It was not that long ago when we first arrived in the beautiful country of the Philippines and yet those moments feel like a lifetime away. I remember getting off the plane, piling into vans, and drifting in and out of sleep as we drove hours through traffic to the place we would stay. Once we arrived at Kids International Ministries, we ate a warm dinner and briefly explored our new home (with a pool!!) before falling asleep. The Philippines adventure had just begun. Now, as I look back on this country, it is my honor to be able to share a bit about the ministry there and how the Lord moved in this country.

First, what was ministry like in the Philippines? All of the girls in my group were split up into our teams and each team helped out with different parts of an organization called Kids International Ministries. Some helped at the boys and girls orphanages, some with the youth group and feeding programs for the community, and my team mainly helped at the Christian school in the community. The guys in our group were helping out with another organization and boys orphanage nearby. The ministry I did at the school mostly looked like being a teacher’s assistant. We helped with any tasks that the teachers needed help with including, leading in the classroom, grading, and preparing for school events. Also, we were able to talk and connect with the students and encourage them in their faith! Now that you have a little picture of what ministry was like, let me share a bit about how the Lord moved and what he taught me!

One of the things that stands out from this country is both challenges and rest. Why do those things go together? Well, from the beginning of this country I heard the Lord speaking the words rest and restoration over this season. Yet, I found that in this country it was even more difficult and challenging to find moments of rest and intimate time with God. This is mostly because of our full schedule and also the place we were living in constantly being busy with people. However, through this I realized how important resting in God truly is and God taught me how to fight for those spaces even if it meant saying no to things occasionally. As I fought for rest, the Lord provided it time and time again and I felt his care for me. Another challenge was simply the transition into this country. It took me some time at the beginning to fully morn leaving Vietnam and open my heart back up to new relationships. Lastly, I also experienced both challenges and restoration in my team. It came to our attention that there had been some division and disunity in my team and so we had a conversation about it. Immediately after it was brought into the light, we began to experience freedom and restoration. After having some more conversations, our relationships were further mended. Praise God for restoration! These are some of the ways that I experienced challenges, rest, and restoration.

Lastly, I also experienced so much of the Lord’s joy in this country. Where do I even start?! One of the things that brought me so much joy was all of the different moments with people here, from kids yelling “Hi!” from across the street as we walked through the community, to having sweet conversations with students at the school, to all of the friends we got to meet at church and the inspiration that they are in their faith. I also experienced deep joy while spending time at the boys orphanage (aka the boys home). The boys home wasn’t our main ministry, however, we did get to live there for a few days. While we were there, the Lord touched my heart with his joy and presence. I will forever remember each moment with them. One of my favorite moments is running around the home during a massive pillow fight haha.

To wrap up, the Philippines was a season full of challenges, rest, and joy. I will always hold this place dear to my heart and I am so grateful for everything the Lord did here! Hopefully one day I can return but for now I am onto the next part of my journey, South Africa!!

Bye for now,

Elina Harbeson