It's The Little Things
"We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe or by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want all their hearts to know the source of it." -Madeleine L'engle
It's the sparkle in the mothers eye, as she tells me that she just found out the gender of her unexpected baby, a surprise, yet already loved. It's the hours spent labor-sitting, holding her hand, rubbing her back, and telling her "Napigsa Ka", "you are strong" while she endures strong contractions that bring her baby closer to the outside world. It's the first breath that a baby takes, or the tears running down a new fathers face as he holds his baby for the first time. It's the little moments that bring tears to my eyes, reminding me how faithful God is, and how faithful He will continue to be.
June has been filled with "little moments" that have taught me so much, yet left me filled with wonder at what will happen next. May ended with a trip up to the village of Asin with my church, where some of the girls sang, taught a Bible lesson, and the youth group handed out backpacks and notebooks. June started with lots of babies being born, and lots of baby cuddles. The six of us "Americanos" were on call for one of our busiest months.
My parents came to visit from June 9-15, and I had a wonderful time showing them my daily life here in the Philippines. We saw some beautiful views, they met some people dear to my heart, and they tried native Kalinga coffee. One night, as mom was shadowing me on night shift, a beautiful baby boy entered the world, and it was so awesome having my mother standing behind me, watching as I fulfilled my dream. They were also able to watch SarahBeth, Brittany, and I teach a "Changes In Pregnancy" class in Bugnay to around 13 women from the neighboring three villages. It felt that I blinked and my time with them was over.
June has been one of our busiest, and hottest months. With temperatures stabilizing around 108 degrees Fahrenheit everyday, if I'm not in the clinic, I'm often found sitting in front of my electric fan, or somewhere with air conditioning. I'm soaking up every moment I have left with Bess, Julie, and Scarlet before they graduate and leave at the beginning of August. I cherish the days (and nights) spent coloring with them, labor-sitting with them, assisting in a births with them, or just having meaningful conversations with them.
As June is almost over, I sit back and wonder where the time went. I am in awe of everything that God has done and shown me over the last 6 months. I'm slowly learning that I don't have to tell people what I think of their life choices, or share my opinion with everyone, but that I can love people and show them the love of Christ by investing in them, and showing them through my actions that God loves them. Thank you to everyone who has shown me such wonderful love and support, and I can't do this without you! Thank you for being a blessing, not only to me, but also to these women and their families!
**NOTE: The blog is not allowing me to post pictures at this time, but I will work on fixing the problem and hopefully have my June pictures posted in the next week or so. Stay tuned on Facebook or Instagram! :)