Disaster Zone

Hello! Time is flying here!

Here is the down low. After leaving Monkayo we headed to the Nehemiah House. We arrived there at three in the morning after the craziest bus ride ever. Thankfully the next day we had off so we all just relaxed. The Nehemiah House is a home for sexually exploited girls. There were 18 girls there ages from 8-16. It’s a place for healing and restoration done by only the Holy Spirit. The Owner was a YWAMer who went on outreach to the Philippines and just never came home. Sounds like something I would do. haha. He created the Nehemiah house in the 1990‘s and since then over 500 girls have gone through the house and ALL of them have left having a personal relationship with the Lord, even the few that came in as Muslims. The Holy Spirit is SO present there the atmosphere was SOO anointed!

The House was hit by the flood pretty hard so there was a lot of repair work to do. We helped rebuild the wall that the water had broken down. We also dug up about 6 inches of mud that the water washed all over the property. When we decided to go there we didn’t know if we would have electricity or water. Thank God that we had it because after the physical labor every day we stunk! 

We spent the majority of our time there helping restore the place. In the afternoons we spent time with the girls and led Bible study for them every night. The girls are so awesome I loved getting to know them and spending time with them!

On Friday Grace and I went to the doctor. She had been feeling really sick with a cold and my pinkie toe was swelling up. I thought my toe was broken because I woke up the first day we got there and it hurt SO bad. It wasn’t broken but i did get an infection in it which caused it to swell up and be extremely painful to touch. Grace ended up having Pneumonia. The woman who took us to the doctor was the social worker for the Nehemiah House. She was awesome! I loved spending the day with her and Grace.

The entire time we were staying at the Nehemiah House we were asking how we could get out in the community to talk to people and just give them hope and encouragement through Jesus. The only way we would get that opportunity is if we just went out and walked around. So we did. We headed toward the river and there we found people washing literally everything they had. We went up to a few of them asking if we could help them out and all of them said no. So we just talked to them. We came across a 50 year old lady named Ava and she told us her story. She has diabetes and half of her extended family went missing after the flood. Then on top of that she found out that her husband has a whole other family. We got to encourage her and she knew that without Jesus she couldn’t go through anything like that.

On our last day at the Nehemiah House we took a tour around the flooded areas.  It was devastating even a month after the flood. The river literally rose 30 feet in places. Completely washing houses away and clearing entire neighborhoods. Over 1,000 people died as a result of the flood. There will be pictures up on my Facebook later. 

Now we are back in Davao for a few days. We are staying at the YWAM base and Craig our staff visitor is here!

I’m still loving it here. I can’t believe we only have one month left of YWAM. I want to do everything i can just to cherish the time we have left together. :)

2012

Hello there!

God has been doing AMAZING things!

Monday we got off so that we could call home for Christmas and just relax.

Tuesday our team went into the city and were surprised with free time at the mall. It was so nice to get some time to just have fun. After the mall we went to the plaza park there and had 15 minutes to strike up a conversation with someone and hopefully lead them to Christ. We broke off into pairs. My partner was Nayibe and we got into a great conversation and now we have and new brother and a new sister in Christ. :) Afterwards we headed home.

Wednesday we went to a government built village and went house to house and introduced many to Christ and that evening we went pack a performed all of our skits. It was a powerful night. Many were just so hungry for hope in Christ. I wish America was like that.

Sometimes I wake up in the morning just knowing that God is going to challenge me today. He will expand my comfort zone and I will have to do (something that I would never want to do) for his glory to follow in obedience. Thursday was one of those days. I knew I was going to do something BIG and when the team met Tom told us that 4 of us would be preaching this Sunday. I knew immediately that it was me. I didn’t want it to be at all but I agreed to do it. I stayed back while the team visited a tribe. I just needed to be alone and spend time with God. It was extremely beneficial to be alone because I got to work on my sermon. 

Friday we went to a youth camp that was being held by local churches. We got to present to hundreds of youth that were so passionate for God. It was one of the events where people start talking in tongues and screaming and I had only been to one of those before so it still kinda freaks me out. But hey the Holy Spirits going to do what its going to do. The spirit was abounding in that place. Afterwards the team just met together and we spent the night just prophesied over each other and God used Tom Tim AND Sarah to confirm my next step after YWAM. I and SO excited!! I am not going to apply for it until We get back to Hawaii so I am still not telling. :D

Saturday we just practiced skits and came up with new ones because I am pretty sure EVERYONE in Monkayo has seen all of our skits here and there.We also celebrated new years by blowing up fireworks and watching Tangled. :)

Then Sunday came. I was supposed to preach in the Bamboo church but it was raining that day and rain here effects everything. So I ended up in a little church called the Heart of God. There were about 25 people there and we literally walked in while they were worshipping and asked the pastor if I could preach. I got up there and  preached on putting your ENTIRE trust in the Lord and how he can use a trusting heart SO much more than a doubting heart. It flowed really well and I went on for about an hour and shard my testimony and It went swimmingly. :)

Monday was super fun! First we went to perform for the government officials of Monkayo. Then we went to do the compassion house visits and the only way to get to one house was to walk through a foot of mud and cross a river. So we walked through the mud and played in it until it was up to our knees then a raft made of bamboo had to take us across the river two at a time. It was awesome! Later we went to San Jose to go house to house and invite them to our event. On the way back a few of us rode a skylab. A skylab is basically a motorcycle with 3 benches on both sides of it made out of metal. So six of us rode that home. It was pretty fun but these vehicles are totally made for Filipinos, not Americans we were too large.

We took Tuesday off to visit the Enchanted River. Pretty much every river you come across is disgusting and muddy but the Enchanted river is a natural fresh water and salt water pool. It was 85 meters deep and so blue! It was beautiful! From the Enchanted river we got to take little canoes down into the ocean to an island where we could swim and hang out on the beach. It was such an awesome day!

We visited two schools Wednesday and performed for them. I shared my testimony at both of them in front of 200 plus kids. I could never do that on my own God totally takes control of those times.

Thursday went up into the mountains into a tribe. People heard that we were coming and they literally left a day earlier so that they and their families could travel around the mountain by walking to come to see us. They fe us and then we did a church service and skits and worship with them. I went with the kids and we played games and told stories. We were there for five or so hours. They wouldn’t let us leave because they kept wanting pictures with us.

Friday morning we got up really early to go to a school and perform for teachers. We had just finished learning a dance so we performed that then I shared my testimony and then we performed the Everything skit. I was in all three so I felt like the show was all about me. That has been happening a lot lately because when the team prays about what we should do for each event someone says they got that I am supposed to do  something. I feel like I have shared my testimony about 200 times by now. 


For Saturday they got my name again. This time Grace said I was supposed to sing a solo for that nights performance. So I did. I like it when God speaks to us about what we are supposed to do as a group because then I can’t argue. He told someone I was supposed to preach. So I preach. He told someone I was supposed to share my testimony. He told someone I was supposed to sing. So I did. I didn’t want to do any of it  if it was up to me. You can’t really argue with God when He uses someone else to get you out of your comfort zone.  

Monday we will be heading to the disaster zones that was hit by the typhoon. Please be praying for our team. There wont be internet or showers or clean water or laundry so please pray for our team. We will be there for two weeks. I will give you an update if I get access to internet. Until then! :)