Update 12 - Trip coming to an end...

Our trip has finally come to an end. Our last day we got to the remainder of the schools in Bataan. One of the schools I went to was really far out in the woods where there were just rice fields and a few homes scattered. There were only 15 students at this school, and they looked at me and the other American in a very odd manner. It was obvious they had probably never seen a white person before. When I was in Aurora there were a couple of schools I went to like that. I really can't get over how they live in most areas of the Philippines. As I sat in the jeepny driving back after the day, everything I have been seeing and doing began to hit me. As I looked at the homes I was passing, the land, the people, it just really dawned on me how poor they all were and how we in the U.S could not even IMAGINE living the way they do. We stopped to go to the bathroom in one of the side snack places and the bathroom was just a hole in the ground, and there was no such thing as a roll of toilet paper. They slept on wooden beds, didn't have air conditioning, their homes are just huts with thatch or wooden roofing, and you could walk the length of the hut in 3 giant steps. They have no luxuries in this place the way that we do. Many of the Filipinos I talked to cannot afford a plane ticket to go tour America and see what it is like. As I was contemplating this, I felt like God whispered in my heart, "Julianne, this is the norm in most of the world. The way you live is actually not the norm. " I do wonder how it's possible that our country and some of the other countries in the world have been so abundantly blessed all these years- then I see this country among others that are powerless and struggling every day of their lives. I know God says in his word he blesses whom he chooses to bless, etc and we will never know his mind fully. All that I know is that this life is short compared to what is coming after this when we know Christ. God has a purpose in all he allows and does, and to see the strength in the Filipino pastors that are here with us blows me away. They leave their families to come minister with us, and they do not live a life of ease either. But they trust the Lord in all they do and they give their lives over to reaching others for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many rich people are not as happy as they are because if you lack Christ in your heart, then you lack everything. I look around at the movie stars and pop singers that do not have God, and they end up on drugs, in jail or dead before their time. They get entangled with greed, jealousy, fame among many other problems. The bible tells us, "It is better to have little with fear for the Lord than to have great treasure with turmoil" (Proverbs 15:16). There is nothing more important than the job of reaching others for the Lord and having him inside your soul! Whatever walk of life we come from, we are all in dire need of a savior.


One of the girls at a school I talked at with another American told us her unique story. She said she was so blessed to see Americans. She spoke perfect English and answered every question as my friend John spoke the Gospel message to her class. She said she had been living in the United States her whole life up until about 10 years old (she is now 12). She had a Filipino mother and an American father so they lived in the U.S. Then one day her parents and her siblings were killed in a car accident, leaving her an orphan. She got shipped back to the Philippines to live with a distant relative who treats her badly. Ever since she has been in the Philippines she says she has felt like she's been "in prison. " I felt so horrible for her. I couldn't imagine having been uprooted from America (which was her homeland-she was an American going to school and living in the Philippines) and being shipped to a third world situation like that. It's worse then being in the Philippines her whole life because she has had a taste of something better in the states. My heart truly goes out to her and I pray God somehow provides a way for her to leave one day as she gets older. It made me want to adopt her and just take her home with me! But you can imagine how many other sad situations there are. I wish we could help every one of them, but I have to trust that God will take care of her, grow her into the woman he wants her to be and bring her where he wants her to go.

The last night here with the 3 weekers, we had a nice dinner with the Filipino pastors. Most of us were all heading home. Mr. Tebow spoke to us and encouraged us about our experience. We preached to over 21,000 schools, 600,000 kids, and that's with missing 3 days from the Typhoon. It has taken years to work up to this, so it thrilled Mr. Tebow and all of us that we were able to preach to that many people. This does not include the hospitals, prisons, and random pamphlets we passed out. He went on about how God sees all the work we have done-not only in the past 3 weeks of traveling, bumping around all over the place on the tough rides to the mountains to reach remote places, but in our whole lives. And although we do not do these things to gain something, God promises in his word to give back to us 100 fold both in this life but especially in the next. He never makes us work for "free", as much as we don't do it to gain anything.

One thing I have to say about this trip is that I barely ever thought of myself the entire time. I was so consumed with the people I was speaking to, helping, my purpose, that I did not think about my own issues of life. I certainly do not know where God will lead me when I get home, but I do know I was working the past few weeks on what really matters in life and that my God has never failed me, not even once. Mr. Tebow made a great point when he said that the words, " Go and tell everyone about it" were used a lot in the Bible by Jesus. Is Jesus not worth all that? What he did for us cannot be repaid. There is nothing in the world that can hold a candle to what he did on the cross for us. He is WORTHY of us telling everyone about him and his goodness. When we have our mind fixed on the cross, on so great a salvation, then our thoughts of ourselves begin to diminish. The selfish nature that we have begins to go by the wayside. The word tells us, "Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed" (Proverbs 16:3). When we put our hearts on what is important, God promises to take care of all our ways, all our desires and our needs. My prayer is that God opens up the door for me to go through from here. There is a song by Jesus Culture called "Where you go I go" that describes where my heart is completely at. It is about going where God wants us to go, praying what he prays, feeling what he feels. I desire to do his will and to bring him glory in everything I do. Knowing his will for our lives is always best because he alone knows what will bring him the most glory through us. Everyone's lot is different. "We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.." (Proverbs 16: 33). So as I go back to the U.S and work and pray about the next step for me, I have to keep in mind that the Lord will determine my steps, no matter what "plans" I may make. He says when we seek him we will find him. Everything in life requires patience and diligence. The end result is important, but it is not everything. It is about the journey we are on to get there. We don't want to miss the moments in life God gives us in today. I am so thankful God gave me the opportunity to go with BTEA this summer. I know it was the will of the Lord. I have met some lifelong and eternal friends and I hope God allows me to come back to one of the trips in this upcoming year. Praise Jesus for all of the souls that are now alive in him!! And thank you to everyone who followed my blogs and for your support financially and through prayer. Words cannot explain what an experience it all was. And you will also be rewarded for your kindness- for giving to the Lord. It will echo in eternity. God bless!!



Always in Christ,

Julianne Viani