Philippines Trip Talk @ Creative Ministries team night

On Thursday 30th May I had the opportunity to talk about my recent Philippines trip - the goal was to talk about myself a bit, like how it pushed me out of my comfort zone or how it’s changed me etc. The previous talks i've done were more focused on the trip and the experiences etc, so this one and talking about myself was a bit more of a challenge.

Of course I also shared a bit about the activities we did while over there, meeting our sponsored child, and lots of photos 😄

I thought I'd share a few things that I talked about here. (Some of these things have been covered in previous posts, but others are new)

Why did you go to the Philippines?
I don’t have a direct answer like “God told me to go” or anything like that… Rather when it was first raised that there was a possibility of going on this trip, it immediately sparked my interest, and I felt drawn to it. It took me a little bit to put up my hand and say yes i’m keen. After I did there was debating about the cost and other things like that, however in the end after thinking, praying and discussing with the family (clearly) I decided to go. Everything fell into place quite nicely after that, (including getting my first ever NZ passport), other than some cold feet in the week before I was due to leave due to some health issues that Christine was having.

They are so dependent on God for everything - because they have nothing
Often when asked what the impact is of going to the church, their first response is about God, and how hearing the gospel has changed their lives.
Do I trust in God in this way, how can I be more like the people I’ve met?

The people whose homes I visited are really positive, even through tears with their challenging circumstances they talk about their hope for themselves and their kids
How easy it is for us to find something to complain about in our circumstance, before complaining I try to think about their attitude, in their difficulties

How I was born in to a family where there was sufficient food/money to cover our needs
How then am I relying on God for my daily needs when I have so much?

How I was born in a country (Holland), and now call New Zealand home and how that compared to the situations these people are born into.  
They did not choose this, they do not want this, yet here they are in this situation.

I know that I am not great with money, and earlier this year it had been placed on my heart that I needed work on this. 
This trip has reinforced the desire/need to work on this aspect in my life.  As I think about the verse in Luke 12:48 “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” , I pray that my plenty will be used for God's glory.

Now as its been a month and a half since we got back, I worry that I will forget - our lives are busy, and it's so easy to fall back into the routines and let this just be a thing I once did.

I continue to seek out how this has changed me, and what long term impact this might have on my life so that I can better serve the Lord.  For now I am convicted to seek more children be sponsored, so I’m taking any opportunity I can to share the story of my trip to the Philippines or if there are any opportunities with tearfund to help out in a volunteer capacity I hope to take them up.

I’m also trying to approach life a bit differently and to step outside of my norm, outside of my comfort zone more.  When opportunities arise I’m trying to say “YES” more often, rather than my default response which might have been “No” or “I’ll think about it” or maybe later etc.

I was quite nervous about this chat, but feedback was positve which is nice. It was also good to catch up with others in the team that I don't see that often.

I've now had the chance to talk in front of people about 3-4 times. I think I am getting better at it, and more confident.

Thanks for reading to the end - I really appreciate all people that read it 😄