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At the end of my missions trip to Manila last summer, I wrote down one of my prayers and stuck it in my Bible.  Here’s a piece of it.

My God, I confess that I turn a blind eye when I buy clothes or food, not thinking about the wages of the people making the clothes in sweatshops.  Give me discernment to know where to shop and where to buy things to better support them rather than supporting companies which [do the opposite]…help me to steward my money wisely, give generously, and use it to the support the poor in their situation.

One of the verses that really stuck out to me was James 5:4 – “Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you.  The cries of the harvesters have reached the Lord Almighty”.  There were a lot of things that God taught me that summer, but one thing that I really took home was how to better steward my money to further God’s kingdom.

So, how does this have anything to do with being a Steazer? And what is a Steazer anyway?

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What a trek it has been these past six weeks, living and serving incarnationally among the urban poor of Manila!  I just got back from our debrief week in Bangkok, Thailand and am staying in Taipei now.  As many of you know, I will be in Taiwan for a year teaching English.

I can honestly say that the past six weeks have been the most intense, emotional, and joyful six weeks of my life as I lived among the poor in Manila.  Although the physical discomforts of living in the slums are hard to ignore, I was surprised at how little those seemed to bother me.  Praise God for how He’s worked in me to change that!  Instead, I found myself much more emotionally stressed as I saw so much poverty in my face and felt helpless to change their situation and as I saw the innocence and dignity stripped from young girls working in the bars. continue reading »

So, I’m officially definitely starting to feel the pressure of leaving in just a mere three days.  Saturday seems to be quickly approaching and I still have empty suitcases and an unchecked to-do list.  Things I have left to do before I leave:

1. Finish the reading assignment from Quest for Hope in the Slum Community
2. Start and finish packing for a year & for the trek
3. Finish volunteer application for the site I was placed at for Manila: Samaritana
4. Get traveler’s checks or some form of money
5. Obtain traveler’s insurance
6. Transfer files
7. Make a scrapbook for my mom that I promised I would finish for her
8. Get my mom a birthday present
9. Meet up with friends before I leave & say goodbye
10. Savor my last few days with my mom
11. Pray and get my head in the game!

I definitely can’t believe that it’s come so soon. Five weeks flew right past me and I feel like I haven’t accomplished much, even though it’s seemed so busy already! God has been faithful through it all though and has definitely revealed to me a small glimpse of what He has in store for me this year. Sunday at church was incredible for me. I knew that God was speaking so many truths to me about some of my misconceptions of myself. I know that I need to just trust in God this summer and give Him all the control.

I am really really looking forward to meeting the two other girls that I’ll be living with and serving with in Samaritana ministries.  I’m excited for the community that we’ll have from actually living communally and keeping each other accountable.  Please pray that God would help us to be open, vulnerable, and supportive with each other.

I don’t know how the days so quickly passed but I am only two and a half weeks away from leaving the States. I think the reality of everything is finally beginning to sink in!  I can’t believe that I’m really going…it all started so small just a few months back and now it’s snowballed into reality. But, God is so good and faithful and I am excited to see where He leads me in these next adventures in Manila, Philippines and Yilan, Taiwan.

All of the logistics are finally starting to settle down, which I praise God for.  My SIX international flights have all been booked, I’ve applied for both of my visas, and I was recently attacked by some vaccination needles.  I have also been preparing by reading some really interesting articles about urban poverty and a book I’ve blogged about before, The New Friars. For you prayer warriors out there, here are some of my praise and prayer requests as I leave:  continue reading »

Now a college graduate, I have only five weeks left before I leave the States for Manila and then a year in Taiwan.  In preparation for my missions trip to Manila, we have been asked to read The New Friars.  Since all I find myself doing when I sit at home is fall asleep on my bed (even after getting more than 10 hours of sleep at night), I had to leave my house to focus on reading the book.  I have a theory that my bed at home is dangerously comfortable and when you lie down on it you get sucked into it and even with the loudest alarm on the planet, there is no hope for actually dragging yourself out of bed on time.

So, I drove to Starbucks and bought a grande iced coffee for $2.00 and plopped down on a stool to begin reading.  From time to time, I would peer out the large glass windows of the coffee house and gaze at the beautifully crisp and clean landscape that has been so meticulously designed for the rich elite of my suburban neighborhood–the comfortably safe residential area of the politicians, lawyers, and doctors of the wealthy metro DC area.  And as I began reading about the intractable poverty that plagues the vast majority of this globe, I knew that God was already teaching me before I even set foot on a plane. continue reading »