Update: Prayer

Last Monday was a very special day for me. Though the actual service was not very good and went massively over time and was 4 and half hours in total, it still was special for me. Apparently a bunch of old pastors don't know how to run a program! ha ha

This week has also been a very challenging one. After a lot of frustrations with the youth workers I had cancel the program. The commitment was not there and I simply gave them something they were not ready to handle. This was really hard for me to accept, but I realized I can't rush people and they grow only as they grow. Its also challenging because in Canada we are fed independence our whole lives, which is the complete opposite to how filipino youth are raised. They can live in poverty and be happy, which is a maturity that I will never understand so I would call us even.

The real reason for this update is to ask for prayer. One thing I did not mention in my other updates was that two weeks a mother came to me with a 8 month old baby who had had diarrhea for a week and dropped almost half its weight. I new this was very serious and thankfully the next night I was able to take the baby to a rescue run by a Canadian family and got the baby treated. The baby was dehydrated and could have easily died. When I go outside and walk to the church and have piles of kids run to me to play or throw them around, this is what I see. Once in a while a baby who almost dies, children who can't go to school in a city where its almost free, and kids dont get to eat. It breaks my heart every time, and the part that hurts me is I have no clue what to do. One of my youth handed me a letter the other day and told me that she wants so badly to serve and make change but she cant even eat breakfast before school or have shampoo. I am desperately trying to find an answer to my question which is -How can our church shine? How can we make a difference? The reality is that I am completely exhausted of ideas and I cant take looking into the eyes of a child or youth who are bound and gagged in poverty and not know what to do.

Please pray with me that God will raise up new people more youth to begin making change. Pray that God will use our church to shine to our community and be a safe haven. Pray that God will enable me and show what His desire is. I know that when all human know how is exhausted God can then move, so please pray that God moves mightily and that we can make real long lasting change in our community.

Thank you all, its moments like this when I am so thankful to be able to email a huge group of people and be able to share my burdens and blessings and know there are people praying.

Brett

Interesting News

I am very nervously but excitingly announcing that this monday I will be officially ordained this Monday as pastor. An organization called "Alliance of Christian Leaders of Makati," will be doing the ordination. This is also the organization that our church will go under for all the legal and registration purposes. Now your probably thinking what I am thinking, which is why would they ordain such a young, inexperienced man. Well to that question I dont have an answer, but I can honestly say that there is nothing I have done in the Philippines since the day I arrived was I ever "ready" for. From speaking with the leader of the organization what I really felt was that he wanted to empower new young leaders, and help them get all the credentials they would need. Since Mackie left for Canada already, it will just be me and Rodel. We are both super nervous and dont really know what to think. Every part of me says I am not ready or I am to young, but I did nothing to make this happen, I even hardly had a say, which makes me confident this is from God.

Last sunday was our churches first year anniversary! It was a really special time for us, especially for me and Rodel as we look where God has brought us from. The place was packed with about 80 people and was so hot! Some of the youth did some drama presentations and it was a wild service. We had around 30 people come forward to commit or recommit their lives to Jesus, and was just overall a very powerful experience. I actually almost laugh when I think of where God has brought us from. Starting with a few kids in a house, to a service, to our own church building and now I will be made an official pastor in the Philippines. Its been just over 2 years now and this is where I am and I cant believe it. God has broken me so many times, shown me His faithfulness so many times, and each experience gets harder and harder and the blessings just keep getting bigger and bigger.

Thank you all for your prayers and support for me over the past few years now. None of this could be done without people committing to interceding and people willing to sacrifice what they have earned so that these youth could know the life changing love of Jesus. May you all be blessed more and more!

Brett