The following is Babie’s e-mail update from the P.I.
Hello all!
I’m in the PHILIPPINES!!! Thank you so much for your prayers for a safe travel. God heard you all! I absolutely hated flying… until this flight. I got window seat, and I think that made a big difference. I really enjoyed it! It was like a BIG family party. Most of the people on the plane were Filipinos. It was an experience!
Our team has been divided among 5 ministry sites. We have been assigned to different college campuses. I’m with my teammate, Daniel, on Far Eastern University with another summer missionary, Emily from Georgia, who’s been here for 1 1/2 months, and a campus evangelist, Grace, and a journeyman, Kevin. Grace is so awesome! She truly loves God and has such a heart for the college students. Kevin is this big white guy from Arkansas who, in the 2 years he’s been in Manila, speaks TAGALOG!!! Emily’s stay here ends next Thursday. She is cool, too. In the 7 weeks that she’s been here, she’s led a Muslim woman to Christ, and just TODAY, Fari reported to her that she’d like to get baptized!
God is really doing some great things here. We’ve been on campus for 3 days now, and I have grown in boldness and sharing my faith tremendously. The students here are VERY responsive to the gospel, and our sharing to them. Since my stay here is a bit short - too short, really - I decided to focus on a few groups that I’ve met here and there. I presented the gospel message to these 2 girls. They were very responsive, and they started to share with me their personal stories and frustrations about life, and even started crying! I felt so blessed by their openness and willingness to trust a stranger like me. It’s also been really fun hanging out with students and inviting them to Bible Studies that are being formed that Grace and Kevin will be leading when I’m gone. I got a whole group of friends to commit to a Bible Study for next Tuesday. Please pray for that. It’s interesting to see how receptive they are to me because I’m American. They start asking Grace questions about me, and they crack up when I tell them that I understand what they’re saying! so cute…. I have also been so drawn to homosexuals on campus. I get a kick out of relating with them! =) The sad thing is that homosexuality has become wildly accepted here. There are students who go to class cross-dressed! I even met a student leader - in training - in ministry who described for me the “prettiest gay guy on FEU.” This really breaks my heart about the Phils. Morality has gone so low down the drain.
I am really enjoying my time here. Life and culture in a third world country are very eye-opening and humbling. We Americans often convert what we pay for into dollars. Everything is so cheap to us. We have access to almost anything. I am grateful for that, but this has caused me to really pray for the country, for the government and the corruption.
Thank you all for your prayers. I ask God everyday what He has for me, for the short time that I am here. It seems weird to me that in the ministry we’re doing, I am barely making friends, and as soon as I’ve built enough trust with them, I’m already on my way out. Still I have much to reflect on, and if anything, I am growing to love Jesus even more each day.
Here are prayer requests:
1. For Joanna and Clarisse, the 2 girls I shared with that they will get connected with the long-term missionaries here for Bible studies,
2. For continued access to campus. We come as English conversation classroom assistants to get entry into campus. For the first time, today the guards asked us questions about what we’re doing. We may actually get a chance to do the classes on Monday which I am really looking forward to.
3. Our teammate, JJ, got all these bug bites, and now has a fever. He was taken to the hospital this morning just to be sure he’s taken care of. Pray for restoration and healing.
Seek God’s Kingdom always.
In Jesus,
Norlyn/Babie
Awww…I miss my girl, my fellow A-dub! But I’m glad that God is using them over there!
