mangos, mangos...everywhere mangos!

we eat mangoes everyday. EVERYDAY!! ( i know daddy, id be jealous too!). they are the BEST mangoes ive ever had!! i think its like what pineapple is to hawaii, mangoes are to the philippines. they grow wild everywhere, they are sooo delectable and sweet, juicy bits of heaven in your mouth!
yesterday we rented a private beach (only meaning solicitors couldn't come and sell their wares to us...even though they did) and took the team and the base out for a day of splash, surf, and fun in the sun! my favorite moment was when i was laying on the sand, with only my legs in the sun, listening to jack johnson and reading redeeming love...did i mention the sand was on a beach in the philippines? oh, yes, yes i did :)
after a delicious dinner of lumpia, we found some balut!! and i tried a piece! one of our team members, antti, ate an entire one, the rest of us ate microscopically teeny tiny pieces, but still! i ate balut! if you don't know what it is...it is a chicken egg that has been incubated for twenty days, upon which time they cook it...so, in conclusion, it is a chicky that is mostly formed, i felt the beak, most of the bones were developed, you could see a few tiny feathers, but it was still in its sack, with embryonic fluid that you put salt on and suck out before you eat the darn thing.
somebody please, tell me....where in the world are you going to find a grosser food to eat? we wont even mention the smell that emanated once the shell had been cracked.
being a leader is serious business. seriously hard business. everything you do filters down to the team, which makes it hard, because i must always be at the top of my game, i must do it right, or they will do it wrong. ive been thinking lately, where is the line between stepping back and letting them step up and experience and do everything, and when do i take the lead and let them follow? i don't know if i will ever figure it out, so a big prayer is that God would show me everyday in situations when to step up, and when to let them take initiative.
well, im off to family night here at the base, and after a sweaty nights sleep and roosters crowing at all hours(the sun doesn't mean much to them here), were goin' island hopping!!!

hey, check it out!: www.outreach08.blogspot.com

its so hot ice cubes have nothing to do with it!

sooo were about a week into our 9 1/2 week adventure, and i must say, i sad were already a week gone! today we joined on a march through town in protestation of prostitution. we walked for almost three hours, and for the first two, it was a blast. they had drummers banging and children dancing, and then, with all the walking, it got old. but awesome to say i was part of a parade in the philippines!
so the food here is pretty much phenomenal. lumpia, pancit, chicken feet...yes, its true...i tried a chicken foot...be on the watch for a pic sometime in the hopeful near future. i also ate a pepper. a really really hot pepper. really hot.
i absolutely in love with the children here, they are so adorable! especially little andre, he definitely has my heart! the women here are also so sweet, friendly, and easy to get to know. each one has a tragic story, a tragic life, but have found redemption in Jesus, and its such a privilege to work alongside with them, encouraging them, learning from them, praying with them. i love it here!
although i am getting excited for thailand!!
okay, this post is semmingly going nowhere, and matt is waiting semi-patiently for me to be done, so im done.
oh, disclaimer: i dont proof my posts due to time limits and such, so sorry if it doesnt always make sense, or if there are horrid typos!

Mabuhay!

Greetings From the Philippines!
After three hours in an airport, a fourteen hour plane ride, a two hour layover, and a two hour plane ride, IM IN THE PHILIPPINES!!
i can hardly type the right sequence of letters to form the right words to clearly express what my head and my heart are trying to say. i fell in love with the philippines from the second we stepped off of the plane! i dont know what God is doing, but i am so joyful and excited and amazed that i am here!
its swelteringly hot...feels like over a hundred, with a humidity level so high that after showering, you cant dry off, because instantly youre sweating again. the backs of all my t-shirts are going to start fading from all the salt coming out of my pores. but do you want to know something?...its not that bad!! i was expecting way worse, so maybe that has something to do with it, or the fact that this is an almost overwhelmingly beautiful country with beautiful people, or the fact that i love my team so much that everything i might think of complaining about is lessened to such a small degree.
Gary is such a wonderful co-leader, i am so extremely blessed to be jumping into this with him! and my team...how do i put into words how proud of them i am? the day, the very DAY we got here, after all that travel, and as jet-lag was starting to set in, they went out into the barangay (like the colonias in mexico, or the townships in south africa) and gathered a crowd of about a hundred children and adults, and performed their clown skits, taught about Jesus, and just played with them for hours. watching them get up there with good attitudes made me proud a definitely shed a few tears! they have all had such good attitudes about being here, it just makes my heart so happy!
today is easter, and this morning gary and i had plastic easter eggs with candy in them to give to everyone, and we had a really short little service amongst outselves, talking about matthew 28. weve been traveling for a few hours by bus to get to where we are now (olangapo city), so it hasnt really felt like any special day, but what a privelege it is to serve Jesus in this way, and to celebrate his love for us in such a way!
i love love love everything about this place!
as sad as i was to see lecture phase come to an end, i am sooooo excited for what the future is going to hold with this team, because if the first two days were any indicator, theyre going to sweep revival into this nation! i fully believe in the power of that!
thank you so much to everyone who prayed for safe travels for us, and thank you for your faithful prayers and support while im on this journey!

Human Trafficking

CAUTION: What you are about to read may cause discomfort, anger, despair and even rage. Proceed with caution, should you continue to read, you just might be called to action. You may no longer claim ignorance, this is real, this is true.

This is a little-known topic that is exploding into the mainstream and becoming very well known, as of late.
It's something I'm really struggling with.

What is Human Trafficking?

"Trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Annually, about 600,000 to 800,000 people -- mostly women and children -- are trafficked across national borders which does not count millions trafficked within their own countries.

People are snared into trafficking by many means. In some cases, physical force is used. In other cases, false promises are made regarding job opportunities or marriages in foreign countries to entrap victims."

Another perspective on this: remember the slave trade, all of the slaves from Africa that America and Europe stole and bought as property? THIS IS THE SAME THING. Slavery never really ended, it just went into hiding. It's not hidden anymore.

I first heard about this about a year and a half ago, and did nothing about it. Well, that isn't entirely true. I spent two weeks in Thailand (where this is a HUGE problem) working with former and current prostitutes, inviting them to and teaching at an english school, which, if they wanted, would also help them learn other trades and jobs to make a living on.

More and more lately I find myself hearing and seeing about what is going on in my world, about how little children are stolen from their families and forced into brothels, how women are tricked into coming to the "land of the free" for new opportunities, and never catch even a glimpse of the freedom we are so known for. And yet I feel almost nothing. I don't cry, i don't weep, i don't feel an all-consuming rage for a call to justice to be heard.
My heart hasn't been broken for this, not nearly enough. I understand that tears don't equate a change of heart, and that I don't have to always be emotional to be affected, but I've watched the videos, I've read the statistics, I've heard the stories, and yet I stand still, unaffected in my own little world of comfort. For a while, I thought that I wasn't more involved with this because I wasn't letting myself, I wasn't letting God have His way and change me, call me to action. I was afraid of what it might mean. I am not afraid anymore. Every single person has a role to play in seeing this come to an end, finally, and I am ready to step it up and play my part.
Jesus, I KNOW that your heart is broken over this whole thing, break my heart, please invade my soul and align it with yours! What is my role in this, how do you want to use me to further your kingdom of light and love, and to accomplish the seemingly impossible and help to put a STOP to this?
We all have a role to play. By my discovery of this, I can no longer claim ignorance, and I will be accountable to God in heaven for what I've done with it. How I long to please you Lord! Show me my role, help me to be a person of peace, love, and light, to a world that is so dark and deceived.

This issue is so tantamount, and can seem so overwhelming and frustrating, where do I start, where do I begin? "Many people don't do anything because they can't do everything , just do your part for God, and let Him take care of the rest." (Dan Baumann quote) Please do not end this on a note of depression or despair, for there is hope. There are many many people doing many many things to bring awareness and justice. Below are a bunch of resources that have helped me in my quest to educate myself and figure out the part I play...which I'm still working on. I'll let you know when I've figured it out.
The best resource we have is Jesus, for when we pray on behalf of the trafficked people, and for the organizations to further their freedom, when we plead and command heaven to come to earth and for evil to flee, He answers. He ALWAYS has a response to our prayers, and part of the journey of life is discovering how He is speaking to us, learning how to listen. We are on the winning side, we just need to recognize and move in that mentality. (Wow, God answering my prayer as I type!)

Organizations: International Justice Mission, Not For Sale, Amnesty International, Maiti Nepal

Websites: ijm.org, notforsalecampaign.org, humantrafficking.org

Movies: Trade, Human Trafficking, Born Into Brothels

Books: Not For Sale, Good News About Injustice

tee minus eighteen...and counting!

so i leave in two and a half weeks for a nine-week outreach to the philippines and thailand. what are my thoughts on all this?

just get me on the plane already!
im not ready yet, i cant do this!
i can do this.
i have so much to buy!
theres so many things i need to get done for the team still!
we have to finish learning, start learning! the dramas and skits
don't forget to buy balloons
there are four birthdays on our team
im going to be gone for so long!
im going to miss my roommates.
were going to have dance parties every week!

these are just some of the immediate thoughts that came to mind when i started typing.

what i really want, above all else, is for each one of us to ask for God's heart for these countries, these wonderful people that we get to serve, that our perspective of what we are doing will be so much bigger than what we can see or perceive before us. i am sooo excited to see everything unfold, and to watch the students really grasp a bit more of God's character, living it out in wherever we are living.
the opportunity to go out and serve people who have never heard the name Jesus, or have never had God accurately presented to them is a blessing, and a joy that fills me with so much excitement!
i cant believe that i am once again about to step foot off of america for a couple months. i will be completely out of touch with reality here, and so in touch with the reality in the world. a better place to be. a better perspective to witness.
get me on that plane already!

quite a long time, and then some.

so it has been faaaar too long since ive last posted, a thousand apologies!
life is so wonderful, i just love how exciting and crazy it is, especially when you just give yourself over to the creator of your life, and let him rule in everything, it far exceeds anything that i have ever been able to come up with on my own.
so for the last month or so, shoot, or two, since my last post, much has happened!
the biggest thing, i suppose, is the fact that i will be spending 9 weeks overseas! i will be going to the philippines and back to thailand! im soooooooo excited over this development, i never thought i would go back to thailand, but back i am going indeed! i have the incredible privilege of co-leading a team of 8 students with the always-fabulous gary, the coolest canadian chef ive ever met.
how am i doing all this, you ask?
im staffing the winter dts. you know, that thing i did when i first left home two years ago? i know, i know, its crazy, i certainly never thought i would be in this position, but God is bigger, and how he loves us!
speaking of how he loves us, check out the song posted below...its a bit long, but after the first 2 minutes it gets REALLY good....its a good visual of where i am right now in my walk with God, just experiencing His love, and living in that everyday. its transforming, i tell you.
so back to the dts. they're awesome!! i love every single student, all 25 of em!
we just got back from a NIKO, which is basically a rough-it, push you to the limit camping experience. i wont go into all the details, that would take up far too much time, suffice it to say that i spent 3 days hiking 15 miles up and down, and up and down, and up and down, a mountain, using baking soda to brush my teeth and eating dried fruit for several meals. i will not soon forget this experience, and how much, well...FUN...it was! i love that i love roughing it, its something unexpected about me, i suppose :)
i have a small group, 5 girls, we meet every week and share our lives and encourage one another. we have speakers come every week sharing about different paths of the Jesus-following walk.
we have fun nights, local outreaches, laundry runs and trips to wal-mart.
this is the briefest of overviews in what a dts actually looks like, but in the end, the students walk away transformed by revelations of Gods character. well, thats the goal. and to go into the world and share the love and light that fills the void in our hearts.
i love this. i love Jesus. what a wonderful life!
i don't deserve this. and thats the wonderful part about grace.
i think i might not be making too much sense, for it is late, and i am tired. sorry its been so long since the last post, ill make sure to post again before another two months have passed!
heres a picture of all of us on top of one of several mountains...
im the one getting choked towards the bottom left-ish. nothing but love.

jesus culture - how he loves us