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Heading to the Philippines in a week and as usual, I feel very unprepared.

Random thoughts as I continue to prepare for the mission trip coming up.

It’s been two years since the last time I went and I am excited for sure, but at the same time, I’ve never been this nervous. 

We’re going there with the smallest, the least experienced, and the least prepared team ever. Sounds like it’s going to be a huge success right?

However, I know that at these times, when we’re the most helpless, we’re most able to surrender it all to God. I know that this team will work hard for the Kingdom, and if we keep believing in “Thy will be done,” then we will be fine. And not just in our states, but the work that we will do will honor and please God. A couple years ago, our team was fully prepared, ready to go. And when we got there, there was a huge rain storm, washed away roads, and we couldn’t do even half of what was planned. We felt defeated, we felt lost. But God used that opportunity and showed us to surrender even our itineraries to Him and let Him lead. We ended up doing evangelizing where ever we could go and the result was so beautifully glorious. And so, I know I can trust the Lord to make do with this trip as He wills.

As much as I have faith in that He will lead us all the way, I still feel nervous. I mean, I’ve preached and taught and all of that for most of my adult life! So why do I feel this way? There is something unique about going overseas, and preaching the Gospel, sharing the Good News in a church filled with people who do not have much knowledge if at all on who Jesus is. And I just don’t want me to get in the way of Him. And more so than at other times, my prayer is that I would have a true servant’s heart as I lead this mission team. 

What’s interesting about this year is that instead of a VBS, we’re holding a retreat at the mission center for the youth on the island. Specifically, we’re inviting those who are native to the island itself. These people are very much different than what most people would consider “Filipino.” For one, you can tell that these people are different physically. Second they use a different dialect of tagalog. And lastly, their culture, is different than mainstream Filipino culture. A majority still live in huts with thatched roofs. They live off the land completely. And it’s been reported to me that we are expecting 175+ participants in this retreat. I’ve never gone to a retreat stateside that was anywhere near that number and here we go, running a retreat in a distant land with over 175 youths to adults! And more than that, I’m going to be teaching them over the course of three days. My task is to equip them as much as possible and by the grace of God win as many souls as possible. My goal, as I’ve heard this before, is to make disciple making disciples. God help me to be faithful.