it pours!! quite literally. i do so love rainy season. up to the point of flooding anyway… ha!
not 24 hours after my last post the attempt at discouragement began. satan will try it all, of this I am absolutely positive, but he is just no match for the powerful love of our faithful God.
after church on Sunday the typical routine is as follows: errands, lunch, groceries, errands. while eating at subway of all places, in the lower level of Mega Mall, my purse was stolen from between my feet. URG. not cool, lady in the long grey sleeves, NOT cool. unfortunately, none of us knew what had transpired, though having seen the person, we knew exactly what had happened just after. sad day. i immediately panicked, who wouldn’t? you kind of feel like you’ve lost your life. or at the very least your identity. most will say people here are not sophisticated enough for idenity theft but my roommate had her identity stolen and used in the US while living in the Philippines so I’m not really at the point of feeling so safe it won’t happen. i lost my blackberry, a reasonable amount of cash, my checkbook, my wallet, all ID, credit cards, SS card, account #s, keys. as for purse things, you name it, i lost it (except my passport, thankfully). it was an identity thief’s dream in there! lol.
this adventure involved mall security, a shady “costomer service” office, a ride (all 6 of us) in the filipino police car (oh yeah), and a visit to an overcrowded antiquated police station all the while thinking, “yeah right, like i’m gonna see any of it again.” the entire time i was giving myself a pep talk. are you really okay with losing it all for the sake of the Lord? doesn’t you money, your identity, your all belong to Him? what’s the worst that will happen? won’t the Lord provide? BUT MY BLACKBERRY. you have another phone at home. BUT my CREDIT CARDS, access to MONEY! replacable, people will lend. what else? camera? No. Took it out yesterday. Last week I had 3x that much money to pay for visa fees. So glad it wasn’t last week. BUT UGH, this is annoying! … while we were walking back to the mall from the police station a girl that barely came past my knee tapped at my leg for about 50 yards wanting me to buy a little band of flowers. ignoring her was so much harder than losing my belongings. i desperately wished i had even 10 pesos in my pocket to buy one from her… i have so much. so much. when you’re living on support and you feel like you’re kind of always in this state of worry or at least thought about how much you should spend, when/if you’ll have enough, where’s it going to come from… you just forget that even then you have SO much.
that day i bought a “build a ferrari” for my doorknob, i mean Toby. 🙂 he turned 10 the following friday and we celebrated at the pool and by “order your own treat”. we gave the kids a menu which had things like (conicidentally) doorknob, slime, fluffy goo, etc on it and they had to order in courses. They knew that some of these things were utensils but they didn’t know what was what. it was really fun to watch some of them end up with chocolate syrup and a straw right on their place mat, or a bowl full of frosting and a cherry, icecream with no spoon! whoever heard of having to order your bowl?!
this week, Thanksgiving Day included, we perform Lifeline which is the story of Rahab. i have to tell you that it’s so powerful that we know that satan is working his hardest. it’s been incredibly chaotic and stressful and just a struggle quite frequently. but it’s in that struggle we reclaim this show for the Lord. so no, satan, you will not have it, it doesn’t belong to you. our show and our facilities and our lives belong to the Lord and HE will use them to his glory. in fact, a calm excitement has come over the cast and crew and we can’t WAIT for our audience to experience this powerful story of God’s love and redemption.
ok i said calm, but what i meant to say was… the joy of the Lord?
there’s always something. i say, “if it’s not one thing, it’s another.”
i am having visa issues. one day they need my original birth certificate, the day it’s in my hands it need to be at the Philippine embassy in the states. what? you’re funny.
my life and it’s job description (or lack there of) are beginning to spell out transportation issues. what i mean to say is, i.need.a.car.
internet at school is like dial up. need i say more?
so you see, as soon as i post about how well things are going, i am put to the test. but then testing develops perserverance, right? i’m sure it’s due to your prayer support that i find myself with such a good attitude (most of the time, i am still human) about the recent frustrations. thank you for your love, encouragment, prayer and financial support. i appreciate all that you do and i hope that you will continue to pray and give as God guides and i pray that God blesses you as you bless me.
ps. guess what’s happening in april? ↓↓↓ maybe you should come.
