My last blog I tried to express the beauty of Tacloban… and I feel like I will never be able to give this city justice to how beautiful this place is. Yeah, the dark remnants of the storm is still present but the light of God is powering through. I can see the over powering light when a kid hugs me goodbye. I see the light by the hospitality that the individuals at Kids International Ministry provide. I see the light when a man holds out a bowl to be filled by lugaw. But the darkness is still present with the reminders of a home consisting of a foundation, the shortened shoreline, and hearing a story of a woman’s child being ripped from her arms by surging rain water, only then to die minutes later.
Seriously, how can you overcome that. What can you do after listening to that?
But I learned that if you let the darkness control you. The darkness wins. The darkness can be controlled, and the Lord gives you that power, you just really need to trust Him.
I have only been in Tacloban for a week. But it feels like a month. Its amazing how hospitable and loving the people are here. In fact I just heard…
“Don’t stay here for two months… stay here forever!”
The individuals with hearts of gold that my team has been able to be with for the past week have opened up their lives, their hearts, their stories and even their families with us. Seriously, they have made us feel like an extension of the amazing ministry that makes up Kids International Ministries. I can already sense my heart aching for when it comes to leave. But I know, that after July, I will be back.
But like I said before, I have been seeing the Lord in the Lighthouse, the kids here, the people in the community here and the more I look the brighter the brightness gets here. If you don’t know, but we have only been here a little over a week and this place has already become a second home. The hospitality here is unimaginable. The laughter is loud and obnoxious, yet comforting. The sound of hammers and saws is serene. The dripping paint shows a bright renewal. This city is extravagant in beauty, and it gets even more beautiful everyday.
Tacloban is rising up!
Tindog Tacloban!
