Disclaimer: Names and places have been eliminated to help protect the people we're working with in Manila.
From the 4 days i've been living in the Philippines, God is teaching me how to love the least of thee. Let me give some examples.
The organization we're working with out here has a Children's home. We spent one afternoon running around with the kids of all ages here. I ran around for a while with the kids playing tag til I saw a girl sitting on the steps by herself. I approached her, learned her name and that she was 14 years old. I kept asking her to come play tag, to jump rope, to play ball, anything I could to get her off the steps but she just kept telling me no. So I sat with her. I was jealous of my team, to be honest. All of them were running around getting all sweaty with these cute adorable children who would actually TALK to them while I was just sitting there holding a girl who only wanted to scream in my face and sit on a step. I began to realize as time went on that she has some kind of disability. Then God whispered to me: "Brittany, love the least of thee." So I sat with her, hugged her and just kept telling her "I love you."
We also work with a home for girls who have been neglected, abandoned or abused of some kind. I saw this one girl just observing us so I went and sat with her and asked her about her life. She began to tell me she can play guitar so I asked her if she would play for me. I almost began to cry listening to her and the other girls sing. Through her song, God reminded me again "Brittany, always remember to love the least of thee."
This morning I went to a feeding: at two different times throughout the day we bring food to different places throughout the community. This morning we went to a place that is a major flood zone. The nurse we bring with us informed me that almost every time it rains the people are forced to leave their homes, find tarps and build a shelter to stay in til the flood leaves. Through each of these feedings God SHOWS me the least of thee.
I'm reading a book call The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne out here in Manila. I think he says it perfect.
"Only Jesus would be crazy enough to suggest that if you want to become the greatest, you should become the least. Only Jesus would declare God's blessing on the poor rather than on the rich and would insist that it's not enough to just love your friends. I just began to wonder if anybody still believed Jesus meant those things he said."
Much Love,
B
