Church

Church.

What pops into your head when you hear that word? While growing up, the word church always meant Sundays and Wednesdays to me. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally understood church is about God’s people… about my brothers and sisters. The church is what we are. And not only are we a family, but we are a family that pleases our Lord.

The more I come to love Jesus, the more I love His church. I love praising His name alongside so many others. I love thinking about the work Jesus has done in each of our lives and the fact that He knows each of us so personally. I love thinking about how broken we are as a church, and how good God is to restore us and use us. I love our ability to give all praise back to Him, and I love the overwhelming feeling of the glory I want God to receive from us.

In my time overseas I have gained a huge appreciation for the international church. God is reaching so many through their own cultures, and it’s an honor to worship him amongst my brothers and sisters of other nations. It’s a tiny sliver of what heaven is going to be. It’s beautiful.

In Revelation 7:9, we are told that heaven is international:

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands…”

Last night I was able to go to Passion Manila and worship the Lord with thousands of my Filipino brothers and sisters. It was incredible! I felt overwhelmed by the privilege to experience God being worshipped by the nation He has called me to for the past two years. It felt like a “parting gift” from Him as my number of days here dwindles.

Keep praying for the church. Pray for our eternal family that God is working through all over the world! I can’t wait for the day Rev. 7:9 is reality.

Longing

Today has been one of those days where I just long to be home. I miss my friends and family and I am so excited to get to live life with them again in about 4 months.

And as these thoughts consume my mind, I know that when I get back home I will have days where I long to be back in the Philippines. Basically, I'm learning that I may never be 100% satisfied with where I physically am. And I think that's ok. :)

Faith Academy- 2014

I long for these two worlds I now have to collide. This is going to require the proclamation of the Gospel to all people, leading to a new heaven and a new earth. The day when Christ's church is fully unified and God himself dwells with us. The day when differences and location don't matter. The day when we get to experience our Creator and His creation to it's fullest... in a way that we can't even begin to imagine!

At church this morning I was so encouraged by this passage:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'"
Revelation 21:1-4

I believe that many others experience these same feelings and I pray this passage can encourage you today as well.

To live is Christ, to die is gain.

Typhoon Yolanda-- How You Can Help!

Here is a small list of ways you can donate to Typhoon Yolanda relief. If you're feeling led to help, check them out! A small gift can go a long way. Thanks friends!

Philippines Red Cross
http://ushare.redcross.org.ph/


Faith Academy
Collecting material and financial donations. Please message me via Facebook or Email if you're interested in contributing! nicoleann.nw@gmail.com


Kids International Ministries
Want to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)? KIM is sending a small disaster response team to Tacloban, the area hardest hit. We will build a shelter providing food, water, and medicine to the community. If you would like to donate to the effort, know that 100% of your money will go towards the Tacloban relief and is tax deductible. Click below http://www.stayclassy.org/events/philippine-typhoon-relief/e28674


Compassion International
http://www.compassion.com/typhoon-hits-philippines.htm

When you give to this fund, you help Compassion provide the relief, recovery, and rehabilitation that is vital to restore families affected by this massive storm.

Your gift makes possible interventions such as:

• emergency food and water, temporary shelters, personal items, cooking utensils, trauma counseling and spiritual support
• replacing clothing, school supplies and household items
• restoring supplies a family needs for earning income

Operation Blessing https://secure.ob.org/site/Donation2?df_id=6920&6920.donation=form1 In the wake of one of the strongest storms in recorded history, Operation Blessing teams are providing food, water, medical care and other critical relief to victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Chapel

This past week my students were able to do a presentation during our weekly Chapel. We joined the other second grade class, taught by my good friend Kelsie, to share what God has been teaching us with the rest of the elementary school. Here is the last portion of our presentation! The kids worked so hard, and they were pretty pumped to get to present in front of their peers. Enjoy!

Walls

A few weeks ago my class and I studied Joshua and the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6). This led to many discussions of God tearing down walls, which led to us discussing the "walls" we have in our own lives that are only going to fall down with God's help. These are sins/habits/etc. that are between us and the Lord that we need to ask Him to tear down in our hearts. We proceeded to write down these things on "bricks" and built a classroom wall to pray over.

My kids have basically blown me away. Such a simple task is generating some amazing prayers and self-reflection! We spend time praying for our wall in different groupings, and the kids literally rejoice when someone gets to take down their brick because God has answered their prayer!

A few bricks we got to take down today!

Our wall after a few removals and additions.

Here are the main reasons I am so thankful that we've been able to do this:

1. These 2nd graders have been open, honest, and vulnerable with admitting their struggles.
2. They are thinking deeply about the walls in their lives and what separates them from the Lord. 
3. They are continuing to realize the power of prayer. Prayer is POWERFUL! (as they say)
4. They are believing in this power. As they take bricks down, they are also adding others so that they can be prayed for.
5. I am seeing these kids understand the Truth of the Gospel. Seriously, what gets better than that?!

Thank you for praying for us. God's incredible! He can take simple pieces of construction paper and convict us. Thank you Jesus for drawing us closer to You.

God and His Sense of Humor :)

God had a fun plan up his sleeve for me this past Saturday...

The day included a few unfortunate events. I spent the day up at school but had forgotten my phone at home. My roommate Angela and I were planning to hit the weight room but forgot a key and it was locked. We went to go find the "key man", who was gone, but ended up having a lovely chat with his wife and daughter. We then headed home (about a 10 minute drive).

Manila is full of speed bumps and guard houses for each subdivision. As we were heading out of our school's subdivision, I prepared to slow down as we approached said guard house and speed bump. I have learned to drive manual since being here, and was incredibly surprised to not be able to find my clutch with my left foot. It was completely floored and out of commission. My car jerked to an uncomfortable stop as it stalled. I panicked, as we were in the middle of a busy road and a large truck was approaching behind me. Usually, I could call my mechanic, Nick, and he would rush over to save the day... but like I said earlier, I had forgotten my phone! About 10 seconds after we stalled, two guys on a motorcycle knocked on my window. I asked Angela if she knew them (which she didn't) and started to roll down my window with caution. The driver took off his helmet and I was shocked to see Nick! He asked what was wrong, proceeded to push my car out of the way, and figured out the problem in minutes. He's great and was able to take my car right then and there while Angela and I walked home. 

Basically, it was a day of unscheduled events that the Lord totally had His hand on. We laughed about all of the little things that happened in order for us to stall out in the right place at exactly the right time. God is so good, and so in control. I hope this little story can encourage you and provide a chuckle. :)

The hero, Nick, and myself.

Civ (my car) and the intersection we broke down at.

He Has Made Me Glad!

So, the Lord has put it on my heart to share the things I love about where He has me right now. Since returning to Manila, I have had this supernatural feeling of contentment and joy in the ways I currently get to serve our King. There have been so many days where I think "Wow, I can't believe I get to serve God here in the Philippines!" No, every day hasn't been easy or perfect, but that hasn't taken away from the fact that God's ways are perfect and just. Here are the current joys that have been replaying in my mind:

1. Filipinos are some of the kindest, content, hard-working, and joyful people that I have met. They are truly happy and eager to serve you. I continue to learn from them in this way.

2. I get to live in a culture so different than home. This provides a lot of laughs, some frustration at times, and tons of learning.

3. I have seen God working in different parts of the world. It's incredible how God meets his people and draws us to himself. The ministries that I can get involved with here seem so worthwhile and bring glory to our King!

4. I get to work with an amazing staff at Faith Academy. Different families and friends have been such good examples to me in hospitality, humility, and servanthood. It's encouraging to work beside people that are striving for the Kingdom to come.

5. I have the pleasure of living off of support from loved ones back home. This was quite the process and I learned lesson upon lesson within support raising alone. But it has given me a new perspective on the money I "earn." It is easier for me to see it as a gift from the Lord, which has helped me become more joyful in my own giving of God's resources. He alone provides!

6. I have a job that allows me to depend on the Lord. I get to love on God's children for about 8 hours a day and learn from them. There are the beautiful days that I think "Man, I have the absolute best job in the world!" and then the equally beautiful days where I end with thinking "Man, I don't think I can do this for the rest of my life." The truth is, I CAN'T do this job alone. I am still learning to depend on God daily with teaching; it is a lesson I am so happy to learn!

Well, there is my list for now. I am praying that my heart will always seek God's perfection in the place he has me. I also pray that God will show you how blessed you are to be in the perfect place he has you today and tomorrow! What an honor it is to serve our Creator. :)