4:00am we woke up to prepare to leave orientation. We packed our things, said our goodbyes, and were on our way! My first team to travel with is the Little Orphan Nanny Team. As Kuya Jess was taking us to the bus terminal, I remember thinking about how tired I was and about how heavy my luggage was… at that moment he shouted, “Worthy is the Lamb!” He is right- worthy is the Lamb! I don’t know yet what he has in store for me this summer, but he has placed me here.

We traveled by bus for about 6 hours to get here. They served us lunch as soon as we arrived: fish heads, rice, and mango- yum! A tad bit different from the tasty chicken we had at orientation. Not bad… just different. J

Nanay said something today at lunch that really stuck with me. (Nanay just means “Mother.” Tatay means “Father.” Therefore, we call the couple that runs the orphanage Nanay and Tatay.) She was talking about how she has diabetes and she has to watch her diet very closely. Instead of that being something that discourages her, she said, “I do not complain, I just discipline.” This now comes to my mind every time I start to complain about the heat or about having to get up at 5am every morning. No complaining… just discipline!

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever!”

“I don’t want to live my life in the peripheral, I want to be on the front lines of what God is doing.”