Red Light, Green Light

 It's one of those games we played as children where one person pretends to be a traffic light and everyone's goal is to be the first to finish. The key is to be quick to listen but slow to move because if you move on a red light, you're out. That's kind of how this past week has been here. We've been getting used to our routine and then we had to stop, change plans and start over. We seems to play this game a lot with God. We do our own things at our own pace changing the green light and red light when it's convenient for us. Rarely do we go or do when God says "green," or stop when God says, "red." We played this game with the children at the orphanage the other day and it was cool to watch their faces trying to decide whether it was a good idea or not to make another step. In life, a green light doesn't mean, "go do whatever you want," but it means to go do what God tells you to do. A red light doesn't necessarily mean start over, but it means to stop, pray, and listen to God. We should only be focused on the signals God gives us. This summer has already been a lot of red light green light, but that has made me more dependent on God than I have ever been, and that is a very comforting place to be.
     Wednesday we had church service next door to the orphanage. Last year while I was here, I learned a Cebuano song called, "Kagawasan," so one of the older girls in the orphanage asked me to sing a duet with her at the beginning of the service. Sing a song in a different language in church? Check. After singing, we had the privilege of being apart of a beautiful worship service with a bunch of amazing children. One of the boys stood next to me during the music. He's 11 years old and I cannot say that I have seen someone worship the way he did very often. I looked over at him- his head tilted up and his eyes tightly closed and he cried out to God. He didn't care if he hit the right note or if he was even singing the correct words- he just knew that he was praising God. Wow! As I watched him, tears rolled down my face. It was a beautiful picture. That's how worship should be for all of us. Some people may say that it was just because he's sad because he's had a hard life. Yes, that's probably a good assumption. He has probably gone through more than any person(especially a child) should ever have to go through, but I could tell by his sweet expression and by the way he would slowly smile, that he was truly in the presence of our awesome Creator. I wish you all could have seen it. Moments like that make all of the trials and frustrations worth it.
     The language barriers haven't slowed us down too much. We have been learning all kinds of new phrases like, "Asa imong _______?" which means, "Where is your ______? " The children always laugh at us because we want to practice. I am always asking them, "Where is your fork/plate/cup/flip flops/etc.?" It's a lot of fun to practice using the language. The people here are so incredibly nice. That's what I love about this country. Literally every person we see wants to know who we are, where we are from, where we are going and they tell us they love us. It's quite amusing actually.
    My team and I are growing even closer than we were before we came. We have two bunkbeds side by side with about two feet of walking space in between them and we're in the room with the girls in the orphanage so we're really close.  It's so encouraging to have such amazing ladies by my side on this journey. We've been stretched in every which way, but it's causing us to rely on God's strength more and more and to grow closer in our friendship.
     Friday we went to a house in a squatter village and did a home Bible study. We were able to give a lady a Bible in her language because she didn't have one. Awesome! Before we left, we took the children outside and sang songs with them. I think I know more VBS/camp songs for children than any other type of song there is.
    We've started doing a team workout at the orphanage which quickly turned into group exercise for the children because they think it's fun. It's an aerobic routine we created. It consists of a bunch of jumping up and down and yelling, so of course it's fun for them.
    I'm constantly encouraged by the little things: laughter; sweet voices singing as they clean; rice covered faces; and yes, even little dirty feet. I love these kiddos.
    I can feel everyone's prayers. Just when I'm feeling down, something happens that picks me up and I can tell God is working through it. The opportunity to come back is amazing. Please pray for our health and safety and that God will provide us patience when our schedule is changed or when things don't go as planned. I'm praying for everyone back home as well. Thank you all(and happy Father's Day!)
Brittney