A People of Celebration

So this week has been the Kadayawan festival in Davao. Kadayawan is a festival celebrating life, the bounty of the harvest, and in general just how good life has been to these people. It is a holiday celebrated generally by the people groups of the foothills of Mt. Apo, many which believe still in nature being the gods. However in the city, it's just a really fun time that everyone gathers together to celebrate.

One thing that I've noticed since being here is that the Filipino culture is one that is semi-lost to its Western feel. When you wander the malls, you are sure to see KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and a few American stores like PayLess or Aeropostale. So many people are impressed when they speak to us just because we come from America (which makes my heart a little sad). I think there are a lot of roots left from a time when the States had a presence of troops here (I think it was right after WWII but my history senses are never that good).  Anyways especially here in the city, I feel sad because I know how much of their culture is lost. Kadayawan was a great experience then to see them claiming back their culture and celebrating who they are as a people.

Despite my feelings of the loss of a surface culture, in the very essence of who these people are, they are very different than Americans. The one thing that I realized I appreciated and could learn from today is their joy of life and willingness to celebrate. The streets today were FILLED with people ready to see the festival. Whenever there is an event going on in the center of a mall (aka every day), it's always got the feel of a large party.....even when the event is just a Clash of the Clans tournament or Zumba. When they eat dinner together, the food is secondary to enjoying the company of those around them. Efficiency may not be a thing here, but relationship and celebration permeates every bit of life.

I try not to compare my two cultures and attribute one as good and the other as bad in the way it does things because that can be tempting when it's so different. But I am trying to learn the most I can from the way my new world does things and trying to take what I like and leave what I don't to blend with the culture I already have. One thing I definitely think I need to take from these people is a lesson on celebrating. I love to enjoy life, but often only when my to-do list is short. When there's not more important things I should be doing. When it doesn't interfere with the important things.

But I'm starting to think maybe celebrating is one of the important things. And I think God thinks that too. After all, these God commanded the people to have like 7 festivals a year. Parties celebrating God's own goodness. David, the man after God's own heart, danced in his underwear in the street. Jesus rode a donkey in a parade. It seems like God is all about the celebration life. And because of what God has done for us, where He has brought us, why shouldn't we celebrate? God has given us new life, and life to the full at that!! (John 10:10). He's delivered us from serving the harsh master of darkness and brought us to become sons of the King! (Ephesians 2). I'm not defined by my past and my future is secure. What is there not to celebrate??

Our celebrating brings glory to God. It points back the finger to heaven and says, "Man, God really has been good to us!" And when people see us celebrating, it invites them in. It beckons them to also "taste and see that the Lord is good!" Yes, we have schedules, to-do lists, and the demands of life pressing in on every side. But the God who has it all covered says, "Don't worry about it kiddo. Enjoy Me and celebrate My goodness today." I'm just praying we'll all learn to be a people of celebration today.

These kids had a lot of fun taking pictures with us. It was really cool to tell them "No, we're not the pretty ones, you're so beautiful today!"

 

My house is on fire!....(and other ways I know God is sovereign)

About 3 weeks ago, I got on a jet plane and headed away from my home in Michigan. After over a full day of travel, I landed in Davao.  Thankfully I was able to catch a few good pics before touching done. If you want more of the pictures, you can check out my Facebook page but this was one of my favorites. 

 For the last 3 weeks, it feels like life has been moving at an incredibly quick pace as everything in my life is brand new and I need to learn it all. I need to learn how to make friends again (and with people of all different ages and incredibly different background experiences). I need to learn how to interact with students in a new way (because these students are wayyyyyy different than the ones I had for student teaching). I need to learn how to shop for things to fill a home in a different country (because in America, you don't need that extra bucket to keep water for when the water to your neighborhood runs out). I need to learn how to successfully navigate the complexities of public transportation (because some Jeepneys will take you to the mall, but don't go back the same direction from the mall. How they ever start in your neighborhood when they never seem to return there, no one knows.). Anyways it's been massive amounts of learning and adjusting to everything being new.

This is a jeepney by the way. They're old trasnport vehicles from WWII and are the cheapest way to get around town. 

And in the last few weeks as I've been adjusting to the newness of everything in my life, there is one truth that I've recently been unable to ignore. God is sovereign. He is in control. And even though I'm oceans away from everything I once knew and many of the people I love, God is here with me. And now I shall share a few ways in which I am reminded and know this. 

It was this last Thursday night. I was exhausted from a long day at school and what had in general been a really long-feeling week, so I decided before I got any work done that night I was going to take a nap and make some pancakes. Because what could be better after a long day than a nap and breakfast for dinner? As I woke up groggily from my nap, my roommate was just coming home from volleyball practice. So we were chatting from different rooms as I started to gather the things necessary to make pancakes on our friend's one burner stovetop that we were borrowing. I mixed the mix, turned on the gas, turned the switch to light the burner....and BOOM! FLAMES EVERYWHERE! My face was probably no more than 2 inches away from a massive explosion of firey terror. By reaction, I jumped back but then stood there absolutely paralyzed by the shock of it all. Luckily my roommate noticed the entire room I was in turn to a red glow and jumped to action finding a fire extinguisher and putting the fire out. But there are a couple elements to this story which make it incredibly obvious that it was the Lord's protection over us that day:

• My roommate was able to grab a fire extinguisher. As I shared this story with some of my coworkers the next day they made this interesting point I would never have looked at: Filipino homes don't have fire extinguishers. Most said they didn't have one in their own homes and that they couldn't recall houses they had been in that ever had them. As they brought this up, my brain recalled our time of house hunting. In no other house we looked at do I remember seeing a fire extinguisher. It was by God's grace that we happened to have one, because if our home was a typical home we would not have.
• My roommate was home. If I had slept longer, she would have been back to school to finish some work that night. If I had woken up earlier, she would have been at volleyball practice. The fact that someone was home and able to put the fire out was more than sheer luck. 
• Nothing was damaged or burned. The burner was sitting on a wooden table. Wood is super flammable, but there was not even a burn mark. Nor was there a burn mark on the wall. Nor did any of our large accumulation of CARDBOARD boxes (aka the thing I throw into a fire when I need to cheat to start one because it's so incredibly flammable) that rested less than a foot from the stove catch the flame. This was nothing short of miraculous. In every logical sense, the house should have burned down in flames, I should be covered in burns because I was so close that it singed away a little of my hair, and nothing should be okay. But there's no damage. At all. To anything. Except my roommate's trust of me cooking or using appliances without supervision. 

#thankfulforfriendship

My roomie and I

The amount of "coincidences" that were clearly at work that night was such a huge reminder that God is here fighting for me. On the good days, the bad days, the days that my house catches on fire and every day in between. And this has started gearing my brain to look for His protection and sovereignty in the other aspects of my life now: Like how God went before and picked out the person who I'd be living with, which was just a random person that my principle put me in contact with, but has turned out to be a great friend and encouragement during this crazy time of transition. We also have a set of other roommate friends that we go on "roommate double dates" with, and it's crazy because there was a time when various variations of us had been discussing being roommates with each other but  we ended up where we ended up adn they're a pretty perfect pair for each other too. It seems God did not leave that as much to randomness and chance as I once thought He did.

And being able to see that God did not leave these things to chance helps me to trust that He's not leaving the other things in my life to chance. I'm teaching the random assortment of classes that I'm mostly not qualified for right now for a reason. I'm teaching the students that are in my classes right now, because God has BIG plans for using me in their lives and them in mine. I live in a country where I stick out like a sore thumb, because God has brought me here with purpose. And even when I can't see the reason or purpose behind what He's doing, I can trust that He can. And that His plans really are working out for my good (Romans 8:28).

I don't know where your life is right now. I don't know what circumstances are making you wonder if God knows about them or is in control of them. But take heart friend! He is in control and has known way before they occurred. God also has that advantage of seeing the whole picture in a way that we are unable to see. And He says to us, "I'm working things out for your good and for my glory, my child." So choose to praise Him and trust the goodness that is central to His character.







Side note with some ministry updates:

• Praise that we've found a place to live! It's nice. It takes a minute to walk to and from school and we can't wait to use that house to bless others with!
• Praise also that we've had a pretty fantastic and smooth start to the school year! My students are pretty much the bomb.com and I've had a lot of fun getting to know them so far. 
• Prayers as I'm still overwhelmed with the work of being a new teacher and especially with teaching some classes I have absolutely no training in. I just want to be a good teacher for these kids and only through God's grace will I do the kind of job these kids deserve.
• Prayers also as I hope to find ways to be a blessing to the community around me. I don't know exactly what kind of opportunities or ministries God has prepared for me, but I'm eager to find out and start serving more. 

And also if you're really interested in partnering with this ministry, I never reached the full 100% goal of my fundraising target so you can still help financially support me by going to give.teachbeyond.org, choosing a giving option and putting my name in the project field. And major thank you to everyone who is giving to this ministry and praying for the things I'm doing here, you guys are the best and I couldn't be doing what I'm currently doing without ya'll!