Sharing stories November 26, 2010

I was explaining to someone last night about what it means to be a missionary whose job is in the communications field. I understand sometimes it’s hard to comprehend a missionary position outside of church planting or preaching. But honestly, there are so many important support roles that need to be filled.

I see one of my main tasks as sharing the stories of people in Asia-Pacific who cannot share it themselves. For the past few months I’ve been project manager of a video project highlighting how small churches around the world are getting involved in the Great Commission. It’s not just the job of the mega-churches in the west. We’ve all been called to do our part.

I cannot tell you how moved I’ve been to see sacrificial giving lived out before my eyes. The first story we gathered was here in the Philippines. I mentioned more about it in my most recent newsletter. Well, our partners at OMNIvision have finished the teaser for this piece and I wanted to share it with you.  Also encourage you if you know of other stories, to join our Vimeo group and share your own experiences. It’s through sharing our stories and those of others that we can be used by God to encourage people to do the same. Hope you enjoy the teaser!

This is Our Story: Philippines Teaser from Wycliffe International on Vimeo.

Have I got a story for you! November 20, 2010

Sometimes life is just entertaining.

Thursday was one of those days. It started innocently enough. Work. Lunch. Work. Then it came time to go home.

If I am lucky, I can find a taxi to take me home. Otherwise I pile into a FX that goes in the direction of my house. A FX is like a multi-person taxi. You can check out a description I gave of it here. This mode of transportation is cheaper, but also doesn’t go right to my building. I have to get out and walk a couple blocks. Well on Thursday it was time to descend from the vehicle and begin my trek home. I called “para po!” to the driver and he pulled the car to a quick stop. I glanced out the window to make sure no bikers were coming (something I was not totally thorough in) and then opened the door. This is where my day got reeeeeeal interesting.

As I opened the door, a man on a bicycle rode directly into it. That’s right. I just performed one-half of those scenes you only see in bad comedies. Best I can tell (this all happened pretty fast), the door hit the bike pedal and sent the bike and the man flying to the ground. He was going pretty fast. Not only that, but the sidewalk had a row of intimidating metal pole thingys which the bicycle rider flew into, head-first. Probably not the end to the day he was looking for.

I jumped out asking him if he was ok, telling him I was so sorry, and wondering what the heck I was supposed to do. It quickly drew a crowd. Passersby, fellow bikers, and even two traffic cops who were standing nearby. Oh boy. One man who materialized kept telling me I needed to give the biker money. Slow down there, pal.

The FX driver got out, as well as the other passengers. To add to my inconveniencing of others, they had to find other transportation. As everyone jammered on in Tagalog and I caught about 1 in every 50 words, I was totally lost. Then the driver said “come with me”. I responded with “where are we going?” Cause white girl ain’t no fool. My mom told me never to get in a car with strangers. As it turns out, they wanted to take the bicyclist to the hospital and needed me to go too, along with one of the traffic cops. So we all piled in and I immediately called one of my filipina friends and asked her to come help. I sure needed it.

It was an interesting sight, I am sure, to see this white girl following a limping, sore Filipino in need of assistance. As we stood around waiting for my friend and for the guy to see a doctor, one of the security guards came up to talk to me. He was very nice and tried to put me at ease. I was feeling pretty terrible. Then he stated a question that was so important for the situation: “are you single?” Then he proceeded to say “Because he’s single; and him too!” I looked to one of the other guards he pointed to who broke into a wide grin; a wide gummy grin. Dude had no teeth. Despite the humor in the situation, I really was concerned about the guy, and also did not want to be taken advantage of because I was a foreigner. I had already been asked a couple times for money which I subtly dodged. Once my friend arrived and was able to translate for me, I agreed to help pay a portion of the medical bill (which was very cheap) and also my friend said it would be nice to give the injured a small amount to help cover his pain medicine. I agreed, we paid, I said again how sorry I was, and we left. Quite an eventful night. Don’t think I’ll be repeating that anytime soon. I’ll be the Über-sensitive  girl who checks about 10 times before she opens the car door.

God protected everyone and taught me a valuable lesson in the process: if things ever go south with Clarence, there’s always two security guards available at Rizal Medical Center.

The big time! November 18, 2010

I am on iTunes! You weren’t aware that I am now a popular recording artist? Oh yes. My music is all the rage here in the Philippines. Like a cross between Kelly Clarkson and Anberlin. Quite a unique sound. Oops, there I go again, meshing my dream world with reality. I’d say it won’t happen again but we all know that’s probably not true.

What is true? My voice is actually on iTunes. Over the past few months, we have been creating a podcast here in our office. The purpose is to show what Wycliffe is doing in Asia-Pacific, the area where I work. It was designed to play like a radio show and I am one of the hosts! I greatly enjoyed partnering with a local radio DJ to lead the program. We had a great time goofing off and having fun (and of course being serious sometimes too). Well, the first episode of the podcast is now on iTunes. You can listen by clicking here. It’s a free download and I encourage you to share it with whoever is interested in what is being done for God in this area. There are three more episodes almost complete and will be coming out soon. Please let me know what you think, we’d love your feedback. This is experimental and we want to improve it however we can. Thanks.

Here is a promo video to give you more information about the podcast! Enjoy.

Jesus loves you November 6, 2010

It is such a simple truth but so true.

I have been sitting here rereading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I’m overwhelmed. I know you won’t be blown away by this revelation but bear with me: God is HUGE! Look at this photo:

Photo courtesy of universenews.net

Take a second to try to comprehend the magnitude of the universe. It’s not possible. We simply cannot do it. How do we then expect to comprehend the God who created it? And yet, He understands and cares about each and every once of us…LOVES us. Despite anything we may have done or will do, He loves us. Wow. Undeserving girl, party of one please!

Francis talked briefly in the book about the brevity of life. He mentioned the story of a man who was preaching a funeral, emphasizing that no one knows when they will die and then he proceeded to sit down and die. I thought for a minute. What if I were to pass away while sitting here on my bed and then I was face to face with God? I was overcome with a holy terror. GOD. Me facing Him? That terrified me. Not because I’m unsure of my eternal destiny, but just because of my unworthiness to stand before Him and look into his face. Me. Dirty, filthy, sinful Rachel Hampton standing before the incomparable, awe-inspiring, incomprehensible Creator of the universe. Cue chills. Then I thought “What would have been my last statement to the world? Oh….a blog about bugs, great.”

When was the last time on here I really stated boldly about God’s love for you? I don’t know who you are, where you’re reading this from, or what your opinion is on God, but please listen when I tell you this: HE LOVES YOU! Exactly as you are. And He so desperately wants a relationship with you. Not because He needs you or can’t live without you but because He desires it. He loves you. I beg of you, don’t miss Him! Nothing in this whole world can substitute or fill the void that you have for Him. I wish I could completely convey how fulfilling, joyful, and peaceful a life filled with Christ is. No, it’s not perfect or overflowing with sunshine, grandma, and midgets (sorry, Happy Gilmore’s happy place creeped in there), but it is the only hope I have in this world. I know, absolutely, that if I were to die tonight or tomorrow or next week, I would start an eternity of fellowship with God. I can only hope and pray that you have the same assurance. Don’t click out of this window if you don’t. Feel that tugging? The unsettled curiosity or desire? That’s God speaking to you. Don’t ignore Him. Please. Just talk to Him. He’s always listening and I’m sure there are other people who love Him that would be equally willing to help you answer questions you may have. I’m one of them. I have a contact email you know. Feel free to use it.

I was not intending this to be a goodbye blog of the morbid variety, but just in case it is I want you to know, everyone to know, how much God loves you. Today and forever. Talk to Him today. He’s waiting for you.

Mrs. Dolittle November 5, 2010

Bugs, rodents, and reptiles love me. And no, I am not bragging. It has been awhile since I have given you an entertaining glimpse into my life in the Philippines and the creatures it is home to. Therefore the creatures my apartment is home to.

*gathers strength*

Ask my family and they will tell you, I am no fan of bugs. Many a time I have summoned my dad from whatever sports event he happened to be watching on TV to kill a bee, spider, wasp, or other creepy crawly that had invaded my room. And all the while he muttered under his breath. I get no credit for helping him cement his manly status or designation in life. Ingratitude…

I won’t lie, I have said many times that one good purpose for a husband is to kill bugs. I think God created men for this reason. I sincerely wish I had my boyfriend in my apartment when a big, nasty cockroach appears. Stupid tropical climate.

The other night I was taking my dinner dishes into the kitchen to wash when I see a nasty cockroach on the floor. I whine and then start looking around for a shoe. Here’s the deal though…I don’t want to get too close. In fact, this night I did not even want to get close enough to squish it. So instead I climbed up on my counter (on the dining room side, further away from the kitchen the cockroach had infiltrated) and decided I would throw my shoe down on top of it to kill it. Attempt 1=miss. A tiny scurry from the cockroach, a small squeal from me. (very similar to the “One step for man, one giant leap for mankind” quote, only much less ground-breaking) Attempt 2=fail. It only proceeded to send the cockroach over by my front door, and I assumed, underneath it and out. We shall return to him later.

The next day was a national holiday so I was at home. At lunchtime I went to the kitchen and see a big lizard in my sink. Dang it. I don’t want to kill it, who knows what kind of mess that will leave or how difficult the task itself would be. So instead I try to scare it into scurrying off wherever it came from. I start by kicking the cabinet underneath. This does nothing to shake the nerves of steel the lizard possesses. My second technique involved throwing small objects into the sink to try to scare it into running away. What was close at hand? Coins. Throw 1 encouraged a slight move of the lizard further into the sink. Throw 2=no reaction. Throw 3 & 4=nothing. Obviously this is not working. Time to pull out the big guns. My neighbor. A quick text confirmed for me that he was out of the building but would be back in 30 min and would check with me then. So I willingly played the waiting game. This was much preferred than my previous failed efforts.

As promised, he arrived 30 min later. I hurried to get the front door while first kicking away my attempted murder weapon from the night before: my flip flop. As I moved it out of the way I made a horrifying discovery–the cockroach has NOT scurried under the door, rather it took up residence under my overturned shoe and waited out the storm. As I had suddenly moved his rubber bunker, he frantically started running around again. Only this time, it was me he was coming after. I ran away from the entry way, looking behind me while shriekingly noticing that he was chasing me. Thankfully, my rescuer bounded into action. With a slap of his shoe, the cockroach’s attack came to an end. Then we only had the lizard to deal with. At first my neighbor tried shooing him away, but I insisted that I’d rather not have him running about in my apt and asked politely if he could capture him and deposit him outside. Something I was too much of a wuss to accomplish. It took all of two seconds for him to grab a paper towel and take the reptile to a safe distance. Sigh of relief. He is my Mother Theresa. I think she’d be rather offended at the comparison, but he should be eligible for sainthood in my eyes. Or at least a really shiny gold star.

And lest I think my days with tiny crawling things is over…I came into the office yesterday to find a mouse running around. Does the excitement/terror never end?

For all you extremely intelligent and dexterous bugs out there who are reading this and think I am Mrs. Dolittle…I am not! Please leave me alone. I have my neighbor on speed dial and I am not afraid to use him. Let this be a warning…tell your friends.

Truth October 21, 2010

Missionary.

It’s a word that, in the west, has lots of assumptions tagged onto it. People back home expect to hear updates about big conversions, lives transformed,  and powerful testimonies. And sometimes I feel the pressure of filling my blog or newsletters with those kind of updates. Tonight, I read this quote from Amy Carmichael, a life-long missionary to India:

It is more important that you should know about the reverses than about the successes of the war. We shall have all eternity to celebrate the victories, but we have only the few hours before sunset in which to win them…So we have tried to tell you the truth–the uninteresting, unromantic truth.

Here’s the truth as I see it:

There are still many people lost in the world. People who have not heard about Christ. Though I am here in Manila, I can’t say that I’ve seen even one conversion. Then again, how hard have I tried? Being a missionary is hard. I desire to see people come to Christ but it is SO EASY to get sidetracked. To allow yourself to be distracted, effectively allowing Satan to gain a foothold.

People are dying and headed into an eternal future WITHOUT CHRIST and what am I doing about it? I need your prayers. Badly. I love my job and I am doing it, but I am discouraged. I feel a lack of focus and passion for all things God. My biggest fear is leaving this place and having not been a willing vessel for the Lord. To look back and see what I spent my time doing here instead of what God had the freedom and complete control to do through me. It’s easy to let my job here become about business and not ministry. Please join me in praying that God would win the victory in my own heart first and foremost.

I want to be surrendered.

I want to live sacrificially.

I need Christ to do that.

I need your prayers to do that.

There it is–my uninteresting, unromantic truth.

A trip home part 3 October 13, 2010

Sorry for the gazillion posts but wordpress is finicky and I am no internet wizard so deal with it…

The whole fam (minus Evan's new bride)

Have I mentioned I love my family? I’d go through all the names of the people in the picture above but we’d be here all year…

The Hampton girls with our new recruit

Me and my guy

The happy couple!

We had the best time and even fit in some karaoke that evening. On the way home to Virginia, we stopped by my university so Clarence could see where I went to school.  The last day, Tuesday was spent relaxing, packing, and spending time with loves ones. The time at home flew by and I was not quite ready to come back to Manila. I think it’s always like that leaving loved ones. At least I had a pretty amazing companion!

Now, back to work! Friday I will be traveling to Palawan, Philippines to film footage for a video project we are working on. I’d appreciate your prayers!

Last but not least (if you made it to the end of this epic entry), I have uploaded my newest newsletter in case you are not on my list. I hope you enjoy! Now that I”m done I can finally eat dinner. Easy Mac? Do I dare?

A trip home part 2

After a few days in Nashville, we all traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to participate in my brother’s wedding weekend. Have I mentioned how glad I was to be apart of it? And not just because we got to do THIS….

Atlanta Braves!

That’s right! Granted the game sucked and the Braves lost terribly, but we still had a lot of fun cheering and eating the biggest hotdogs known to man! One humorous story. My 3 year old nephew, Jadd, was taken to the bathroom only to discover there was a poo explosion. He spent the rest of the night in a tshirt and diaper. Pantless. That kid cracks me up.

With my nephew, Gavin, and his daddy

In case you’re wondering, Atlanta traffic is still at “blow my brains out” levels. Avoid at all costs! UNLESS you want to go here….

SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA

I love this place. Roller coasters make me happy. And though I think Clarence is not nearly as crazy about them, he was a good sport and rode everything with me.  That night was the rehearsal dinner. Multiple italian dishes? Yes please. Laughs. Fun. Food. Family. Friends. All the F’s were present. How can you have a bad night with that?

Best friend Amy, sister hannah, and some girl

Sunday brought the big day! It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony. It was special to see my brother tear as his beautiful bride walked down the aisle towards him. I’m so happy for the both of them and thankful I was there to witness them exchange their vows. The reception was also great with lots of dancing (my favorite) and delicious food. During the first dance, my nephew Jadd thought he would celebrate by running circles around the happy couple. Priceless moment. Here are some shots of the day:

Some of my best girls!

We decided we need to take advantage of ANY opportunity to dress up. So that’s just what we did. My dress? Straight from Manila!

That's right, I caught the bouquet!

Of course I’ve also caught two other bouquets in the past and *looks down*, yup, still no ring on this finger.

To be continued AGAIN so that this stupid site will stop messing up my posts!…..

A trip home part 1 October 12, 2010

I know you come here to hear about my life serving overseas in some foreign land. The bugs. The food. The stories of me making a fool of myself. Well, I’m going to have to disappoint you today. I wanted to share about the journey HOME to the good ol’ US of A.

Oct 3rd was the main reason for the trip. My little, tiny, baby, infant (Ok, he’s 27) brother was getting married to the love of his life! Sounds like a good excuse for a trip home to me. So on September 22nd I started the 25 hour journey home. Only…good news…I wasn’t alone. My boyfriend went with me! He traveled from his home in Singapore to go to the US for the first time and meet all of my crazy family and friends. He’s a brave one. He started the flurry of meetings by eating dinner with a couple of my friends from work before departing from Manila. Then they were kind enough to drop us off for our 10pm flight. It is SUCH a long journey. Manila to L.A. to Columbus to Raleigh before driving to Virginia. You have to really want to visit people to do it.  It was my first time flying through LAX and I have to say….I hated it. That airport needs some serious signage. I was just like “where in the world am I supposed to go?!” Of course since I have a college degree and extensive traveling experience, I figured it out but still….LAX, get with it.

My parents picked us up at the Raleigh airport and we drove about 30 min away to meet my college roommate Mandie and her husband for lunch. I hadn’t seen her in years and it was so nice to spend a little bit of time with her! From there we drove a few hours home and dumped our stuff and exhausted bodies into our rooms. It wasn’t long before we were off again. This time to visit my older sister, her husband, and her two sons. One of which I had not met. And oh my gosh, they are precious! I lived on Cloud 9.  How I didn’t get a picture of me with the two of them I have no idea.

After going back to my parents house, we were able to spend time with friends before crashing into bed, exhausted.

The next day I had planned to take Clarence up into the mountains and for a picnic lunch. We didn’t exactly make it up there for lunch, but when we got there the weather was beautiful as was the view.

Afterwards we went down to the base of the mountain beside a lake, laid out a blanket, and sat enjoying the weather and each other’s company. It was pretty much a perfect day. We had more hang out time with friends and family that night at my sister’s house. Here is how brilliant my 3 1/2 year old nephew is. While trying to play foosball with me he pointed at the screw head on the table and said “look, it’s shaped like a hexagon!” Seriously kid? Haha. So cute.

Saturday I was blessed to have my oldest and dearest friend, Erin, come down from northern Virginia with her daughter, Caroline, to spend the day with us. We met for breakfast at Cracker Barrel (hallelujah) and then took my nephew and her daughter to some playgrounds for the day. Just call me mom. Actually don’t, that would be weird. We also went to dinner and…what the heck…no pictures of this day either. I swear, I am a photographic FAILURE. I just keep it all up here *taps head*. That is a lie. I am almost 30 and forget things all the time. Dang it.

That night we went with my parents and a couple friends (shoutout: Amy and Jennifer) to see the local university theatre dept put on Hairspray. It was great! I loved it. I’m sure Clarence loved it too–as a place he could catch up on his sleep after remnants of jetlag. I miss seeing theatre regularly.

Sunday, I was so thankful to go back to my church! Thomas Road Baptist Church. I have missed worshiping there and I was not disappointed in a great time singing to God and fellowshipping with other believers. I have no idea what we did the rest of that day (see, forgetfulness)…I’m sure whatever it was, it was thrilling beyond belief. OH YES, we went to the mall. This deserves a laugh because Clarence comes from Singapore where, on one street alone, they have 18 malls. Lynchburg’s one pathetic little mall was laughable. But we still had a good time and then met my friend Wendy for dinner nearby. Scratch that…all that was on Monday (minus the church part). Really, I have no idea what I’m talking about at this point. Did I even go to the US?

Let’s just move on. Tuesday, Clarence and I made the 8 hour drive to Nashville, Tennessee to visit more members of my family. My older brother, Todd, lives there with his wife and three kids. My younger sister, Hannah (who will one day be a famous singer) also resides in Nashvegas. We spent a few days there hanging out with the kids and touring Clarence a bit around Nashville. We were also able to visit my granny which was very special. She is in her 90′s and her brain is still sharp as a tack. Her health, however, is deteriorating and we’re not sure how much longer she’ll hang on. Seeing as how I’ll be in Manila until the end of February, it was very important for me to go and visit her. Once again, no pictures in Nashville were taken. BUT let me tell you how sweet my boyfriend is. On Thursday I decided with my sister and sister in law that we should go get pedicures for the upcoming wedding. Clarence went along and watched my 9 month old nephew while we were pampered. No complaints. No protests. He even took Avery out in his stroller for a walk. I got a good one!

To be continued….

REAL value September 20, 2010

I really want the new iPhone4. It’s so sleek and fun and pretty! I’ve considered saving my money and buying it. I mean, afterall, it would add great value to my life. Right? Right?!?!

Then I read this article from The Word is Life:

Saving Pennies for God’s Word

by Karen Weaver

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

One evening Gerold expressed his regret to Takashi, “I’m sad that I won’t have enough money to buy a New Testament when it’s printed.”Takashi and Yeako Nakamura gladly welcomed Gerold into their house when he stopped by for a visit one evening in 2006. Gerold loves the Lord and is happy that the Nakamuras have been living among his people since 1989, translating God’s Word into his heart language.

Takashi knew that there are not many cash crops in the area, and that Gerold has to pay school fees for his four children. Yet he felt the Lord prompting him to respond with a challenge, “If you start saving money now, it will be easier for you. We still have a lot of time.”

Gerold considered these words and concluded, “This is good.”

After that, Gerold started putting aside small amounts of money wherever he could. He has already paid for a New Testament and now is saving money to buy copies of God’s book for each of his four children. Others heard what he was doing and followed his example.

Because of his initiative, more than 100 people have already paid for  a copy of the Maiwa New Testament. All of them are eagerly looking ahead to 2012, the year the Maiwa translation team hopes to present the completed New Testaments to the people.

Please pray for Takashi and his co-translators as they go through the final steps of checking the translation for accuracy, clarity, and consistency. They are scheduled to begin typesetting the Maiwa New Testament in February 2011.

Hello Rachel, you’ve just been backhanded by conviction! How’d that feel?

Gerold understands what has real value in life. God’s Word. How easy it is to take it for granted. To not cherish it. Let it soak into my heart and mind. Transform me. Fill me. Then I read a story like Gerolds. He probably has no idea what the iPhone4 is and, most likely, could care less. Because of that, some people may consider him to be poor, but I would say he is richer than Steve Jobs (though Stevie may be equally rich spiritually, who am I to judge? Now I’m curious…I might have to google that. Anyway…). There is nothing wrong with buying an iPhone or any other nice object, as long as we recognize those things pass away. They hold no eternal value. I have to ask myself, how much of my money am I using to make myself happy, and how much am I using to help others find complete joy in Jesus Christ? I’m not saying I have to live in poverty and not have nice things….it’s just a matter of what my priorities are. I’d say I’d be doing pretty good if I followed Gerold’s example. What about you?

Gerold, a man who understands value