Hope Shines Brighter

I was trying to think on how many times I have been to the Philippines in my lifetime, but somewhere I have lost count so I can say I have been a lot of times there! I got to travel with one of my favorite travel buddies Missy, and we have been traveling together for over 20 years, and we were joined by a pastor and his son from one of our partnering churches in Japan. And of course joined by Pong and Brenda who serve on the front lines in the Philippines. I will say that Hope Shines Brighter when we work together, what a pleasure to work side by side with our team. Our organization is small but our friendships are BIG! Our days were filled with outreaches to all of our Hope Centers, this means feedings, stickers, face paints, lots of laughter, stories told followed with crafts and singing and dances preformed! It was sure fun to just have time with the kids and then we followed up by walks through the neighborhood and prayers for family members. This is one of my favorite things that we get to do. As I listen to the stories and see the tears that are coming from our neighbors one thing that is evident in everyone' s words is that the people are realizing they are worth the effort of our time and travel to visit with them. We have one common cause, to share whatever we have in these places. I think as we come together in agreement for the hurting and lost that Jesus takes notice and HE shows up.We finished our outreaches and times together strong, with smiles, but ready to head home and tell all of our tales. It is always such an honor to sow into the lives of so many for the kingdoms sake.