“What are you even doing over there?”
Many of you have asked me this question since I’ve been in
Manila. And most of my answers have started off with “I’m sweating my life
away,” which is not far from the truth.
What am I doing here? Well for starters I am living at ACTS
Bible School with close to 75 students, around 20 staff members, and
982,306,185 different species of bugs that pay me visits quite frequently. I
teach classes during the week about the word of God, Sunday School curriculum,
prayer, fasting, and (coming soon) some dramas and skits. Am I qualified to
teach any of this? No. Which is why God has let these students teach me, rather
than the other way around. We learn together. We pray together. We eat
together. We laugh together. We cry together. We dance together. We claim
victory for this nation together.
Sundays are ridiculous, and by ridiculous I mean
life-changing. It’s not uncommon for us to camp out at one worship song for a
good 15 minutes. Sometimes with only drums, sometimes with no music at all. I
can’t explain when or how it happens, but there comes a certain point where you
don’t mind the sweat pouring out of you, and you don’t mind the heat, and you
don’t mind that your hair is frizzing out of control, and you don’t mind the fact
that no matter how much expensive perfume you put on that morning, you probably
stink to high- heaven. I can’t explain, but you just don’t mind; because in
those moments where you can’t even hear your own voice over the roar of worship
surrounding you- those are the moments that miracles are born. Those are the
moments that angels are assigned and released to situations all over the world.
Those are the moments that time almost stops, and you are able to catch a
glimpse of eternity through a peep hole in the spiritual realm.
Offering time is very special. It used to be brutal for me
to watch, but now I understand. These people- some are very wealthy, some are
very poor- give all they have at offering time. Their pesos, or whatever their
10% is, is placed in a large basket according to the three sections the church
is seated. After all of the offering is collected into one large basket, Pastor
Ceasar or someone designated lifts that basket up and prays the prayer of
blessing upon everyone who gave, and upon the offering. There might be a few
people in the church who have a bad spirit about giving, because we are all
human; but you would never know it. When the church lifts their hands, they
understand that they way to SURVIVE for them is to give.
Blessing is a two-way street here. Blessed are the ones who
give and blessed are the ones who receive. It’s a simple cycle. They don’t look
at it as a sacrifice, they look at it as an investment.
I’m serious.
They really do.
This blog is too long, but please hang with me.
A lady handed me a wad of pesos after I got here and said,
“The Lord would have me to bless you.” Mind you, I knew this lady and I knew
what she was facing in her personal life. I tried desperately to give the money
back and she said, “No, please. This isn’t mine anymore. This is yours. This is
your blessing.”
I understood what she was doing. She needed God to supply a
massive need for her- but to remind God that she trusted Him, she was blessing
someone else, in order for God to use someone else to bless her.
Is that manipulation? Some would say yes. I say it’s the
body of Christ at work. Giving is an endless cycle. If we can’t take care of
others selflessly, how can we expect for God to take care of us? I reluctantly
took the money and then turned it into the school to be used on the students.
Because giving is an endless cycle.
The boys are so kind and helpful. Any time they see me
walking off of the complex, they are quick to run to my side. “Let me carry
that ma’am,” “Ma’am may I escort you?”, “Ma’am you look so beautiful today!” They
are always 4 steps ahead of me, looking for when to cross the street, walking
on the side of me closest to the street, running to hold an umbrella over my
head when it’s raining, taking down the numbers on the side of the taxi to
ensure safety every time I have to go somewhere- everything. They are men of
character, and they have taught me more about respect than any situation I can
think of.
The girls here are the only ones I can hug. Males and
females that attend church here do not touch. They shake hands only. I don’t
know the rules for courtship, nor do I intend to, but they are VERY respectful.
I found this out when I casually went to put my arm around one of the boys to
tell him he was doing a good job in class. He stiffened and edged away very
awkwardly. Giggles surrounded the circle when one of my girls said “Ma’am…we
are not allowed….to…we don’t….” “OH that’s right! I am so sorry!” Being raised
in the south might be the death of me one day.
This blog is too long, but please hang with me.
As I was saying, the girls LOVE hugs. They are so, SO pretty
and well kept. Their jet black and dark brown eyes are something that most
American girls envy. They have no idea they are beautiful. All of them hate their
tan skin and love my skin, touching my arms and face all the time.
Chapel time is brutal. Their worship is out of this world
with no time limit whatsoever. I use the term brutal because my American flesh
takes a beating every Friday morning at 11 a.m. There’s no concept of time when
it comes to worship- they are there to worship the King, with or without music,
with or without air condtioning, with or without a water break. No one is too
cool to worship and no one makes fun of the way anyone worships. For as long as
they choose, the worship is totally vertical- and their eyes only come open
when it’s time to receive the word of the Lord. I described their worship as
staring into the sun. Staring into the sun is very enchanting for a split
second, but almost immediately it burns your eyes to where you have to look
away. That’s what it’s like watching the Filipino’s worship. It’s a flesh
beating. It’s brutal…unless you join in.
This blog is already too long. I could write for hours about
the different stories of my precious students. But please hang with me.
So what I am I dong here? I don’t know. I really don’t.
There are a lot of people back home that wish I wasn’t here, and there are also
a lot of people back home that wish I would stay here. That’s life. I wish I
could stay here too, fellow Christians.
I came here only to assist in whatever way I could. That way
happened to be teaching and creating and loving these phenomenal people. I
wouldn’t have minded if mopping the floors every night was in my job
description- I’m not a good mopper, I’m a great laundry-er, but not a good
mopper- I would’ve done it to be with these people. They have my heart and
they’ve thrown the key into the Manila Bay. The Manila Bay is where all of the
floodwaters from the city are emptied. So go try and get that key out at your
own risk.
This blog is long. Please hang with me. I have a point. And
it’s really good.
I believe one of the reasons I am here is to raise
awareness. I have a big mouth that has gotten me into SO MUCH TROUBLE in my
life…so this is me trying to use it for God’s glory. I am here, as so many
different missionaries are stationed in their country, to love the junk out of
these people and tell you about them. It is my job to believe that they are the
greatest people in the entire world. It is my job to biased. It is my job to
correct anyone that looks down upon them. It is my job to spoil my students
rotten with cookies and candy because, let’s face it, I don’t have a clue what
I’m doing in life either. It’s my job to fight for them and battle with them in
prayer.
And it’s my job to make you fall in love with them, too.
Let’s level. Filipinos aren’t like any other culture in the
world. They are passionate, hard-working, and devoted people that can sing and
dance circles around Fine Arts professionals. But did you know they are
everywhere? That’s right, they’re everywhere! They’re in most every country
because they all leave to work to send money to their families. They are on
every cruise ship that you will step foot on. They are in call-centers. One of
my students answered the phones for a company in Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge,
y’all! Small world.
They are everywhere. They are working in Singapore, they are
working in Thailand, they are working in London, they are working in Qatar,
THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.
Do you see where I’m going with this? No? Okay keep
listening.
They are in places where Americans cannot be.
THEY CAN BRING THE GOSPEL INTO PLACES THAT WE CANNOT.
Are you getting the picture?
God is spreading revival ALL OVER THIS NATION faster than
you can say “Geaux Tigers” or “Woo Pig Sooie.” These people aren’t afraid of
anything. They are bold and evangelizing this nation by storm. People by the
thousands get the Holy Ghost at these crusades and they are hooked for life.
And they aren’t just hooked, they can’t shut up about it.
I have never attended an American/Pentecostal Bible School
but I have been to ACTS and I can speak for it. When you send these kids to
Bible school, it isn’t just a nice addition to their resume; it is their
official charge to go and start a church. I’m serious. After they graduate, off
they go. Some students are pastors that just graduated THIS APRIL and their
churches are taking off. Their faith and drive is unbelievable.
PLEASE STAY WITH ME! I’m almost finished!
I know there are other countries and missionaries that are
my personal friends THAT I LOVE that would argue that their people and their
country is the best. AS THEY SHOULD. We are all biased to our people- we are
all biased to our country. And
they can write their own blog and win your hearts. But you’re asking me what
I’m doing over here, and I’m telling you. It’s my job to tell you that these
are the best people in the world. It’s my job to tell you that these people are
worth investing in, because they are! Because they are EVERYWHERE. THEY ARE IN
EVERY COUNTRY. AND THEY ARE CHANGING THE WORLD.
What if America was called to FUND the endtime revival?
Let that sink in.
What if we accepted that we can’t do it all and we have to
spread our resources out to team up with other nations to reach the world?
Let’s level again. I can’t reach the people of the
Philippines alone! I can hardly speak Tagalog! I just messed up in class the
other day and accidentally said a bad word in Tagalog because I was trying to
be cool and speak Tagalog! It’s a struggle people! But do you know what I CAN
do? I can love the junk out of these people and give them all I have to reach
the villages that I can’t go into. Some of these kids are going back to Muslim
controlled areas in the Philippines and starting churches with NO FEAR because
YOU HAVE SACRIFICIALLY GIVEN. Thank you! There are no words for how grateful we
are!
Let’s level again.
They need jeepney money to go out and evangelize. $4 a week
can cover that. $4 can’t even buy some of us a full meal at McDonald’s. Think
about that.
Are you a medical student/doctor/nurse? These kids need
hepatitis shots. $50 can cover that. That’s less than a tank of gas for some of
us. Think about that.
Are you a teacher? Or do you love learning? These kids do
too. $2 will cover a pack of highlighters that will last them years. They love
learning about the Bible. Can you spare $2?
Do you like to cook and bake? Or do you just like food in
general? These kids love some food. They can put down more food than I have
ever dreamed…when they have it. Rice is not expensive here and it is a staple
of every meal. Can you help me make sure these kids eat?
Do you have kids, or do you know what it’s like to be a
struggling college student? I challenge you, sponsor one of our students at
ACTS. For a full year of education, it only costs about $475. I know that’s not
cheap, I know it’s a sacrifice. But the difference JUST MIGHT lie in choosing
to drive instead of fly to your yearly vacation spot. $475 is a SMALL price to
pay in eternity when you understand that you’re not just sending it off to some
face with some name, you’re charging a man or woman of God to go and start a
church. YOU ARE FUNDING THE ENDTIME REVIVAL.
Go to melanishock.com, click on the Missions Opportunities
tab, and scroll down for the payment links if you are interested. No sacrifice
is too small or goes unnoticed by our Creator. If you simply cannot donate
anything, I understand. But I beg you to partner with me in prayer for these
students. They are changing the world every day.
What am I doing over here?
I’m discovering how big God is, and trying to get the name
of Jesus to every living soul so we can meet the Lord in the air and get to Heaven
already.
That’s what I’m doing over here.
-kshock.
