Journal Entry 4 (sort of)

So my days and time is definitely off. I'm having a hard time keeping up with what day it actually is here and in America. Haven't been able to call the parents yet--we've just been so busy and I really haven't had time to take everything in yet. I guess that's a good thing...maybe I'll get a chance to call them today.

I woke up again around 4:20AM again--it was a little bit rougher this morning though. Not feeling 100% today but nothing I can't handle. I had the best bananna this morning and Dunkin Donuts for breakfast--Dunkin Donuts, Thanks God :) You know just what I like! We also got PB&J sandwiches packed for us for a snack today--unfortunately, I forgot mine today :( I was with a good group of girls today and we had a pretty awesome day! It started out a little rocky--spiritual warfare possibly. The first school I went to was a pretty big school. 500+, elementary school. I was pumped! I was going to get to share with all of these children and teachers. Parents were also there dropping their kids off and hung around to see what we were going to do, so that was a plus in my eyes. Our pastor/translator talked with the principal about allowing us to speak. She was very reluctant to allow us to do this and only allowed 15 minutes for us to "do our thing". Her school was in some sort of contest and they won, so she wanted to announce it during their flag ceremony. Even though I don't understand the language real well, I can pick up on some of the language and definitely the body language, so I could tell that she was very apprehensive about letting us do this. Give me the words to say Lord, I have 15 mins to share with them about You. Allow me to tell them what is most important and what they need to hear. So they had their flag cermony and did some morning excercises and then she introduced us and allowed us to go first before she made her announcements. So I started telling them about Jesus--thanks God for the words. I got all the way through the prayer and the principal told our pastor/translator that it was time and we needed to go. I was like, what!? I need to follow up with them Lord. So the pastor wrapped it up real quick for me and we were done. It wasn't even 15 minutes yet, and I was a little frustrated I didn't get to follow up with them. We were going to stay for the rest of the announcements but the principal asked us to leave. When we got back in the jeep, the pastor apologized for what had just happened and said that most Filipinos were not like that. That they were very friendly and hospitable. It's interesting how caring they are compared to people in America. This would be a typical situation in America but here, it's not. Interesting the different cultures. God, I pray that You use anything that I said this morning--I pray that they know how much You love them and what Your Son did on the cross for them. Help me to realize I can't do it all, in fact that it's not me who does anything. It's You in me that accomplishes things for Your kingdom. I also pray that You would not allow satan to be any part of our work here. You are faithful God. You know exactly what You are doing and I thank You for that.

We had Filipino cuisine today. I must admit that I was a little skeptical of this, however it turned out to be really good! We had a really good day today. We got to know the pastors a little bit better. I love that part! I love getting to hear about their lives and how long they've been in ministry over here. They truly understand what it means to live out their faith--they get it. And it's so refreshing to be around. Thank you God for the encouragement they've been to me already and the ministry they're involved in. Bless them and their families as they continue to minister to the Filipinos here.

Going to bed now. A long but enjoyable day!