What the Heck?!

I titled this what the heck bc that's exactly how I feel. What the heck just happened? What the heck am I supposed to say. How the heck to I put this into words. What the heck...what the heck...what the heck. (And apparently I say what the heck a lot bc now all my Filipino friends make fun of me) I've been dreading this blog and this moment for awhile because it means that I'm leaving the Philippines. Shoot...here come the tears. God has showed me some amazing things while being here. Not only His love for His people but His love for me. When starting this trip I had a little chat with God. Basically saying I'm expecting Him to knock me off my feet in whatever way He wants and to give me some direction. I feel like ever since I hit the ground in the Philippines He has done exactly that. Of course we expect God to reveal things that WE expect Him to reveal. Not so much that I was expecting Him to "answer" or give me direction in certain things but, I just had an idea of what He would show me. All I do is laugh at that thought now. He always seems to have way cooler plans than we ever thought of. Yes, I'm sorry I'm being vague but I don't feel it's the right time to say details. Just please continue to pray for me because I feel like God has showed me some huge things but it's still very vague. Be careful when you pray for big things because He will ALWAYS step up to the challenge. Which is pretty hilarious that you pray those things and then you're surprised when they actually happen. Like I said in my last blog, I have had this huge expectancy feeling in me for several months now and God has been preparing me for this "huge thing" that is going to happen. Many many nights I've been woken up and started praying for a reason I had no clue. When I was serving with Mike Keyes' Ministry (MKMI) I had woken up 4 nights in a row (and it wasn't jet lag ha!) and prayed until finally BAM! God hit me with some really cool stuff. It's all kinda making sense now.

Ever since I've entered the MKMI compound, God has been working on my heart. I've had thoughts and ideas that I'd NEVER thought of before. I was telling a friend of mine that I feel like God spoke to me the most through ideas on this trip. Like I would think something and realize later..."wait...that HAD to have been God, there's no way I would have thought of that on my own." Especially because it meant (wait for it....) SACRIFICE on my part. It still trips me out that while I was in Australia I blogged about how all I keep hearing about, reading about and learning about is sacrifice and now, a couple weeks later God is showing me what He wants me to sacrifice. And as scary as I thought it would be to find out what He meant, it's actually ridiculously amazing and exciting. As if God would ask me to do something that I wouldn't love and enjoy! Pshh. God's tight like that!

So while I was @ MKMI, I met up with our Cottonwood team and also a couple other groups from the states. It was so much fun getting to know all the other people that came for the 2011 MKMI tour. What the tour is all about is reaching many areas of Mindanao, Philippines and host salvation and healing crusades. We wake up VERY early, pile up in "Jeepnies" and drive for hours to areas that some of the people have never been told about God before. We then split up into 3 groups. So every day there are 3 different crusades going on in 3 different areas of Mindanao. We pass out fliers to all the houses in the village which meant walking through mud, climbing hills, walking through tropical storms and many other things. We were getting down and dirty for Jesus. Nobody goes without hearing about the crusades! (LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!) Then everyone meets back up together and eats lunch and relaxes for a little. Then we spend about 30ish mins praying and preparing for the crusades. We split back up into our 3 groups, head out to the crusades and kick some butt for Jesus! The Americans were somewhat of an attraction and we were always the speakers. There was worship and then every American spoke. 1 would give a 10-15 minute salvation message, and one would do a 10-15 minute healing message after that. Everyone else would give a short word of encouragement or testimony. we would lay hands on the sick and see miraculous miracles happen! A deaf woman was healed and could hear, many people with goiters were instantly healed and many more stories similar to those. God had His way and was making His glory shine bright! This happened every day except for Sunday and even then, we were speaking. We would visit local churches and speak encouragement to the congregation and pray for their healing also. It was non-stop and we all received what we are calling "spiritual stretch marks." It was physically and emotionally exhausting but we loved every second of it. On our lunch breaks we got to visit VERY awesome places. We went to the beach one day, natural springs to swim in, a resort where we took boat ride and many other fun things. So there were moments of rest in the middle of the work. It was such an awesome experience. One that nobody will ever forget! The MKMI team was absolutely amazing and made everything so much fun! I don't think I slept the whole week because of all the fun stuff we did after hours haha. (Most likely the reason I literally slept a whole day straight after I left the MKMI compound haha) I fell head over heals in love with the MKMI team and with Apostle Mike and Reverend Ethel Keyes (Aka: Papa Keyes and Mama Ethel). Seriously amazing amazing amazing people. The final counts hadn't come in when we left but there were over 4,000 people saved during the 2011 tour! PRAISE GOD!!!!!

After serving with MKIM, I flew back to Manila, Philippines to work with Kids International Ministry (KIM). This is where I slept the whole first day haha. They are so hospitable and if anything, it was such an encouraging part of my trip. I loved serving with them but meeting all the different groups from the USA that were serving there at the same time and also meeting the family that runs the ministry blessed me like crazy. Not to mention being able to encourage others while I was there. I met this wonderful girl named Shelby that literally JUST went through the same exact experience that I had and we were able to encourage each other. After a couple of days there, my friend Annie from the Cottonwood team that attended the MKMI tour, came to serve with me at KIM. We drove out into the rural parts of Manila and did "feedings" where people would bring bowls from their houses and we would feed them. We also were part of a neat project where we took pictures of everyone in the village, got them printed with a verse on the photo and were able to give them back to the people. This was HUGE because some of these people have never had a photo of themselves in their lives. Awesome way to plant seeds into these families :) We also visited one of their children's homes where we played with kids of all ages. These kids have either been removed from their houses due to violence, abuse or other reasons or their parents would literally just drop them of because they didn't want them anymore. For whatever reason, KIM is always willing to take them. They teach them manners, love and respect. They live there until either they're old enough to move out or are adopted. Just before I arrived at KIM, a child was adopted to a great family and the ministry was very excited. Such great, beautiful children! Then I got to help paint a new home for a branch of their ministry called "Josie's angels." This is a group of girls that the daughter of the parents that run the ministry has taken under her wing. Girls that have either been sexually, emotionally or physically abused that need a place to stay. They are taught true love, what a true family looks like and what their true worth is. So, God has recently blessed Josie with this house to move these beautiful angels into and I got to help paint the walls. Not only with color but with verses and words of encouragement for the angels to read as a reminder of who they are in Christ. I was so honored to be a part of this. The angels were going to get to see their new home and be surprised today (Friday). I wasn't able to be there but Josie said she would video tape their reaction so I could see it. Not only was serving with this ministry such a blessing but, once again, I fell in love with the family who ran it. So down to Earth, loving and welcoming. I love meeting all these amazing people and making long lasting contacts/friendships!

The last part of my Philippines trip was a relaxation phase. (Right....like I know how to relax!) Annie has family here in the Philippines and we met up with them and flew out to a BEAUTIFUL area of the Philippines called Palawan. Absolutely gorgeous! White sand beaches, crystal clear WARM water, caves tours, zip-lining, crocodile farms, butterfly gardens, snorkeling, boat tours...you name it, we did it! I think I left more exhausted than I was when we headed out there haha. Sounds like my kind of vacation...I seem to always need a vacation from my vacation! I think I'll probably sleep for a week straight when I get home.

Ugggg, I'm pretty sure a country has never messed me up like this EVER (in a good way). I've been to many countries, seen many different cultures but there's something about the Philippines that makes my heart want to stay. 2mrw is going to probably be the hardest it's ever been for me to get on a plane. My heart feels at home here and I know I will definitely be back again someday.

Please forgive me for anything that doesn't make sense or if there are any typos...I don't have time to proof read :) Thank you all for your support and prayers! I want to add photos but I can only add 5 and there's about 15 I want to share haha. So copy and paste the link below and it will take you to my "Destination World: Love" album on facebook. I keep my profile on private but I have made it so that anyone can see this album. Makes it easier to share pics and this way...you can see more than 5!!

Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150218983942929.330511.824347928