Philippines: Overwhelming experiences

I reluctantly agreed to go with a friend to her church’s outreach in a less-fortunate area of the city. I was tired from working the day shift at the clinic, but I decided it would be fun to try something new.

We rolled up to a neighborhood with two huge pots of chocolate rice, a favorite Filipino treat. It was garnished with gum drops, and kids came running from every house in sight. They arrived with mugs, bowls and even old ice cream containers to be filled with food after singing an array of songs to Jesus.

Once all the bowls were filled there were no kids in sight. After receiving their bowl full of chocolate rice, they run back to their homes to share possibly their only meal that day with their parents and younger siblings. Such little kids already thinking about providing food for their families is an overwhelming sight.

Saturday was another overwhelming day. It started with going out to past patients’ homes to check up on them and share God’s love with them. We decided that we would share the parable of the sower and talk about what it meant to be the “good soil.” It was my turn to share the story, so I start speaking. Suddenly, the new mom said: “Wait! Let me get everyone out here to listen to what you have to say.” So, she proceeded to call not only the entire household, but also the employees from the soap-making business they own.

I was suddenly overwhelmed again when our audience grew by about 20 people that don’t understand English. It ended up being a wonderful time and the most response that we’ve received from our Saturday outreach. The Lord really blessed us through this situation that made me so nervous and overwhelmed.

Pray for spiritual and physical endurance for us as we work in clinic/ birth room duty. And pray for more opportunities to plant and water seeds of the gospel.

Naomi Gonzalez, a nursing major from Del Mar College, is serving in the Mercy Midwives project in the Philippines with Go Now Missions.