God is good,
All the time,
everywhere, forever.
I feel so blessed to be living in the days and in the ways I am living.
Now sitting in an internet cafe at a hotel in Bangkok I am reflecting on the past number of days.
I just finished a week in the Philippines with a wonderful team of people. While there we stayed at Noah's Ark Orphanage in Banaue and spent time getting to know the kids there as well as sharing the Good News in various schools throughout Ifaguo Province.
God was amazing to us this week and I was so blessed to be able to have this as my first experience leading a team overseas. Each day I felt refreshed in God as we spent time in His glorious creation and with His children.
One memory which I will keep for a long time is that of the girl with the pink headband.
While visiting a central school in the town of Banaue we encountered a situation more difficult than we thought we would. What was supposed to be a presentation for one class of about 40 kids ended up being a presentation to almost 1000 kids. The whole school.
We were in an open gym in the middle of the city, before a thousand children with a small ipod dock as our sound system, and only our voices with no mic or loudspeaker.
As the presentation went on we found that what began as us standing in front of all the children had turned in a large number of the children completely surrounding us, and unfortunately this pushed us further away from the children who were sitting on the large cement stairs. We soon discovered that you could not hear the speakers from the stairs and so as we led songs a few of us jumped out of the circle and tried to sing loud enough so that the children on the stairs could here. Participation was minimal from them however...perhaps my singing voice was to blame for this.
The only thing that would keep the children's attention and quiet them down was doing dramas or the HMS dance, most efforts of speaking were in vain. Realizing this I remember praying during the songs that somehow God would work and some kids would be reached. This prayer God would answer.
As I played guitar as background music for our skit I noticed one little girl in the front of the circle. While many kids were talking amongst each other or laughing at parts of the skit that are not funny but because that is just how many of them respond...this little girl with the pink headband was really watching what was going on. As the characters of the skit acted out the small story of someone whose heart was broken again and again, but eventually they found a new one through the Word, prayer and our God, this girl really watched.
Following the skit I would normally speak for around ten minutes just explaining the story and the love of God. Knowing that would not be possible this time around I shortened what I had to say to around two minutes. At the end of my quick message I just said to the children that what I wanted them to remember was that God loved them so much. And when I said this, that little girl, who was listening the whole time, simply nodded to show that she had heard.
And that was enough for me. It was enough to know that the girl with the pink headband really heard about God's love. One in a thousand is a work that we cannot underestimate the potential of. I know and trust that God knew what He was doing. Our task is to serve Him with our hearts, and whatever happens with the serving is up to Him. I do not need to see the fruits, only to know that I faithfully planted seeds. The rest is up to God.
This was only one of many times where I knew God was at work even though I, we the team, may never see the results of the work.
I now traded the rice terraces of Banaue, Philippines for a computer desk in Bangkok. But tonight after meeting with the rest of the teams and forming a new one I will head south to Takua Pa to be a part of English camps going on there. Please pray for the teams as we transition from one phase to another and join another part of God's work here on earth.
I hope that I may always truely feel so blessed to be a part of what God is doing as His will is done on heaven as on earth. May we be a part of bringing heaven to earth so that many people may experience His love and peace even in part until the day we experience it in full in heaven.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Life your eyes to heaven there is freedom.
