The Children

So much has happened since I came back from Thailand, I don't know where to start. First I want to say that I will try to write more often. I always want to, but being a student, on top of the ministry work and trying to learn Tagalog is very hard and tiring at times. None the less, I will try and update more often.
 
When I came back from America to the Philippines I ran into some resistance with the children's ministry. To be completely honest, the Pastor here at the school does not like kids, and it is a bother to him to have them here. Also, he did not want Ellea apart of the ministry because of un-forgiveness. Ate Ellea is the heart and soul of the children's ministry, she cooks and cleans for 50 to 100 children every week and does it with joy as doing it unto the Lord not for man! She has a heart of love for God, the children and the students; to say the least she is an amazing lady. I was given a choice, find somewhere else to do the ministry and Ate Ellea could continue, but the students would not be allowed to be involved, or do it at the school with no Ate Ellea. I began to tell him, passionately, led by the Spirit, of the important task the Lord has given us to raise up this next generation. I explained with a sense of urgency that this is Jesus' ministry, these are His children and He has allowed the students and Ate Ellea to be a part of it and to stop a thriving ministry would be handing these children over to Satan. Everything went back to normal, Ate Ellea began cooking again and the students were allowed to be involved.

The reason I write this is because when I came back from Thailand the children's ministry had been stopped once again. The Pastor here at the school had stopped the ministry and said it could not be done at the school. Furthermore, I was told that rather than continue this ministry, the students had to go to the next town to be involved in the new children's ministry at the church. Satan is real and his demons are active and he will use people within the church to hinder God's work. This time I went to the high authority who immediately rebuked the idea and said the students need to be active in the ministry God gave us.

With some prayer and the Lord opening a door for us to use the local elementary school we decided it best to move the kids from the Bible school to the elementary school. This is where it gets amazing; on that first Saturday at the elementary school we had over 100 kids! Not just children, but because of the location parents and other adults felt comfortable attending, getting food and watching the activities. With freedom to do as she pleased, Ate Ellea was amazing! She separated the groups into boys and girls to eat and be taught. She helped organize and direct the activities, like the egg toss and soccer, not to mention cooking for them all. The students were amazed and blessed by the love they received from the children, their hearts were softened by one hundred kids hugging and hanging on them. The egg toss was crazy! The kids were cheering, dancing and screaming like it was the super bowl.

Genesis 50:20 "As for you, you meant to harm me,  but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day”, What Satan meant for evil, God meant for good! Because of this I was reminded of the spiritual battle that wages on, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. I have a tendency to focus on the person that the devil is using rather than focusing on the spiritual battle at hand. But when I do that, I forget that the devil is "walking around, looking for someone to devour" and his motives are to "kill, steal, and destroy". This is real and Satan tries to get my attention off of him and on to others. It is a wonderful reminder that God is in control of all thing and that He will work all things together for good!