Penatensya.

I look into their eyes...trying to see.. do they really feel this is necessary.

I watch as they walk the street with masks, shirts, bags, anything that covers their faces.

I watch as some fumble to lift their masks to puff on their cigarettes.. others you can see the way they walk... they have chosen another to get them through this march... the signs of substance abuse highs cling to them as the red clings to their strips of clothing.

Yet others walk simply and determined. Each swing carries force, steady. No words come from their mouths, no shouts or buzzed laughters. They don't look to their barkada to egg them on... the simply walk straight ahead, they march alone.

These are the ones that cause me to wonder the most. They are not here for a group challenge, they are not here to prove how tough and manly they are, they are not here for a challenge or show... they are serious. They believe they need to do this as a part of Christ's price that was paid. They believe in doing this they are showing their devotion.

Do they truly believe this is necessary?

I watch as they sling the sticks to their backs, those next to me jump when they get bloody water slung their way. I slowly wipe one of my Bethia sister's arms, as she looks shocked at the drop of red.

They keep coming, hundreds, all masked, all with sticks tied to a rope that they sling over and over to their back. The blood runs and is washed, with water being thrown on the participants, into the streets.

The children run between the men... in the streets wet with the bloody water.

This is the Penatensya, a Catholic tradition here in the Philippines.

"We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." - Romans 6:9-11

~ To God Be the Glory!

A new step..

Here I am this morning.. in my.. no our new room. Within a week, we suddenly have a girls group. 5 girls living in the room that was pretty cozy with just the three of us wasn't working out.. so we all moved around. Guys moved to the other end of the hall, we moved next door to their room.. and after waking up and getting an early start yesterday, working till dinner, then right after dinner heading out to pick up some final things for the room.. we are settled this morning. I have to admit, I was a little.. ok .. completely stressed out about moving, and though the new room is bigger, it had less storage space/shelves etc. So, I was just about to lost it when Eddy brought in a book shelf (about 6 or 7 shelves) .. OH YES!! We were looking at where to put it.. and I caught his eye, looking at the shelves then up to the space above my bed (my top-bunk bed might I add)... 'You're not really... are you??' Then I saw it, the look in his eyes, that does NOT say 'No I'm only joking' but the look that says 'Yes, I'm actually serious abut this crazy idea'. My response, 'oooh....oook.' But.. I pointed out.. the shelf is really tall.. and its a bunk bed.. that's not going to work. But, I should have known, there was a solution... my bed is wonderful and 1/2 the book shelf above the head of my bed and the other 1/2 at the wall at the foot of my bed... yes.. the solution.. simply cut the shelf in 1/2. It shortens it.. and makes more storage in 2 different areas. I have to admit I was a little skeptical, though I trusted in what the the 2 kuyas were doing...but in the end.. I love it!

Monday night, we began our nightly girls' devotions. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do, He is definitely up to something... one of those things is He's calling me forward to be a leader. Something that at first scared the heck out of me.. but an excellent case of when He calls you to something, He will prepare you for that. He has been simply using my mouth to speak, we start devotions and I only know a little about where it will go, but God takes over and it is wonderful!! He is teaching me so much, as I have so much to learn in this area.

The second thing He is teaching me.. is faith... FAITH. I'm not talking about 'Oh yea, I have faith, I believe in Jesus' I'm talking about 'Hey mountain MOVE' faith that will pick up a mountain and MOVE it. I'm talking about the kind of FAITH with which NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE. I'm talking about the radical crazy sometimes scary faith that we are all called to, but so so so few of us actually live out.

Do I have that faith?? Quick answer... I'm getting there. I'm not going to say I don't.. I won't speak that into being.. but I'm also not going to say I'm so proud of my faith... because I'm not there yet either, but I am starting down a new road, a road of trusting GOD with EVERYTHING. Not only in words, but in actions. Living in a way that if God doesn't come through... WE ARE IN TROUBLE! Living in a way that we rely on GOD every step of the way just to live!

I've been reading in my quiet time on faith, and the other day God brought me to Matthew. I was reading in Matthew 17 and it talks of when Jesus called out the demons in the boy, who was originally brought to the disciples, but they could not heal him. When they later asked why, His response in verse 20 was, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you'."

DID YOU CATCH THAT!??!?!

Jesus told us, that with just this little bit of faith NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU! In the notes in my bible, it added that sometimes verse 21 is included in some transcripts with ''But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting". We pray in faith, but fasting is also our petition to Christ. We won't fast, if we don't expect God to see it and act. We fast in FAITH, just as we pray.

So, I was reading on... and Matthew 18, and in verse 19 Jesus says this, "Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven."

WOW!! ANYTHING they ask!!

That means Christians... let's pray! And not just mumble a few words in hope.. but pray boldly in FAITH asking our God and FATHER to answer and MOVE! Let's ask Him to move.

Currently at GH, we are praying boldly for God to move and build this building. We are in the final stages of our building project, but have hit some obstacles financially... so what are we doing. We are praying in faith, trusting that God will see to completion what HE started and in the time that it needs to be done, so that the teams coming soon will be in the new building. To most people who see the building.. that is CRAZY! But... we are moving forward in FAITH, no back up plans, just FAITH!

Please join us in praying in faith that GOD would build this building and have it completed by the time the first team comes.

But.. Christians, let's not stop there. Think of all the mountains that God would move if we all joined together in bold radical prayers of FAITH! What if.. just what if... we all joined together in BOLD RADICAL prayers of FAITH... for the orphan???

OH. MY. Can you imagine the mountains that God would move... Christians, I'm taking this next line from another blogger friend, Linny, God's heart is for the orphan. He wants to and will move. But some things require prayer and fasting. again... BOLD RADICAL MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH FILLED PRAYER!!

What if we joined together in BOLD RADICAL MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH FILLED PRAYER for... food for the poor???

What if we joined together in BOLD RADICAL MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH FILLED PRAYER for... healing???

What if we joined together in BOLD RADICAL MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH FILLED PRAYER for... the lost???

Oh Christians, the time for mumbling a few half-hearted words is over! We are called to faith, so let us join together in this new time of BOLD RADICAL MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH FILLED PRAYER.

LET'S WATCH GOD MOVE MOUNTAINS!!

Get ready.. it's going to be AWESOME!!!

~ To God Be the Glory!!

the WOW'ingest day yet...

Ok, so today one of the WOW'ingest things ever happened to me today ... yes I just made up a word.. WOW'ingest should so be a word anyway.. not sure why no one else has realized this yet, but that's a story for another day.

There are some visitors, a group of m*litary that are in PI for the time, that have been coming and visiting regularly for a few weeks now. Of this group is their chaplain. Today, the chaplain and two others surprised me and dropped by for a quick visit, which ended up lasting a couple hours. Unfortunately Ate and our big kids and our monsters were all out swimming, but they were totally fine with that, as there were still plenty of other kids, toddlers, and babies to go around.

Now, is where I get to the 'good stuff' that makes this the WOW'ingest day yet...the chaplain started speaking to me, and he just started speaking and bringing up things... the exact things that LORD has been speaking to me about and really hammering down for the last month! The exact things, not even kidding! I was shell shocked to say the least, my mind was reeling... I'm talking the exact wording that the LORD spoke to me was coming out of this man's mouth! I knew God was clearly using this man to make His point perfectly clear. And, it wasn't just one topic, but all the topics the LORD is currently dealing with me on. I commented, 'Wow, you're speaking on all the things God is dealing with me on, I really needed to hear this.' His response, 'I know.. The LORD showed me your heart before and told me what to say'.

I won't go into detail about what all was said, because there are things that God is still revealing to me and much that I'm still processing, but WOW.. isn't God AMAZING!! There are changes in store for my life, but I'm so excited, for I'm starting a phase of my life..

My apologies as this post might be a little scattered, but I just had to share how the LORD made today just the WOW'ingest day yet!!!

~ To God Be the Glory!

today

Ok.. so wow.. where to start... my heart has had fights today. I've had to stand my ground and be firm, but my heart has also been melted today. But my heart has also been struck today. Stubbornness. Warmth. Pain. Three drastically different emotions.. make for an interesting day...

During my shift, I had one of those epic 'Battles of the Wills' with M. Thankfully, A, an older child, was helping me out, so that I could focus on the 'battle' at hand. I'm glad to say that by the end of the night, we did end on a good note, but... a battle is still a battle, and in the midst of it.. it is long and you have to put your gameface on. Stubbornness.

My battle was however interrupted quite a few times, twice being pretty big incidents... regarding Rona. Poor sneaky, stubborn thing...needless to say, she ended up in a heap of trouble. So later, at bedtime, the lights are out, the night lights are on and I crawl into Rona's bed and lay beside her to get her temperature and I can feel the stubbornness still there, as I'm prepared to meet a mad little hornet, instead two of the sweetest eyes, look deep into mine and with a sigh and slowed intention speech, I'm met with a

"I love you Ate Bitnay"

I melt. Warmth.

I whisper back to her that I love her so very much as well, as she gives me one of those sweet kisses that are worth so much more than any amount of money.

I'm singing to them a little later, waiting for them to finally settle from an unusually hyper night, and just as the chatter is dying down, I hear a high-pitched little voice, " Hello guys!! Hello guys!!" over and over.. none other than the usually "I'm-not-going-to-say-actual-words" Abegail, with the pillow over her head, squealing greetings to her friends... ok Abegail.. it's time to sleep now. Then.. a little later.. "Ow...Ow...Ow. Ow. Ow." My head whips up... only to see Jonalyn playing with her eyelids via her eyelashes...seeing how far she can pull them out... (I'm actually giggling remembering tonight)

Then... the pain... came in realizations at the end of the day, when I was able to reflect on the day. Some things, that I can't go into detail at this time, came about today, that will drastically affect those that I love here. With that being said, as always, we appreciate your prayers! Please don't stop! We know our God is able to move mountains, let's ask Him to move!

~ To God Be the Glory!