“Ano ang gagawin natin? Basketball?”

I am a genuine fan of basketball, but a basketball player I am not. So, after my first lesson to the children of Pebirgus, I was surprised to find myself playing basketball with them. Well, it seems like I was watching rather than playing, but I assure you that I was sweating.



It was the same setting as I described earlier, except instead of amazement as they gathered their chairs I was instead praying to the LORD to use me. The lesson was from Genesis 4 – Cain and Abel - and as I was drawing the pictures for the lesson, it brought me back to about five years ago to when Powerpoint lessons were Crayola markered stick figures on 8x11 pieces of paper. Of course, I tried using the Tagalog I could, but English came out. There were a couple of words – kasalanan (sin) and regalo (gift) from Romans 6:23 – so I pray for God to cause the seeds to grow.



It’s Saturday afternoon now and it marks the end of my second week of studying here. My classes are full of discussions and assignments, research, reading and papers. I wish I took more Bible classes to be honest, but I have learned to appreciate studying the Bible on my own and finding the truth. It’s a different atmosphere than originally expected, but I am glad for my newfound dependence on God’s Word. At the dialect worship we had on Friday morning (I attended the “Internationals”), people from India, Myanmar, Gana, China, Korea, Pakistan, and America gathered for worship. Sep, an Indian engineer turned Masters of Divinity student, shared his perspective of Seminary life and said, “theological education without spiritual formation is a waste.” Fancy words for hypocrisy in this faith and, no matter where we are (or where we’re from), knowledge and application must go hand in hand. No matter who I meet, no matter what happens, no matter what I learn, I pray it will draw me closer to my Lord and my passion for Him will grow so much that I can not help but change.

And to close, this morning after I woke up, I thought I was home. A few seconds later I said outloud, “Wait, I’m in the Philippines.” This is happening more often as this reality settles in, and it definitely hits me when I inhale the CO2 from a passing Jeepney, when I can’t use my computer because there’s a brownout, when I see a line of roosters tied to a fence and when I use the word circumstance. This is my reality now, and it’s a pretty good reality to be in.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/agracesurrendered/sets/72157612992834060

<3 Amy Grace

Holy design
This place in time
That I might seek and find my God, my God

Lord I want to yearn for You
I want to burn with passion
Over You and only You
Lord I want to yearn

Your joy is mine
Yet why am I fine
With all my singing and bringing grain in light of Him

Oh, You give life and breath
Through Him You give all things
In Him we live and move
That's why I sing

Lord I want to yearn for You
I want to burn with passion
Over You and only You
Lord I want to yearn for You
I want to burn with passion
Over You and only You
Lord I want to yearn

Artist: Shane & Shane
Album: An Evening With Shane & Shane
(based on: Acts 17:25-28, Hebrews 12:28-29)