philippines: day 6, thursday, april 13

Retreat with Holiness in Jesus, Pastor Marcello's church. I shared my testimony and Curtis shared a bit about us being slaves to sin but freed through Christ, and Walt gave his "Idols of the Heart" sermon (which was great). After a quick lunch we spent a few hours of pool time with the congregation. We played a cool game with some of the guys in the church. Perhaps best of all, I didn't get scorched too badly by the sun. I got to talk some with Ronald and hopefully I encouraged him a bit. I was getting a good conversation going with his sister Liza, but that was cut short because I had to get out of the pool and get ready to leave. Too bad, as she seemed very interesting on a lot of levels.

I think this is the night Cheryl cooked an amazing dinner for us, but I can't remember now since it's been several days. Overall a pretty low-key day, though my cold is realy acting up this evening. Hopefully it won't be too bad at Pampanga tomorrow, as that should be a good day and I'll need all the strength I can find probably.

Been reflecting on how I can better be a part of the team. I've felt a little isolated so far, with my lack of skills in the activities we've done and my thin patience with a few people on the team. I really need to get over that second part, and I can work on the first here and when I get home. Last night's "keep it real" confession session helped a lot I think.

I have been able to see God's grace at work in me though. I feel like I'm already a better servant now, having seen the others in action and learned from them. I'm starting to really relate to my team members better, even as I become less patient with them and more eager to spend time by myself. Hopefully they can at least see that I love them even if I can't show it so well. My evangelism skills have improved, although I'm not so sure I have the boldness I need to go along with it. But it's good to see God working in me even as I keep getting frustrated with how I'm doing. Proof that all I can do is done with God's strength. And proof that the Lord can work wonders through our weakness.