature Christian the way He can one who earnestly seeks growth and maturity. It is good and right that we should constantly be growing in Christ.

And it is good and right that our evangelism should always be followed by discipleship. We may not always be able to do the discipling ourselves, but we have a responsibility to our new brothers and sisters to find someone to help them grow in Spirit and in truth. The goal of Nehemiah Teams is not to make "converts," nor to perform a lot of baptisms, but to lead people to the truth of salvation and equip them to grow into mature, committed Christ followers who will, in turn, make more disciples.

So as you pray for all who will come to know Jesus Christ this summer through God's work in Nehemiah Teams, don't forget to pray for their growth and discipleship.
As my professor likes to say, "Mature believers act like mature believers, and mature believers help produce mature believers." May we all grow up in every way into Christ so that we may no longer be children!

"And he (Christ) gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

- Ephesians 4.11-16

Worth 1,000 Words

The week at Ruel Foundation in pictures.

[Lauren reads to M]

[playtime in the sandbox outside]

[basketball]

[Ate swings with R]

[snack time!]

[Cat entertains J & A]

[D loved Lizzie's camera!]

[D and Jeannel, one of the caregivers and the team's good friend]

[D, Jeannel, Megan and A]

[Megan loves to make A laugh!]

[meet J!]

[a baby in a basket]

[going for an afternoon walk]

[and in case you wondered what the media girl does all day...here I am]

"We were delighted to share with you"

One of the most unique things about the Ruel nanny team is their relationship with the Filipino caregivers. In the few short days I (Media Mary) spent with them, I was able to see the Lord truly at work! There are about 18 other caregivers, three of whom are Christians. Most of them are young, so Megan, Cat and Lauren have a lot in common with them.

"These young women are now our best friends here, and I go to the orphanage on my time off to see them as much as to see the kids. We took the time to build relationships with them through going to church, swimming, the movies, singing, and anything else we could think of." - Megan

The team rotates through 8-hour shifts at Ruel Foundation, working with several of the Filipino caregivers each time. They began having their team Bible study time during the evening shift, and several of the caregivers came in to listen. They now lead a Bible study every night with those Filipino friends.

It is such a blessing to see the trust and love between the nanny team and the Filipino caregivers! As Megan said, the Lord has put this team's main mission field inside their own gate. Jeannel, Tin Tin and Helen are the three Christians of the group, but many of the others come and listen to the Bible study every night.

"This has been an awesome opportunity to not only share the gospel, but to also disciple and encourage the Christians here to continue the Bible studies once we're gone. We're only here for two months, but our Filipino friends have the chance to keep sharing the gospel and do it in such a way so that it will be easily received by other Filipinos." - Cat

[Cat and Jeannel enjoy a post-movie McFloat]

[Tin Tin and Megan]

Prayer for Bible Study:

• Pray that God strengthens their Filipino Sisters to continue testifying to the gospel of grace after the nanny team is gone. Pray that they will grow in Him and be a living testimony to everyone they meet.
• Pray for the Filipinos to take on a leadership role in the Bible study, and for the nanny team to equip them to lead the study on their own.
• Pray for understanding and language/cultural barriers, so that the truth of Scripture shines through in every study.
• Pray for God's presence and wisdom, and for the Spirit to move and draw hearts.
• Pray that the nanny team would approach the study in prayer and humility, relying on the Lord.

The Ruel team wants to share their theme verse for the summer:

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had became so dear to us." - 1 Thess. 2:8

Megan's Camera: Ruel Team Visits A Hospital

Please pray for the girl's next opportunity to visit the hospital:
   1. That they are able to encourage the patients.
   2. That they will have opportunity to share God's love with them.
   3. That people will accept His love and and His salvation.

A post from Lauren: learning service

"As I was preparing for this trip, I knew exactly what I wanted to do to serve the Lord: love on the children at Ruel. I knew the job would include other things, like cleaning and outreach, but my mind was focused on spending time with the children.


For the first week, however, my shifts at Ruel consisted of helping the cook and hanging up a lot of laundry. My shifts with the children didn't begin until the second week. During that first week, the Lord really showed me that I need to "serve Him with gladness" (Psalm 100:2). Even though I didn't sign up to cook, clean or do laundry, God commands that "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23).
God constantly reminds me that this trip isn't about me at all. It is all about bringing Jesus Christ glory and making Him known. I am learning to fully trust in the Lord and to get out of the way so that Christ can become all.


As God teaches me what it means to serve Him, I am learning to be obedient no matter what the cost. Last week we read the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus during our Bible study, and God convicted me that I can't pick and choose who, when, or where I want to serve. Just as the rich man didn't reach out and help Lazarus, there are many people in my life - neighbors, classmates, or homeless people not far from my home that I often neglect to serve and show them the love of Christ. How can I be willing to go halfway around the world if I'm not willing to serve the people within my own community?


Please pray that as we serve the Lord, we would step out of the way and let Christ be all in us and through us as we live out His perfect plan. To Christ be the glory. I must never forget that I am not just on a mission trip; I am on mission for Christ."

From Megan on the Ruel Team

   Hey! I just wanted to thank everyone so much for all your prayers about our Bible study with the staff here! We have been doing more in depth Bible studies nightly with them for the past week and they have been going so well! 
    The staff are really starting to get involved, and come in even when they are not on shift, and asking earlier in the day when it will be and what it will be over. 
    We are talking about things like the Lord being the light and the banquet he has prepared from 1 John 1 and Luke 14. 
    Please continue to pray for these meetings. 

1. Pray they will become more open and that God will give them understanding.
2.  Also pray that the Lord would lead the Christians here to continue sharing his truth and discipling the believing staff members even after we leave.
3. Pray for us to be Spirit lead and ready to answer questions and explain the gospel.
4. Pray that we may be able to live out the gospel in our words, actions, and deeds!

 It is so exciting to disciple the Christians here and teach them how to do these Bible studies with the others here. Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement, they mean so much to me! Love you all! Leaving for a few days of vacation at the beach tomorrow!

Cat's Camera

Multi-tasking

Meet the Teams: 2012 Mindoro Nannies

These lovely ladies are on their way to the island of Mindoro. They will be nannies at the Ruel Foundation, a children's home that cares for young children (infant-6 years) who come from bad home backgrounds, many of whom are malnourished. The nannies will also build relationships and do general evangelism in the surrounding community.





(from left to right)
Cat is a junior from Idaho. She loves peach rings and the color purple. She's excited about what God will do through her this summer, but also about how it will change her relationship with Him.
Lauren is a sophomore from Louisiana. Christmas music and the smell of coffee are two of her favorite things. Her prayer is "that God would pour out His love through me, so that when I leave they will still feel God's constant love and presence."
Megan is a senior from Colorado. Indian music is her favorite, and she is currently learning to French braid hair. Her prayer for the summer is to bring God glory and show people love in all things, whether working with the children or meeting people in Mindoro.
Tori is a sophomore from Louisiana. She likes hugs and Broadway musicals. Her motto for the summer is Luke 9:23 - "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."