Hello! I know it’s been awhile since I’ve written a blog, and that’s because I’ve honestly been avoiding it. Since my last blog, we have left the Philippines and are now in South Africa. Because of the relationships, community, and connections I made in The Philippines, leaving was about the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever done. It’s a type of pain I haven’t really felt before, and I don’t know how to describe. Which is why I haven’t been wanting to blog about it. It hurts, and it’s still fresh; we’ve only been here about a week.

Three weeks ago was PVT (parent vision trip)! Our parents came to The Philippines for a week, it was awesome! We traveled to another city and did ministry with an organization called Wipe Every Tear. They work in the red light district to help get girls out of sex trafficking and into safe homes. They help the girls further their education so that they can get real jobs. I’ve never been apart of a ministry like that before; it was interesting and honestly kind of hard, but very eye-opening. The last day with parents was an off day, and I got to bring my parents to Cainta Rizal, which is where I had been doing ministry the last 2 months. I got to show them the boys orphanage where I was living, introduce them to all the boys, and also to my ministry hosts and all the many friends I made. I’m planning to come back to the Philippines and continue working in the orphanage later this year, so I was very grateful for the opportunity to have my parents experience my life in the Philippines (they loved it!).

After PTV and all the parents left, our squad had a debrief week. Usually this would take place in another part of the Philippines, but because of difficulty finding transportation and housing for 40 people, they decided to have our debrief in the same location we’d be staying, which was Kids International Headquarters. This was good and bad. I was thrilled to have an extra week to see the boys from the home and my Filipino friends (I got close to a LOT of people). But I wasn’t able to use the week to properly “debrief” everything we did in the Philippines like I was supposed to, because even though I wasn’t allowed to be doing “ministry”, I still went to my ministry place and hung out with friends everyday- to soak up the last bit of time we had together. You can’t really debrief a ministry when you’re still in it. Which means when we got to South Africa, I was just beginning to process and grieve everything, but also had to start working in a brand new ministry, while learning and adjusting to a new culture. It’s hard and exhausting having to restart every 2 months. We’re on our last country already which is crazy!

Jeffry’s Bay, South Africa is beautiful and amazing. But I have been having a hard time because I miss the boys from the orphanage; they became my little brothers, and the Philippines became a home to me. The Lord is gently holding my tender and aching heart as He guides me into this new season. As much as I wanted to stay in the Philippines, I know there is more He is doing, and He wants to take me deeper. I will run the race with endurance, and finish strong. I can’t wait to see what all He has in store for me in Jeffry’s Bay.