You may have heard a rumor resonating from Beulah Beach. If the rumor you heard is that I am returning to the Philippines then I can verify that it is more than a rumor, it is true! (Disclaimer: I endorse no other rumors produced by the mill. 😉
In April my mom and I were incredibly blessed to be able to visit Aninuan in Puerto Galera and Faith Academy in Manila. The trip was planned to be a visit to Threads of Hope bracelet makers and see the new theatre at Faith and ended up being the Lord’s way of telling me it was time to go back. The last 3 years at Beulah Beach have been a rollercoaster (pardon the cliche) of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, lots of transition and lots of growing. But I can tell you with complete certainty that it’s exactly where I was supposed to be. Below is a update to my file at faith as they requested a testimony regarding the past 3 years…
Upon returning from the Philippines in June of 2007 I was incredibly torn by the decision to stay in the US at summer’s end. I had grown to love the staff and students of Faith Academy and had to decide between retuning and staying to take full time employment serving at Beulah Beach, the camp I had grown up attending and serving duing summers. I was baffled by God’s timing in offering what I considered to be my “dream job” at a time when I felt like the Philippines was where I was supposed to be. I can’t say that I knew God’s direction clearly, as I often find myself praying that my desires would be His desires so that my decisions will be in line with what he wants for my life, but it was with that spirit I chose to stay. As I look back on the last 3 years now I know absolutely that this is where God wanted me to be. It has been a very long 3 years in many ways but I can look back and see where I have learned and grown spiritually, emotionally and professionally in ways that I could never have imagined or expected.
The first summer I was back things were fun and really quite easy. I came to serve as camp registrar and as a part of the Communications team. The Comm Team is responsible for all camp photography, highlight DVDs, themeing, sound & lighting, chapels and many other media related tasks. Through this position I learned so much and grew to love this field. At summer’s end Comm Team things slowed down and I took over as Guest Services Coordinator. In this position I was in charge of scheduling, reservations and serving all rental groups. I also began taking some classes to continue learning in my new found love. If things had gone on this way forever as I expected life would be quite different then I know it now.
It was near the new year when the Executive Director announced several position eliminations and his own resignation. This left very few of us to keep the camp running. It felt like work was never ending, working 40+ hours a week when all along it was supposed to be hourly “part time” with no benefits. It was often a struggle not to become frustrated and feel overworked and abused, never getting what I “deserved”. I clung to Philippians 2:5-7 reminding myself that though Jesus was God he didn’t demand and cling to his rights as God but made himself nothing for our benefit. I wanted to continue to grow toward being like Christ so I knew I needed to keep going. The new Executive Director arrived during the summer rush and I was just keeping up with a job I had never done in the summer and was figuring out on my own. He knew because he asked that my heart was with the Comm Team and he felt I was not serving where I was most gifted. Through this change in leadership and management style, going from being an intregal part of keeping the camp running to being asked to step down by someone that didn’t know me or all that I had given and gone through, it would have been very easy to be angry and bitter about the decision. But, I knew the ministry wasn’t mine so I accepted the change with as much grace as I could muster and stepped away from the position. It was still very disheartening and I wasn’t sure what to do next.
Within a month and before I had even had a chance to move away from Beulah Beach the Executive Director decided to offer my housing in exchange for a few hours a week in doing publications and a few other media related things. He said that as he watched how I handled all that I was ask of through the summer and transition that he was impressed and truly hoped that I would see it as the right thing in the end. The change in postion has been without a doubt the right thing. My position as grown from a few hours to full time with ongoing steps toward the right compensation for the position. As God would have it, I have basically gotten an entire education in a new field. The Comm Team leader that I was under at the beginning had created a new logo and all new branding for the camp and began revamping all publications and media. He continued working with me and 2 years ago I took over for him continuing to revamp publications, signage, and creating an all new website. These were all things the camp desperately needed and could not afford to pay to have done otherwise. On the side I’ve been able to do some freelance photography in weddings, senior photos and other events. I can say that the process was not easy and a lot of the time it tested me to the breaking point but through it I realized that I had the choice, over and over again, to choose the right attitude and be a servant. I am so glad that I made that choice because I can look back on it now and see where I have grown and matured and perservered. I can’t wait to see how the Lord uses the new skills I have!
Though my life has mostly consisted of the rollercoaster that serving at Beulah has been, I have also had the absolute privelege and JOY of watching and being a part of the growing of Threads of Hope. 3 years ago I was just a girl with 2300 bracelets, today we have sold… a lot more! God definitely gave me this ministry as a way to stay connected to the Philippines without being there and I have been blown away at the blessing of being a part of it. I was able to travel with my mom to visit Aninuan in Puerto Galera in April of 2010 and through our visit with bracelet makers and also to Faith Academy I knew God was leading me, finally, back to the Philippines.
Upon returning from the Philippines in June of 2007 I was incredibly torn by the decision to stay in the US at summer’s end. I had grown to love the staff and students of Faith Academy and had to decide between retuning and staying to take full time employment serving at Beulah Beach, the camp I had grown up attending and serving duing summers. I was baffled by God’s timing in offering what I considered to be my “dream job” at a time when I felt like the Philippines was where I was supposed to be. I can’t say that I knew God’s direction clearly, as I often find myself praying that my desires would be His desires so that my decisions will be in line with what he wants for my life, but it was with that spirit I chose to stay. As I look back on the last 3 years now I know absolutely that this is where God wanted me to be. It has been a very long 3 years in many ways but I can look back and see where I have learned and grown spiritually, emotionally and professionally in ways that I could never have imagined or expected.
The first summer I was back things were fun and really quite easy. I came to serve as camp registrar and as a part of the Communications team. The Comm Team is responsible for all camp photography, highlight DVDs, themeing, sound & lighting, chapels and many other media related tasks. Through this position I learned so much and grew to love this field. At summer’s end Comm Team things slowed down and I took over as Guest Services Coordinator. In this position I was in charge of scheduling, reservations and serving all rental groups. I also began taking some classes to continue learning in my new found love. If things had gone on this way forever as I expected life would be quite different then I know it now.
It was near the new year when the Executive Director announced several position eliminations and his own resignation. This left only 3 of us to keep the camp running. It felt like work was never ending, working 40+ hours a week when all along it was supposed to be hourly “part time” with no benefits. It was often a struggle not to become frustrated and feel overworked and abused, never getting what I “deserved”. I clung to Philippians 2:5-7 reminding myself that though Jesus was God he didn’t demand and cling to his rights as God but made himself nothing for our benefit.I wanted to continue to grow toward being like Christ so I knew I needed to keep going. The new Executive Director arrived during the summer rush and I was just keeping up with a job I had never done in the summer and was figuring out on my own. He knew because he asked that my heart was with the Comm Team and he felt I was not serving where I was most gifted. Through this change in leadership and management style, going from being an intregal part of keeping the camp running to being asked to step down by someone that didn’t know me or recognize all that I had given and gone through, it would have been very easy to be angry and bitter about the decision. But, I knew the ministry wasn’t mine so I accepted the change with as much grace as I could muster and stepped away from the position. It was still very disheartening and I wasn’t sure what to do next.
Within a month and before I had even had a chance to move away from Beulah Beach the new Executive Director decided to offer my housing in exchange for a few hours a week in doing publications and a few other media related things. He said that as he watched how I handled all that I was ask of through the summer and transition that he was impressed and truly hoped that I would see it as the right thing in the end. The change in postion has been without a doubt the right thing. My position as grown from a few hours to full time with ongoing steps toward the right compensation for the position. As God would have it, I have basically gotten an entire education in a new field. The Comm Team leader that I was under at the beginning had created a new logo and all new branding for the camp and began revamping all publications and media. He continued working with me and 2 years ago I took over for him continuing to revamp publications, signage, and creating an all new website. These were all things the camp desperately needed and could not afford to pay to have done otherwise. On the side I’ve been able to do some freelance photography in weddings, senior photos and other events. I can say that the process was not easy and a lot of the time it tested me to the breaking point but through it I realized that I had the choice, over and over again, to choose the right attitude and be a servant. I am so glad that I made that choice because I can look back on it now and see where I have grown and matured and perservered. I can’t wait to see how the Lord uses the new skills I have!
Though my life has mostly consisted of the rollercoaster that serving at Beulah has been, I have also had the absolute privelege and JOY of watching and being a part of the growing of Threads of Hope. 3 years ago I was just a girl with 2300 bracelets, today we have sold… a lot more! God definitely gave me this ministry as a way to stay connected to the Philippines without being there and I have been blown away at the blessing of being a part of it. I was able to travel with my mom to visit Aninuan in Puerto Galera in April of 2010 and through our visit with bracelet makers and also to Faith Academy I knew God was leading me, finally, back to the Philippines.
