The morning of our big departure to Manila, Caris, Johnny,
Adam, and I got up early and packed up everything. It was a beautiful day in Taipei- sunny, warm
(mid-60’s), and breezy. We landed in Manila two hours later to find that even
our jeans were too warm. Welcome to the Philippines and high-80 degree
temperatures! Oh, I wish I could show you pictures of Caris and I’s faces,
Kinmen is known for its gray skies, wind, and FREEZING temperatures in
February. We found our Narnia.
It took us seconds to discover how beautiful
the Filipino people are. Everywhere we looked, we saw manly men, dainty women,
dark skin, large brown eyes, and enormous smiles. We decided Filipinos win the overall Southeast Asian beauty contest.
The best part for me was seeing the demure side of Taiwanese
culture replaced with an unabashed freedom of expression. Emotions were
displayed everywhere. This Pentecostal-raised-Italian felt instantly at home.
~
“The voice of
rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the
Lord does valiantly” (Psalm 118:15)
“As we rolled through past those mountain plains, past
volcanic peaks, I couldn’t help but twitch with excitement. I couldn’t help but
smile with joy. I could hardly breathe.” (1/28 journal entry)
~
Yet the purpose of our trip was Manila wasn’t to tour, enjoy
the people, or culture. We had a much bigger mission in mind. You see, the last
Swing Dance fundraiser that we had worked on in Kinmen, Taiwan this last fall
benefitted my friend Naomi’s ministry, “Safe Refuge.” She works with a dear friend
of hers, Ate Red, and rescues girls who have come out of the sex trafficking
system and need a fresh start on life. It’s a beautiful ministry that touches
many lives with the truth of the Gospel, and helps heal hearts desperately
searching for love.
God had opened the doors for us to live with the Safe Refuge
girls, get to know them, and encourage the ministry in Mandaluyong, Manila for the
next two weeks. This was a huge opportunity- extremely exciting- yet
overwhelmingly terrifying. Our influence on these women and girls’ lives had to
come out of hearts one with the Holy Spirit. Any other type of human-based “ministry”
could be more destructive than we could even begin to imagine.
So those first few days were spent just settling in, and
building relationships with the girls. Caris and I found ourselves almost
instantly welcomed into the “sisterhood” of the home, while Johnny and Adam
found themselves carefully “watched” the first couple days. Remember, the
majority of the pain these women have experienced in the past, was at the hands
of men- usually foreign men. Therefore, understandably, during those first few
days, the girls were kind to these “kuyas” (“big brothers” in Filipino), but
were very, very careful around them.
~
“Orientation meeting today with Naomi, Ara and Daphne. Some
of these girls’ stories shake you to the core. [I want my life to have the deep
meaning the women in ministry here have.]” (1/29)
“Give us direction, Lord. Let me be flexible and willing to
follow You.” (1/30)
“Because you have made
the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil
shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.” (Psalm 91:9-10)
(1/30)
“We moved three houses yesterday- Safe, Grace, and Ate Red’s
house. We were out until 3:30am moving, then Caris, Adam, Johnny, and I went to
7-11 to get snacks before going to bed at 5am. Woke up at 2pm and vegged out,
got Italian at Megamall, and was overcharged in taxi fare just because we were
four tall, American white people. Fun stuff.” (2/1)
“Really peaceful day thus far…woke up. Did some of the girls’
makeup and hair. Picked lice out of one of the little one’s hair. Practiced for
the worship session later on this afternoon.” (2/2)
“In church worship this morning, I cried and cried and cried
at God’s healing power in the lives of the dancers and myself. Some of the
girls from Safe were dancing as praise leaders. I was cut to the heart through
the Holy Spirit and was overwhelmed with God’s MERCY and POWER! If He could
completely turn them around; turn their mourning into dancing, I know He can do
the same for me.” (2/3)
“*In your complete obedience to God, He will give lifetime
victory.
“*We must learn to do God’s will God’s way.” (2/3 notes from
church)
“Hold fast the pattern
of sound works which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in
Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13)
“But know that the
Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the Lord will hear when I call
to Him.” (Psalm 4:3)
~
Around this point in the trip, I felt like I was part of a
family. I almost couldn’t remember a time I wasn’t
living at Safe Refuge and was acquainted with these lovely faces. Praise God,
the guys had won over the hearts of the residents by then; and were loved just
as much as - if not, more than- us girls.
The focus of life at Safe is WORSHIP. Everyone was in
different places and on different levels of surrender with the Lord, yet we all
came before Him daily in an attitude of worship and allowed the Holy Spirit to
meet us exactly where we were. A daily worship session, and continuous
conversation about God’s presence, was a huge blessing and deeply healing for
me as well.
{Isn’t it funny how God always blesses YOU when you set out
to bless someone else?}
We put together a little trip to the Hundred Islands halfway
through our time at Safe. So of course, the day before we left, I was promptly sick.
{My body can be so annoying sometimes.} That day, I was overwhelmed by the love shown me by Naomi and the staff at
Safe. Again, I felt like I was at home. The fruit of the Spirit was so evident
in the way they cared for me. The next morning, in the spirit of my mother, I
peeled myself out of my bed and went for it! Weak from the bug or not, I wasn’t
going to miss out on the Hundred Islands. Haha, and it was totally worth it!
Five hours in the car, and lots of uncomfortable attempts to
sleep later, we arrived at probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen on
earth. After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we all jumped in a boat and
began our day of island hopping. We snorkeled and saw countless exotic forms of
coral and tropical fish. We slept in the sand. We jumped from a ledge into a
cave “lagoon” and swam back outside into the sunshine and coral reefs. We raced
to see how many underwater giant clams we could touch before our ears almost
popped from the pressure. We laughed so hard. That day was a dream.
And of course, God blessed us that evening with a breath-taking
display of the Milky Way. My favorite.
Yet, as you know, our God moves in mysterious ways. Throughout
the day, I was being prodded by the Holy Spirit to surrender another part of my
heart. As I was paddling through the most beautiful underwater life forms I’d ever
seen, I was in constant conversation with God. It was such unexpected timing.
But so much like our God, right?
~
“For we ourselves were
once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the
kindness and the love of God our Savior appeared, not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that having been justified by His
grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus
3:3-7) (2/6)
“Thank You God, that even in my rotten, rebellious state,
YOU loved me first. Thank You for Your grace that continues to make my world
turn.” (2/7)
“Trust in the Lord,
and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself
also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your
way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall
bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him’ do not fret because of him who
prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret- it only causes harm.” (Psalm
37:3-8)
“Mark the blameless
man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the
transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be
cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength
in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall
deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.” (Psalm
37:37-40)
“Lord, guide me and I will do my best to always act in
obedience. I ask for Your great mercy when I fail. Your grace is enough to help
me make it through. Whatever the outcome, I’d rather have You than anything
else.” (2/9)
“For I have satiated
[fed to satisfaction] the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful
soul.” (Jeremiah 31:25)
“And now, Lord, what
do I wait for? My hope is in You. Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not
make me the reproach of the foolish.” (Psalm 37:7-8)
~
We spent our last days with Safe teaching ballet class,
self-defense class, visiting the Block 40 slum, swimming at the Daranak Falls,
and saying our goodbyes. I was privileged to dance with the praise team at
church on Sunday. It was so surreal leaving. Again, Taiwan seemed to be a
far-away dream at that point.
I truly felt like a new person. God had renewed my spirit
and called me back into His arms of mercy. We went to Manila dreaming of
touching lives, but our Heavenly Father, in His mercy, had a much bigger plan.
So what did I take away from Manila? The remembrance that
our God is POWERFUL, limitless, and overflowing with compassion for us. I take
a shaky breath even now as I write this from Kinmen, Taiwan- our God is so amazing,
and He’s the same wherever you are in the world. His presence is matchless. His
Word is enough.
I hope to go back to visit my sisters soon<3
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