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Rest In Peace, Jericho.

You fought hard. I'd like to believe we made enough of an impact that you are now dancing joyfully with the Lord. I'll see you in heaven, you sweet angel.

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Grace Philippine Mission Team - Everything Skit

Jesus: Gus Mathey Girl: Madi Jones Lust: Filipino Team Member Greed: Filipino Team Member Addiction: John Paul Flowerree Envy: Christina Williams Death: Raymond Barwick

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I just have to let it be known that Korea has the NICEST airport I've ever been to.

By far. 10/10. Would recommend.

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I'm just gonna leave this here. 😍 [click picture to expand]

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A typical morning in the Llamado household, and a typical view from the porch in the evening. It hurts my heart to be saying "See you later" to this beautiful place, but more importantly to these beautiful people. This family exudes love, grace, hospitality, joy, and God-centeredness. I'll miss you Kuya Juno, Ate Becky, Silly Lily, Bing the Destroyer, and of course Mama (who makes the best lumpia ever). May God continue to bless your life as missionaries. And come visit us in the states again soon!!

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I got to preach 3 different times during my stay here (with a translator). I also got to do countless other things for the kingdom that so happened to fall right in my wheel-house, but we’ll talk about those later.

I am grateful for my parents... without them, I wouldn’t be anywhere near suitable for missions. If I were shy, insecure, not musical, not good at improvising, bad with kids, or terrified of public speaking I wouldn’t have been able to do basically anything I was thrown into. But God is a god of suddenly. And there was always a need. And suddenly I was the person who was asked to fill in.

I had no chance at being an ineffective missionary. Both my parents are pastors, one’s a kindergarten teacher, and one’s a salesman! How lucky am I that I got the elixir of their genetics in my blood. ♡

And how lucky am I that God was able to use me to love on His people.

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Sneak peek of the "Everything" evangelist drama we got to do every night on the island. This was Cast A. Videos coming once I'm back in America.

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THESE KIDS HAVE ALL STOLEN MY HEART. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LEAVE THEM.

(And yes the kids includes the puppy.)

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Immersed in a miracle, on a seemingly ordinary day.

So yesterday. I had the privilege to go with Becky to Shalom, slap on some gloves, and help a woman give birth. It. Was. Exhilarating.

I held her hand, rubbed her back, told her to push, reminded her to breathe, and even got to help clean the baby after it was born. It has come to my attention that I am a bit of an empath. I breathed with her, sweated with her, cried with her. It wasn’t until it was all over that I realized how stiflingly hot it was in the room and I felt a little woozy and had to go outside and sit down.

What a miracle. This thing… this person… this little tiny human wasn’t there. And then suddenly he was. And he had life in his body.

Our creator is an artist, to say the least. And how wonderful that He includes us in His life-giving process.

It was messy, it was scary, it was loud, it was disorganized, it was exhausting, it was beautiful. I will never forget it.

[[And truth is, I can’t wait to have my own.]]

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As I approached the tutoring center, the sound of children singing worship songs drifted down the hill. How inspiring that, while helping kids have a good education, they are immersing them in the word of God. And they have a scholarship program for college when they get good grades. It's beautiful. And wonderful. And God is really moving here.

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His name is Jericho.

He is 15 years old. And he is one of the worst cases of tuberculosis the clinic had seen.

My morning at the clinic started off as expected: crying babies, concerned seniors, needy families… vitals and blood pressure and medicine juggling… and then Becky reminded me of a story I had heard on Monday. A woman came in with her child, but told us of her neighbor who is neglecting her own child who is dying. They call her the “baby making factory” because she has babies just to sell them for profit. The ones that don’t get chosen, the ones that are stuck with her, usually end up getting ignored. That was the case with Jericho.

Somehow the neighbor from Monday had convinced the mother to bring him in… he was not what I expected. He was the size of an American 9 year old, his teeth and tongue were rotting, he had a huge skin lesion on his face, he started having seizures, he had a lump on his neck, he was extremely skinny… but the most disheartening feature was his hopelessness. It shrouded the light behind his eyes and seemed to weigh on him like a wet blanket. He didn’t speak. He didn’t make eye contact. He had already given up.

He watched 2 of his siblings die from TB that went untreated, so he knows how this gig goes. So why try to fight for himself? He’s only 15.

I think of the 15 year old boys in America: strong, healthy, always hungry, fearless, a little reckless, but on the cusp of manhood. Fighters. Jericho was a ghost of that standard.

But he is God’s child. And I know He sees him. We discussed orphanage options, or adoptive monasteries, anything to get him out of his home (after they left of course). But mainly we prayed. We can’t force the mom to keep up the medicine regimen. We can’t force CPS to take him away. But we can pray. And continue to pray.

God’s eye is on the sparrow… and it is also on you, Jericho. Don’t lose hope my precious child. You will see a better day. I promise.

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We gathered, we grilled, and we prayed for our country. The home of the free and the brave has never been more cowardly and divided than it is right now. Happy Independence Day from the Americans in the Philippines. We're still very proud.

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City Gates is more than just an elementary school.

They have scholarship programs, free meals, and it's also used as a community center for church events and outreaches. This is the same school we visited last week and thought the children how to brush their teeth. Yesterday I came here with the Shalom staff for a free prenatal outreach. Mothers showed up for check-ups, measurements, checking of the baby's heartbeat, a workshop on PPD, and even a devotional. Some of the moms were so young... and here, sex education isn't really a thing... much less pregnancy education. Today I helped in the classrooms... taking the kids off the streets and teaching them how to read and write 2 languages. Incorporating bible lessons into daily curriculum. It's inspiring to see how advanced these kids are. And I'll be back Thursday afternoon for the same thing. And then again Saturday morning to lead the local youth group. What they do here extends the hand of God to let the people of the community know that He cares for them. Talk about being intentional neighbors who reflect Christ. ;D

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Remember the widow with the 10 children from last week?

We went back today. Bringing food. One of the children, Jillian, was turning 5. We sang her happy birthday. We measure their feet for shoes. It's these small things. The most simple, random things. That we take for granted. And mean the world to them. Continue to pray for this family.

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My schedule until I leave. In a country where there's a lot of need, there is always something to do! Grateful that God can use me here daily. ♡ And I still get some down time to reflect and read His word.

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This morning was a morning of sick babies who did NOT enjoy being manhandled. I saw skin rashes, ruptured eardrums, upper respiratory infections, worms, parents who were too young to be taking care of another life. I heard stories of women who have babies just to sell them and don’t take care of them, parents ignoring their child’s tuberculosis because they’ve already lost 2 to TB and don’t care anymore, children who would be better off in an orphanage even though the child welfare system here is horrendous.

The ray of hope? This place. This free family clinic that sees anyone and everyone. And administers free medicine. And prays over the patients before they leave. It was founded by missionaries and is kept up by missionary funds.

Volunteering my time here to weigh them, take temperatures, record oxygen percentages and heart rates, mix medicine, alphabetize cards, make the babies laugh, and lay hands on them in prayer was a wonderful way to spend my morning.

God is reminding me that you don’t need degrees and certifications to spread His love. We are qualified by being members of the kingdom. And we are equipped with His Word and the healing power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. What a blessing it is to be called for His works. What else could anyone want?

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This one is super special because the teenage boys would have never done this at home. Featuring: Quinlan, JP, and Gus.