What an incredible whirlwind my life has been lately. My thoughts have been all over the place, something like this:
Missionary. Philippines. Not real. Can't be.
Tagalog. Oh no. South Asia.
Cute skirt. Comfortable shoes. Seasonal flooding. Oh gosh.
Little dark children. Love it. Warm weather. Buy scriptures.
Need a new watch. Watch battery. Ugh. Do that tomorrow.
What am I doing tomorrow? What is tomorrow?
Oh my gosh I'm going to the Philippines.
Panic.
Prayers. Better. Scriptures. Bed.
Not even tired. Want my mom. Where is my charger...
But then everything changed. The Philippines were hit by a horrible typhoon (we're talking storm of the century) (click here for video of the storm) and every little worry, fear, or stress that I may have had about serving there, seemed to be washed away with the rains. It was replaced by love; pure untouched love that I know is something that could only come from the Savior. Now I know what you're thinking, with a storm like this I should be terrified to add "murderous storms" to my growing list of concerns, but you see, to understand you have to start from the beginning. As a child, I had a love for people that I didn't know and would never meet. Hurricanes, fires, tsunamis; they all warranted a lemonade, brownie, blueberry stand and a Saturday knocking on patient neighbor's doors asking for Red Cross money. My small heart struggled to understand why our loving Heavenly Father would allow such destruction in places such as Haiti or El Salvador that were already so humbled in their poverty. My adolescent heart still sometimes struggles with this matter and I often have to just ask my Father in Heaven to answer it someday, when he is ready. Well, my friends, I have a feeling that my answer may just be one that I will have to find myself. It's amazing to me how my Heavenly Father knows me. He knows my heart and the way I love people, but he also knows the questions that I desire answers to and he is giving me a way to find the answers for myself through teaching and explaining it to people with those very same questions. My Father also knows that my testimony of eternal families and life after death is one that is so tender and special to me. The confidence He has shown in me to be one of the servants to deliver this message of salvation and hope is humbling. I am more ready than ever to join his army to bring these people some kind of comfort. I may not like the food and may feel sick to my stomach most days, but I will have food. I may toss and turn on my grass mat on the floor, but I will have shelter. I may shiver every morning as a pour a cold bucket of water over my head, but I will be clean. I may not be any good at speaking Tagalog, but through an amazing circle of family and friends I know how to speak the language of love. Arms to wraps around shoulders, eyes that will be alive with hope & faith, & heart full of the same love Christ has for these people; that is all I could possibly need.
I eagerly await my arrival in the Philippines to simply love. There is nothing else that I could possibly want to be doing at this moment. I have been prepared for this journey & mission my entire life and I couldn't be more ready to fully grasp this opportunity to love my Father in Heaven and his children on this earth.
For more information on the missionaries currently serving in the Tacloban Philippines Mission and their experience with the typhoon:
Fear, Faith, Preparation
Missionaries Find Refuge
Donate to the Humanitarian Aid Fund
Missionary. Philippines. Not real. Can't be.
Tagalog. Oh no. South Asia.
Cute skirt. Comfortable shoes. Seasonal flooding. Oh gosh.
Little dark children. Love it. Warm weather. Buy scriptures.
Need a new watch. Watch battery. Ugh. Do that tomorrow.
What am I doing tomorrow? What is tomorrow?
Oh my gosh I'm going to the Philippines.
Panic.
Prayers. Better. Scriptures. Bed.
Not even tired. Want my mom. Where is my charger...
But then everything changed. The Philippines were hit by a horrible typhoon (we're talking storm of the century) (click here for video of the storm) and every little worry, fear, or stress that I may have had about serving there, seemed to be washed away with the rains. It was replaced by love; pure untouched love that I know is something that could only come from the Savior. Now I know what you're thinking, with a storm like this I should be terrified to add "murderous storms" to my growing list of concerns, but you see, to understand you have to start from the beginning. As a child, I had a love for people that I didn't know and would never meet. Hurricanes, fires, tsunamis; they all warranted a lemonade, brownie, blueberry stand and a Saturday knocking on patient neighbor's doors asking for Red Cross money. My small heart struggled to understand why our loving Heavenly Father would allow such destruction in places such as Haiti or El Salvador that were already so humbled in their poverty. My adolescent heart still sometimes struggles with this matter and I often have to just ask my Father in Heaven to answer it someday, when he is ready. Well, my friends, I have a feeling that my answer may just be one that I will have to find myself. It's amazing to me how my Heavenly Father knows me. He knows my heart and the way I love people, but he also knows the questions that I desire answers to and he is giving me a way to find the answers for myself through teaching and explaining it to people with those very same questions. My Father also knows that my testimony of eternal families and life after death is one that is so tender and special to me. The confidence He has shown in me to be one of the servants to deliver this message of salvation and hope is humbling. I am more ready than ever to join his army to bring these people some kind of comfort. I may not like the food and may feel sick to my stomach most days, but I will have food. I may toss and turn on my grass mat on the floor, but I will have shelter. I may shiver every morning as a pour a cold bucket of water over my head, but I will be clean. I may not be any good at speaking Tagalog, but through an amazing circle of family and friends I know how to speak the language of love. Arms to wraps around shoulders, eyes that will be alive with hope & faith, & heart full of the same love Christ has for these people; that is all I could possibly need.
I eagerly await my arrival in the Philippines to simply love. There is nothing else that I could possibly want to be doing at this moment. I have been prepared for this journey & mission my entire life and I couldn't be more ready to fully grasp this opportunity to love my Father in Heaven and his children on this earth.
For more information on the missionaries currently serving in the Tacloban Philippines Mission and their experience with the typhoon:
Fear, Faith, Preparation
Missionaries Find Refuge
Donate to the Humanitarian Aid Fund
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