I'm in the mood to write and these moods don’t come too
often, so I am going to take advantage of it. Of course these moods only happen
when it’s late at night and my body is exhausted but my mind cannot shut off, so
tomorrow should be lots of fun. I think the Holy Spirit has something to do
with it too.
Since my last update everything seems to have started
falling into place! We are officially done with immigration, and have our
visas. Which is a huge sigh of relief because that means no more bus trips to
Manila (I get car/bus sick) but an even larger sigh of relief because it means
we get to stay in the Philippines! Thank goodness because ministry is starting
to become more regular and our schedules are slowly getting busier. When I say
busier I mean it in the best way possible. The first few months here dragged on
and on because we weren’t really sure what we should be doing ministry wise.
And we didn’t know where to begin, we knew DBS would be a part of it but we
still didn’t know how to get things started. The language barrier wasn’t/isn’t
really a big help either, but now things are finally in motion. With the Holy
Spirit behind that motion propelling it forward. We have a discipleship group
that consists of the young adults from the church that meets on a weekly basis.
Josh and Autumn have been going to one of the local outreaches to do DBS and
love on the children there. We have started doing Bible story time with the
kids in our own neighborhood, along with playing games and doing crafts. I’ve
had a couple of meetings with some high school girls from another outreach
church about discipleship. God continually shows us His presence through each
and every one of these activities. The people in our discipleship group are
beginning to start Bible studies. The children in our neighborhood are
memorizing Scripture. The young people and youth of this community want to see
Jesus’ name be lifted high. I’m so thankful to be a part of what God is doing.
I
honestly could not see my life any other way. I had been so close to attending
a local community college, so close to pursing academia rather than Jesus, so
close to pursing an earthly marriage rather than striving to be a part of His
Bride, so close to living the typical, comfortable American life. And the
scariest thing about all of that was my willingness to be content with it; to
be content with the lies that the world had poured into my mind about who I
should be, instead of who I am in Christ. I should conform, get a degree, get a
job, get married, have kids, and settle down. Now, looking back, praise God that
He drew me out of that. Praise God that He knows way better than I do. Praise
God for His sovereign hand in my life. Today I am without a college degree, I
am without a job, I am without a spouse, I am without children and I am nowhere
close to settling down. But I am giving my life away to His cause. And I would
not change that for the world. I want you to know that I am experiencing true
contentment. For the first time in a long time I am truly content with where
God has brought me.
My hope is that you would be content; my prayer is that God
would break you of the bonds that are not glorifying to His name.
“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Psalm 33:20-22
By grace alone,
Monica
