looking back

I write with joy as I think about sharing with you from my time in the Philippines this summer. Let me tell you how I saw God answer prayer.

At the beginning of my internship, I met the group of teenagers with whom I would be working. I started praying and asking the Lord for a few girls to become friends with and invest in. Two sisters, Mary and Nora (names have been changed for their protection), were the answer to that prayer. I was able to build relationships and encourage these two sisters who come from a Muslim family. Although I don’t know if these girls are believers yet, they are seeking, and God gave us opportunities to meet their family, encourage them, and share our faith in Jesus with them.
I also was praying about the missionaries with whom God would put me. God answered my prayer in a way that surpassed all my expectations. The missionary couple that we were working with took time to teach me and invest in me. I especially learned more about Muslim ministry and missionary life.
Through the summer, I asked God for his protection. Many times I found myself crying out to him asking Him to be near. He protected me from things I’m aware of and many that I will never know about. I learned to trust him in a new way and my view of God grew as I now see Him as my Protector in a more real way than I have in the past.

I thank you with everything in me for partnering with me this summer. I was so overwhelmed and encouraged by your financial support, and your prayer support was vital for me. I don’t think I could have made it through the summer without all you prayer warriors interceding for me.
My faith was stretched by working in a Muslim community among the urban poor. I had opportunities to join in a ministry providing education, nutrition, and livelihood projects for the community, teach Scripture to believers and seekers, and build relationships with adults and teenagers. I saw that being a follower of Jesus is a huge decision and commitment that comes at a great cost. It was an honor to be able to worship with Muslim Background Believers in a house church.
At the end of August, I will be returning to Moody Bible Institute for my senior year. Lord willing, in May I will graduate with a degree in International Ministry. I’m excited to see what God’s plans are for me after graduation. Although I don’t know now what I will be doing, I do know that I am following Jesus and I’ll be going where he sends me!
Emily

goodbye manila...

this is my last post from the philippines.
i've had a wonderful week here with my friends- i got to see their ministry, meet believers from all over asia, go swimming, and visit a spanish part of the city called intramuros. this week has been great for me to process more of what i experienced. its also been great to see a different side of manila!
im heading to the airport in a few hours. i will be in michigan for a few days of debriefing before I come home.
be looking for more pictures on here soon and a letter giving a summer overview!
thank you so much for remembering me in prayer. thanks for being my partners.
love,
emily

last days.

hey blog world!
we are finishing our last days of ministry here. today we helped with the feeding program, tutoring, and then taught through Proverbs 31. There was good interaction and comprehension- what a woman to model our lives after!
Tomorrow is a day to clean and pack and then Saturday we will finish teaching Proverbs to the teenagers and then they are having a goodbye party for us. After that, we will take off. I will stay in Manila for another week with some friends, and then will be back in P-town on July 28.
Thank you for your faithful prayers, even when you didn't know exactly what to pray for. I praise God for answering my prayers for friendships- there are two sisters who have become very dear to us- we had them over to our apartment on Tuesday and I think they felt very honored and special. I pray that they have felt the love of Jesus when we are around them.
Praise God also that I'm feeling much better. I only had to miss one morning this week, and now I'm on the upswing!
Love love.
Em

hey friends!
this is our last week of ministry and unfortunately its been a rough start for me. i'm feeling pretty sick, so please pray for the Lord to strengthen my body so we can finish strong. tomorrow night we are having friends over which I'm so excited about so I really hope I will be feeling better for that. This week will be full of "lasts" and goodbyes. I pray that we can leave here having encouraged the believers.
Praise God that he has given me several opportunities for good conversations with the teenagers we work with. Just on Saturday, I had the opportunity to really speak TRUTH into a young girl's life. Thanks Lord!
I'm excited to come home and transition into going back to school in the fall, but the other day I started thinking how it will be hard to leave these friendships. It has taken some time to build trust, and now that we are really connecting with people, its time to leave...
thank you prayer warriors!

Savior, like a shepherd lead us...

Hey hey hey!
We finished up another week here. For these few days we are at the house of some friends in Manila for a little getaway- much needed.
We have one more week of ministry here. Please continue to pray that we would finish strong and be sensitive to the Spirit's leading. We have some ideas about what we would like to see happen, but we want to ultimately do what God has in store for our last days here.
Please pray that God would strengthen the believers here and that Satan will not cause divisions.