Today was an unusual Thanksgiving, but in a good way. I didn’t have any turkey, I’m not complaining, and I didn’t spend the day with any family members either. But today I really was able to be thankful for all that God has blessed me with and how amazing this life is when you are a believer. I’m in the Philippines as I write this and Thanksgiving here is just another Thursday. No turkey and no football games, just another day. Me and some of the other members of our Media Light team were in some of the poorest areas of Manila to capture the story Joann Luciano and the ministry she started called Sidewalk Ministries. I have been able to spend time with Joann and her team on several occasions and every time I come back I’m amazed at how many thousands of lives this ministry is impacting on a weekly basis. Sidewalk is a ministry that is focused on leading children into a relationship with Christ. Then identifying young people of promise and helping them through school in order to break the cycle of poverty in their families
I am not writing this as an infomercial for Joann and Sidewalk Ministries (although I can’t think of a ministry that is doing more for kids in a more impactful way) but rather to say that being in such a poor and destitute area of Manila today really got me thinking. I’m so thankful for all that God has done in my life. I’m thankful to be a child of God and I can think of no greater title or honor than to be a son of God. That sounds really cheesy and churchy but it’s true. Today I was able to see kids hearing that possibly for the first time and it made me realize how amazing it is that God allowed me to be a part of His family. I really don’t have anything to complain about. Being a missionary I don’t receive a salary and all of my financial needs are dependent upon other people’s generosity so it’s easy to get the “whoa is me” mentality, but I can’t complain because God has always provided. I am thankful for such faithful friends and partners that have supported me on this journey. It was humbling today to see so many content and happy children who by “western” standards don’t really have a lot to be thankful for and yet seemed more happy than a lot of kids I meet that have the newest toys and video games to keep them entertained. Sorry, that was a soapbox and I’ll get off of it. I’m thankful for a ministry family here in Asia. I got to spend Thanksgiving day with some of the best people in the world, serving on the mission field together and for that I am thankful. I’m blessed to be part of such a great ministry team that I get to share life with as we do ministry all over Asia.
Okay, I’m begining to ramble so I’ll bring this plane to the hangar. There are so many reasons why this was one of the best Thanksgiving days ever. I guess the main reason is that I got to see people being thankful that didn’t know today was a “the designated day” you were supposed to express your thanks. There were kids that were thankful that someone cared enough about them and showed up to their run-down area to tell them bible stories. There were young people that I met today that were thankful because they were being sponsored to go to school and therefore their entire destiny is being rewritten. There was a woman named Joann that was thankful because every week she gets to go back to the same hopeless part of town and give kids hope all over again.
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lafemmesylvie reblogged this from jonnymoore and added:
heart…everyday!
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jonnymoore posted this
