Here I am, Lord; Send Me

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8


The world offers a lot of things or circumstances to worry, unpaid bills, even..deciding what dress to wear for the day. But does it really matter? What do we get from thinking all of these? I guess that's one purpose of wrinkles...they grow, they start as thin lines, crossing your face and the more worried you get the thicker they become. After all the days work is over, we worry again of what to eat, the money to buy our food, wahhh!! a never ending list of worries!

Last February 25, 2008, I was given an opportunity to serve at a remote village of the B'laan tribe at the province of Saranggani, Philippines. The ministry was named Shamah Tribal Ministry during my participation, it was led by the Church of the Nazarene ministers, Rev. Wen Gallardo and his wife, Rev. Nick and Sylvia Cacho, Rev. Nelly Loyola and her husband, and with the coordination of the East Mindanao District's Superintendent, Rev. Pastor Irene. This ministry is also supported by people who was touched by the Lord to do the Lord's work.

With me were a group of young people who never expected what the message of this trip would be to them, personally.

As we traveled, with a view of majestic mountains and vast oceans, words could never describe how beautiful the sceneries were. I was sitting at the top of the jeepney to have a better look of the virgin forests around us...I was just stunned.

When the team arrived at the site, we were unloading all our stuff to prepare to climb and cross the mountain to get to the next valley on the other side of the mountain. But before that, we enjoyed the river flowing from the other side, it was crystal clear and cold, it gives you the chills when you dip your feet in it. We noticed that the road was widened already, and it was confirmed by a local that bulldozers came to widen the road but thankfully, the river wasn't destroyed. I can't wait to dip myself in the water and refresh my self..

Just before we do things for ourselves, it's time to leave the camp site and climb the mountain...
With us are our personal belongings, kitchen utensils, food for the feeding program, stove, generator, and LPG tank. Thanks to the locals we didn't have to carry the heavy stuffs like the tank because they volunteered to carry the heavy stuff.

When we arrived, people gathered in the sanctuary, with their torn clothes, dirty faces, smelly bodies, and desperate souls. Seeing them like that lead me to see another version of suffering, poverty, and pain...

Living in the city where everything is available blinded me of this version of suffering...their are a lot of people out there who're very unfortunate but yet happy...and contented.

This child was enjoying each spoon of arrozcaldo he ates! I personally don't like arrozcaldo that much, but seeing them, it was like a slap on the face...

Coming to that place became a challenge to us, that we need to let the world know of the God that we are serving. He is the God who provides for those people in the mountains, and the exact same God we believe does exist here in the city. I think those people in the mountains knows more of Him than the people around us.