A Glimpse

I compiled several scenic shots that I have snapped during our time here in Olongapo and Subic Bay, Philippines, in order to give you a glimpse into the sights that greet our eyes daily. You can see for yourselves how very beautiful our surroundings are. God created great beauty, and it is so awesome for me to be here and to see His artistry on display.

Nothing Compares

Now that my husband and I have taken up residence in Olongapo, Philippines, I have truly experienced real rainfall. Back at home in the Midwest of the US, we had our share of rainshowers and April showers and rainfall, but it is nothing like this. Umbrellas have become a necessity. Which makes for a lot of fun for me, because I love umbrellas. Their shape, their functionality, and the fact that they keep me dry-ish in the midst of torrential downpour is nothing short of a small blessing.

I have also been reflecting and musing, since I have been under the weather these past few days and have some down time. I have thought a lot about Jim Elliot's words, words that have always rung true for me, but now they mean something more than before.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

You may be wondering, and rightly so, what umbrellas and rain have to do with such a deep and insightful quote as his, but I am a rambling writer so bear with me please. We have only been in country for one month but even in this short period of time I am realizing how very blessed even the less fortunate of Americans really are. I am coming to an understanding that I knew in my head prior to leaving, but seeing it in front of me brings it closer to home.

Our team of volunteers live on a mountainside surrounded by a scenic lush green view and filled with wonderfully fresh air. There is a river that flows by at the base of the property. Our CR, or bathroom, is at the bottom of the mountain, and it is a steep climb down a set of stairs hewn into mud and set with large rocks for support. We have an open kitchen and dining room, and we live in one-room huts. It is a simple, basic set-up. We cook using a double burner gas stove, have no refrigerator, no stove, and no dishwasher. In America, these appliances are almost taken for granted. There is not air-conditioning in our huts, but we have fans hooked up. Our essentials are all available, and we have come to enjoy the simplicity of our life here. There is something absolutely marvelous about waking up to our scenic view every morning.

There are people here in Olongapo who live in the city landfill. They sort through garbage to find items that can be cashed in and recycled. In the heat of the day, flies swarm in a black cloud and settle on everything. The people live in pieced together shanties. And they are some of the sweetest, most contented people I have ever met. When the wind and rains come, they batter down the hatches, and after the storms, they find new scraps to patch the damage.

Our earthly possessions pass away. Whatever 'status' they give us here, they mean absolutely nothing in the sense of eternity. In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about a lasting treasure:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [Matthew 6:18-20]

And Peter echoes his sentiment:

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. [1 Peter 1:7-9]

I do not feel deprived for having given up everything I had back in the States. I do not regret our decision to come to Olongapo and help Mercy In Action. The day I became a Christ follower, I denounced everything else, and I can honestly say that nothing else compares to the greatness of knowing Him. So with Jim Elliot, I too will give what I cannot keep to gain that what I cannot lose. In the last book of the Bible, in the final chapter, it reads:

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. [Revelation 21:7]

So maybe I lived under an 'umbrella' in the states in the sense that I was sheltered from hardship and had a plethora of possessions. And now, in a sense, that umbrella has been lifted. I may not have as much here as I did there, but I am the richer for it. Christ has opened up my heart to love even more. That is the funny thing about love, it keeps expanding. Just when you think you have reached the limit, you see a whole new level and come to realize that it is limitless. This is the love of Christ, and it knows no bounds.

And so we are pressing onwards and upwards to the high calling of Jesus Christ on the path that He has shown us. My husband and I set off on this journey together, and we do not know where we will wind up. But we do know this, that we are following Christ, and we desire to honor him above anything else. To whatever end.

Overflow

Thank you all for giving so generously to the Mercy in Action clinic! Baby hats, receiving blankets, medical supplies, and more have been donated and gathered to send off with us. Just this morning I packed a suitcase full of donations for the maternity clinic. We greatly appreciate your prayers and support. Love to you all, and many sincere thanks!

So True

I bought a journal today. Not just any journal, but one that has a bit of vintage flair, yellowed pages, with drawings and quotes on each page. I love being inspired to write. John mandated that each of us take along a journal to write down our memories during our time in the Philippines, and I am already filling up the empty pages with scribbles. For that is what I am, a scribbler.

I was excited to find a lovely quote on the inside cover of the journal. So enthralled that I am copying it so you too can read the words:

This is my journey, but I'm not alone
Courage is my companion.
Peace is my guide.
God is my refuge.
Friends are my fortress.
It is along the road
to where I'm going
that I discover who I am...
and I find to be
So True

The Knowing

A dear friend of mine, another literature lover, posted this passage. And I have read it, and re-read it, for I was struck by it. I have not yet had the pleasure of reading this book, but after allowing the words to sink in, I may have to hunt down a copy and explore it's pages myself. Out of All the King's Men:

It was always that way. There was the bulge and the glitter, and there was the cold grip way down in the stomach as though somebody had laid hold of something in there, in the dark which is you, with a cold hand in a rubber glove. It was like the second when you come home late at night and see the yellow envelope of the telegram sticking out from under your door and you lean to pick it up, but don't open it yet, not for a second. While you stand there in the hall, with the envelope in your hand, you feel there's an eye on you, a great big eye looking straight at you and dark and through walls and houses and through your coat and vest and hide and sees you huddled up way inside, in the dark which is you, inside yourself, like a clammy, sad little foetus you carry around inside yourself. The eye knows what's in the envelope, and it is watching you to see you when you open it and know, too. But the clammy little foetus which is you way down in the dark which is you too lifts up its sad little face and its eyes are blind, and it shivers cold inside you for it doesn't want to know what is in that envelope. It wants to lie in the dark and not know, and be warm in its not-knowing. The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. He can't know whether knowledge will save him or kill him. He will be killed, all right, but he can't know whether he is killed because of the knowledge which he got or because of the knowledge which he hasn't got and which if he had it, would save him. There's the cold in your stomach, but you open the envelope, you have to open the envelope, for the end of man is to know.

~Robert Penn Warren, All the King's Men

Like Adam and Eve, like Pandora and her box, we want to know, even if it kills us. I thought it poignant piece.

Take Me Into the Beautiful

I can't get enough of this song. Each time I hear it, I long to hear it again and again...I have only just heard of the group, Cloverton, and I love the rich melody. The lead singer's voice reminds me of ThirdDay's Mac Powell, and the emotion expressed through his voice is wonderful. So now I'm sharing my find with all of you readers. Tell me what you think! Enjoy the music:

April Showers

It is that time of year again, when the earth is shaking off the effects of winter's chill and spreading greenery and blooms across it's face. Spring always seemed like a time of renewal to me. So fresh, so beautiful. Out of the crevices of tree stumps pop tiny, delicate flowers with upturned faces basking in the sunlight. I enjoy finding these beauties in my camera lens, and decided to post a few of my favorites here for your viewing pleasure {the upload quality is not very good, so I apologize...}

Flower Girl

Close My Eyes

Love this song. Absolutely. Such talent and passion flowing from the voices making the melody. Simply had to share this with all of you.

Glorious Pages

I have embarked into another tale. The Thirteenth Tale, to be precise. And it is pulling me in, hook, line, and sinker. The words are washing over me, and I am giving them ample time to settle into my mind. The thoughts inside these pages are profound. Take, for example, this exerpt:

"I shall start at the beginning. Though of course the beginning is never where you think it is. Our lives are so important to us that we tend to think the story of them begins with our birth. First there was nothing, then I was born....Yet that is not so. Human lives are not pieces of string that can be separated out from a knot of others and laid out straight. Families are webs. Impossible to touch one part of it without setting the rest vibrating. Impossible to understand one part without having a sense of the whole."

Magnificent. So deep, and so true. Who we are is intertwined and entangled with the lives of those in our family. Their decisions affect us, sometimes directly, other times indirectly. Almost as though our lives are woven together.

I am enjoying this book, so much so that I am attempting to read it slowly that I may savour the words and the story. It is so wonderful to be able to love what one reads...