Unceasing

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:11-12

I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to tell you how much I love the Philippines.
We are in Cainta, Rizal, living at Kids International Ministries.

The goal of Kids International Ministries (Kids) is to break the cycle of poverty. They believe the root of poverty isn’t just a lack of money but a mindset. When kids grow up in impoverished communities, just like their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles it’s easy to believe that’s all there is. That nothing better exists. At Kids, the heart of the mission is to come alongside children and their communities and help redefine their identity in Christ.

There are so many facets to ministry here: feedings, children’s homes, construction, a crisis pregnancy home (Adonai), a birthing clinic, Christian education, sports ministry, youth ministry (Youth LAB), and family outreach.
Our team has had the incredible honor of serving in a little bit of everything. Mostly, we focus on the feedings and peek into Youth LAB, Adonai, and the children’s homes when we can.

One super unique thing about this ministry compared to where we’ve been is that Kids regularly hosts volunteer groups at the ministry center. Churches, schools, and families, some stay a week or two, others stay for a few months. When we first arrived, there were about 85 volunteers here! The revolving door hasn’t stopped since. And what a JOY it’s been to meet so many sweet, passionate people who love missions and believe deeply in what’s happening here.

I remember our very first night we jumped out of the van and were immediately greeted by two students from Azusa Pacific University. They helped us carry our packs to our rooms (bunk-style dorms we shared with them). That first night, I was sitting on the ground with a couple of my teammates, worshipping, when more and more girls started coming in. A few even joined us.
It hit me how much I’d taken for granted: gathering with people who speak my language, share my culture, have similar experiences and most importantly, also deeply miss Chipotle 😉

We hadn’t been around that many Americans since January. Now, we live in a home that’s constantly full of them which means lots of English, lots of easy conversations, and LOTS of Western food. (how I missed tacos.)

But it’s not just Americans. Right now, there’s a Nigerian family serving in Bangladesh, a couple from Germany, and a family from Switzerland. Last week, a team from Korea. And we met a missionary kid just finishing her two-month stay.
Needless to say, this place is one of the coolest homes I’ve ever stayed in. Brimming with life, newness, and the most interesting conversations.

Okay that’s where we live, now the ministry work!

Like I mentioned, our team spends most of our time going into the communities for feedings. We usually load into a van with a couple of other teams, grab a few big buckets of food, and head out. There are two main types of feedings, established and door-to-door. 

Established communities have built relationships with Kids. The people know we’re coming and usually meet us in a common area. We’ll sing a few children’s songs, tell a Bible story, share testimonies and encouragements, pass out food, and hang out with the kids.
Door-to-door feedings happen in newer areas where relationships are still being formed. We walk through the streets with the food buckets, handing out meals along the way.

We’ve visited so many communities I’ve lost count. But my favorites are always the ones we get to revisit. That’s where we get to really know the kids and build deeper relationships.

We also do feedings at facilities, like the prison, the CICL (Children in Conflict with the Law), and a shelter for at-risk children. These are often the favorite visits for our team. The hunger for worship and the Word of God in those spaces is unmatched.

One of my favorite parts of the week is Youth LAB every Friday night. The youth gather to worship, hear a message, and hang out. Someone said recently, “I’ve never experienced more passionate worship than in the Philippines.” And that’s so true. The worship here is passionate, pure, and unceasing. It happens a lot. At Youth LAB, at feedings, but also just around the ministry center. So often the sound of worship will flood through our bedroom windows, it will erupt while we are gathered around the pool, it follows you everywhere. It doesn’t stop when the organized time does either. Worship nights will close out at 9 and we will still find ourselves in the room caught in worship for hours later.

The worship is undignified and infectious. There is no shame, no performance, just heartfelt praise to the Lord.

There’s a real hunger here. A deep aching for the hand of God. For good news, and that makes it so easy to share the gospel here! We wear these bracelets I remember from children’s church, called the “wordless gospel.” It has five colors, yellow, black, white, red, and green. Each one represents part of the salvation story. 

As a kid, I thought, No way. No one’s going to listen to this.
But now?
The kids grab your wrist and ask, “What is this? What does it mean?” And just like that, the door swings wide open.

The Kingdom is exploding here in the Philippines.
I LOVE it.

more updates:

Prayer Requests:

• My Team
  • For deep and intentional relationships
• The Squad
  • Cohesiveness- Our two teams are in very different places, with very different ministries and challenges, that can be hard for our relationships!
  • Our Squad Leaders Jessie and Elijah have finished their time with us, pray over their transition back to the states, and for their next steps
  • Now that they are gone, we have two of our squad members stepping up to fill those roles! Areonah and Abby! This is a super exciting time of new growth for our squad! But pray over a smooth transition
• For our Host
  • Kids International Ministries has big dreams! Pray for vision, execution, and a lasting hope for what’s to come!
• The Community
  • Pray seeds planted in these communities would multiply, and create lasting change