"Now that I have seen I am responsible"

Brooke Frasier, a Christian song artist, wrote in response to a Rwandan orphan "Now that I have seen I am responsible, faith without deeds is dead." As I reenter into American culture this is my cry as well. Now that I have held the hand of a malnourished child who has a small chance at life and then mourned over her death I am responsible to look for ways to rescue children like her. Now that I have seen people live out joy despite the fact they have nothing, I am responsible.
Before this journey I thought being a missionary overseas was a special calling from God. I had this idea of the few, the humble (not proud), the missionaries. However, after reading missionary biographies and bible study I discovered ALL Christians are commanded to be missionaries. In fact, one should have to have a special calling not to go, pray, give, welcome, and mobilize- the responsibilities of all Christians. We disciples of Christ hold something greater than the cure for cancer and yet we concern ourselves with petty earthly things of no Kingdom value. Wake up O sleeper, rise and awake! Be sensitive to what roles God is leading you to, they are not choices of which one is most convenient they are responsibilities each of us are accountable to. If you can't go then give, and welcome internationals or returning missionaries. Find your role in mobilization so others are aware of the need to reach the unreached. And each of us has the power of intercessory prayer on behalf of the lost. Age or income are irrelevant to God so therefore we are all able-bodied soldiers for Christ. Now that I have seen I am responsible to tell you so you can join in this battle. How I long for this day "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:9) Before this day comes every nation, tribe, people and language must hear. "How then can they call upon the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard, and how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Romans 10:14-15) Brothers and sisters there are more people alive today than ever before, statistics show that half of all humans ever created are living today. Obviously the harvest is plentiful but the workers are still few. Join me church in storming the gates of Hell to save lost souls from its fire.
Thank you for all of your prayers this summer. The last two months will never be forgotten, God has transformed my thinking as well as my heart. This would not have been possible without your faithful prayers. In closing, I want you to know that "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:3-6)
Worthy is the Lamb!

With arms wide open

With only twelve days left on this journey it has really started hitting me that I am going to have to leave soon. I can't stop picturing tiny rice covered faces, messy fingers, constant bed head, and those big brown eyes who think you hold the world. I hear in my head their laughter and squeals, recitation of the alphabet with letters that don't exist, a four year old "reading" The Giving Tree from memory, Ate (Ah-tay, term of respect meaning older sister) Bitnee, Ate up, Ate read, Ate kiss.. Soon I will rock them to sleep for the last time and give the last good night kiss and have to walk away, trusting God to take care of his precious little children that I have had the chance to love on for a little while. I think I can relate in the smallest way to mothers who have to leave their children somewhere, even though I know they will be well taken care of I long to remain with each of them or at least take a few home. This summer has been filed with so much joy and I have grown so much closer to God through it all. I wrote the following poem the other night and its just a little glimpse into how I feel about these little guys:

Can I borrow you for a little while?
May I hold you close and make you smile?
Come here and let me change your clothes,
and wipe your tiny runny nose.
I will sing to you and rock you to sleep
as long as I can listen to your little heartbeat.
I don't mind it when you cry
I only wish that I knew why.
Thank you for playing with me,
how I love hearing Ate read?
Come on let's go for a walk,
I can't wait until you can talk.
Soon I will have to say good bye
and this time I'll be the one to cry.
But it truly helps to know
that God is with you as you grow.
Child, did you know that you are loved?
Yes, even when you push and when you shove.
O what joy you have brought to my life
it has clouded out my trials and my strife.
One last kiss upon the cheek
now my knees are feeling weak.
As I pry your hands away
please know that for you I will always pray.
There is one who is greater than I
He always watches from the sky.
To him love knows no bounds
and he will always pick you up off the ground.
This is not the end you see
Because God loves you and God loves me.

I know God has hand picked a family for the kids and they will be so much better off there, it is the hope of God alone that makes my departure from here possible. My supervisor is convinced I will be back soon and even jokes about it with the kids (who are luckily too young to understand in case it doesn't happen).
There has been a lot of outside ministry going on this week and the boldness God has put in my heart is so unprecedented! Daisy has expressed the desire to be baptized! I walked up to a fence where a woman was working outside and asked her if I could talk to her for a few minutes, shared the gospel with her, she prayed and asked Jesus into her heart, and I will be following up with her tomorrow morning. I presented the gospel to another caregiver upstairs who is very confused about what she believes but she asked afterward if next time she worked we could have more bible time together! I was so happy when she asked that!! Tomorrow morning we are leading children's worship at the local church and it should be fun. I am so excited about what God has been doing this week and will be on the look out for even more for the next twelve days!
Thank you for all your prayers and encouraging words, God has also expressed his amazing love to me in new ways this week. I have truly grasped that his love is great enough to sustain me in all things and I pray that upon returning home I can continue developing this love relationship with the creator of the universe.
Friends, be faithful where you. Faithfulness in the little things is great in God's eyes. God doesn't expect us to save people, that is His job, He just expects us to be obedient. So, Go into all the world and make disciples!

Look what God can do

God has been working in great ways in the Philippines this week! God has blessed us with three days of rest and time to refocus. We met up with a team from another orphanage and we went to the beach for a few days.
We have been praying for evangelism opportunities with the caregivers, and this week God laid it heavy on Sarah's heart to talk to Daisy, a young caregiver at Ruel, about salvation. The day before our vacation Sarah and I were working the afternoon shift and it was a tough one, but after most of the kids were asleep we prayed together and God stepped in! Sarah and I teamed up and presented the gospel to Daisy. We told her a few ways that you cannot get to God and she interrupted Sarah and said "so what is the way?!" O how good it was to hear the hunger and longing in her voice. At first I wasn't sure she completely understood the decision she was about to make, but she prayed in Tagalog and I felt the Spirit's presence and a peace all around. Daisy looked up with tears in her eyes and asked us to teach her more so that she can get closer to God. Praise GOD! It is sad to think we have only three weeks left to disciple her and talk to others around us, and not to mention the grief of leaving the children but God has given all of us a peace about departing.
This week Sarah and I got to go to the tribal bible study again and I think it was even more adventurous this time! The trip there was interesting, we were crammed into a tiny truck bed with 5 long rolls of grass and 4 Munnions and then the hike across the muddy fields. This week Sarah spoke about Peter stepping out of the boat and I got to help out with the medical outreach. I took vitals and handed out medicines and multivitamins. I was overwhelmed at first since I have no training but the doctor taught me and I learned quickly and really enjoyed that experience.
Even though we are on vacation this week God has continued moving. When we got to the resort we met a group from California that was here for a couple weeks and leaving today. They are working with a ministry called threads of hope, where ladies are rescued from abusive homes or prostitution and make and sell bracelets as a source of income. I have heard of this ministry in the past and knew it was based in the Philippines. The whole time I have been here I have been looking for women selling the bracelets. Well God knew my heart and last night I met the founder of this ministry and I expressed to him that I really wanted to take some bracelets home and sell them and send the profits back to the women. I was prepared to pay a good bit to do this but this man of God said I will give you as many as you can fit in your bag and trust God that the money will get the money back to us. So I am coming home with 1200 bracelets to sell! I am really looking forward to seeing what God will do with that.
For group time we read a book of short missionary biographies and its main phrase is "Look what God can do through one life totally surrendered to Him." That phrase has become a favorite saying amongst our group and we like to randomly say it when we see God moving, so I leave you with that this week. Totally surrender yourselves to God, whatever the cost, and watch what God can do!!
Worthy is the Lamb!

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news

Thank you for praying for ministry opportunities! God has brought the rain in that area this week. Tuesday we had the chance to join a ministry called Mercy Link in their tribal bible study where five people committed to believer's baptism. We got to wade through muddy rice fields to get to this hut in the middle of nowhere to hold the bible study. It was moving to watch people from miles away drop what they were doing and coming quickly to the place where the word of God was being taught! Then on Thursday Meredith and I attended a local christian church's youth group meeting where we were asked to bring the bible study on the spot! There is something empowering about being put on the spot like that and I truly felt the Spirit speaking through me as I spoke from Philippians 4:4-8 teaching them about how even our thoughts should be Christlike. Also this week one of the full time caregivers asked if we would start a bible study there after the kids are asleep and I am excited to see where God will take that. We are finally to the point where we can walk down the street and people recognize us and call us by name and we are no longer the funny looking foreigners.
God has really intervened this week with my attitude, and numerous times he has made me aware of thoughts or intentions that didn't honor him so that I could refocus before any damage was done. I feel like my time here is running our and I pray that God will do great things in our last few weeks here. I pray that we will be intentional in our work here and I am praying the same thing for my friends and family back home. Next week we get a 3 day vacation and we are going to a beach resort to refocus our thoughts and minds as well as being able to rest in God for a little while. Keep on praying, thank you!
Brittani Clark

Rejoice in the Lord always

This week has been a week of rejoicing and encouragement! We started prayerwalking in the community around us and got to establish a few connections through that. The language barrier has been an issue but again God reminded me "they will know us by our love."
It would be extremely easy to fall into a routine here, but I am praying that routines don't lead to complacency. I work an eight hour shift everyday and due to night shifts I sometimes work 16 out of 24 hours. I have no complaints with my schedule since I do enjoy loving on the least of these (even if it is 7 hours of screaming babies) :)
One thing that really touched my heart this week is the children's prayer before bed. After thanking God for the day and all the people who love them they say "and God please help me to find a home of my own." The first time I heard that out of the mouth of an orphaned three year old I couldn't help but cry. Being here hands on with these little guys gives me a whole new perspective on life. I long to take every one of them home. One the kids, John Mark, will soon be adopted by a family in France. We are waiting on his visa, every night he looks at a photo album of his new family and kisses them good night. It is one of the most precious things I have ever seen. This week we found out one of the children is severely developmentally delayed. He is eleven months old but has only reached the 6 month old marker. He was taken to a neurologist and we are awaiting the official results. He has a 2 year old sister and the Philippines requires they are adopted together so this will make placement in a home tough. Despite the fact the children have no families they are so love here and are some of the toughest, most joyful children I have ever met.
Thanks to my family I am snacking on some yummy American snacks right now (Thank you Aunt Skip and Uncle Mike!!) and the package came just in time! This week our supervisor Andrea is here, along with our media girl Mallory. They are here to document our journey as well as check on us and encourage us. It has been so nice spending time with them and God has really used Andrea's wisdom to teach me. We will miss them when they leave but will see them again soon.
This coming week I am looking forward to more ministry opportunities within local churches as well as to the community around us. Please be in prayer for the following things:
-God to break through language barrier
-ministry and evangelism opportunities
-a Christian translator who can speak English and Tagalog well
-the caregivers at the orphanage and chances to witness to them
-breaking through the "surface" conversations with those around us
We have weekly memory verses and this week one in particular has stuck out to me
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold- which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Chirst is revealed" 1 Peter 1:6-7
Friends stay strong in Christ and stay faithful to his work. God has commanded us all to be missionaries wherever he puts us. Beware of the trap of depending on God's promises without following his commands. "I thank God everytime I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry in on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6
Thank you for your prayers and encouraging words!
Brittani Clark

They will know us by our love

God has been teaching me and my team many lessons this week! Isn't it funny how when we say we are going to serve God and minister to others we up getting served and ministered to ourselves?
This adventure has been like a roller coaster so far! We had a slow start and a big hill to climb at first but I feel we are reaching the top of the hill. Thankfully God is controlling the speed and He knows ow much I can handle!
All four of us went through a day of sickness (all on the same day..) Since we had little to no explanation for it we believed it to be either spiritual warfare or God teaching us a lesson. Well, it could have been both. I am ashamed to say we whined and complained all day and were ready to go home but through this God revealed to us what perseverance really is. Never before have I had to rely solely on God and in this sickness I did! So, I rejoice in my sufferings. God led me to the verses Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2-4 during this time.
God is working in hearts other than our own here in Calapan City! Seeds have been planted and roots are being established so please pray for softened hearts and open eyes. It is so exciting to be a part of God's army on a new battlefield this summer. God has also used various encounters with people this week to remind me of two of his sweet truths. The first being that when we ask ask God for the strength to glorify Him each day, do not think that means that you are asking to "feel well enough" to glorify him. We see Paul many times suffering for Christ but getting right back up, even after being stoned and left for dead to go preach the gospel. The other lesson God has showed me through talking to people with such a vast language barrier is boldness. In Acts 5 the apostes are persecuted and imprisoned. God sets them free from chains and they go back to the same place where they were arrested to teach. Peter uses bold words to his prosecuters in saying "we must obey God rather than men!" Later in v. 41 we see the apostles rejoicing that they had the chance to suffer. May we all be more like Peter and Paul.
I have 12 little ones to love on everyday, 4 babies and the rest "big kids" (all under 7). I love them all and we jokingly call it Mommy bootcamp. I have a whole city to show God's love to and a lot of God's love to go around!
So, prayer partners, I ask that in the coming week you would pray for:
-open eyes and open hearts
-outpouring of God's love from all of us
-rain (cools everything off)
-health for a couple of newborns
-wisdom and discernment
-a spirit of perserverance and strength
-MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES
-unity among the team members
Until next time my friends,
Brittani Clark

Cock a doodle doo

Magandang Umaga, from the Philippines! Time is a strange thing here and seems to pass by slowly so far but that could be because we don't start work until tomorrow.
This will be a short post because my body is feeling weak today. I am a bit dehydrated but I am taking care of myself and have a great group of girls around me taking care of me as well.
I am very excited to report that on the airplane Meredith and I got to talk to Pavel, a man from Russia, about our faith and why we were going to the Philippines. It was very exciting to hear the Holy Spirit spitting words out of my mouth and giving me a confidence not of myself at all! Also, on the last night of orientation 21 people were baptized!! WOW God is awesome, that has never happened before for Nehemiah Teams so Praise the Lord for obedience and Holy Spirit's power.
A slogan I have adopted for the next couple months is "When the cross gets to heavy remember- WORTHY IS THE LAMB!" This has been especially helpful when I am not feeling well. God's word has been the best encouragement to me so far and I praise him for it!
I will write more next week hopefully, my body is weak today and I am trying not to over extend myself.
Prayer Needs:
- Focus
- Endurance
- Restoration
Thank you all,
Brittani Clark
p.s. I titled this cock a doodle doo because of the roosters who sing around the clock, I have a feeling after a few more days I will get used to them :)