Not me, Only Jesus

Hey everybody! Boy, have these past several days been amazing. I mean, there are some small things that aren’t extremely fun…such as the weather, the food, and painting cottages in the burning heat with your body completely covered by heavy salwars haha. We are all losing some weight from sweating all day, doing much physical labor, and not eating very much. (Not for lack of food but because most of it tastes horrible, which reminds me of how many times a day we talk about how excited we are for Burger King at the Hong Kong airport!) But despite these minor hardships, serving God at Little Flock has so far been a life changing experience. We are all having the most incredible time. Each and every one of us are in love with all the kids. They have been such an amazing example of what it means to be selfless. They have so little yet give so much. They would literally give us all they have if they could. One of the most memorable moments this trip for the team and I is when the kids were making “all about me” posters. It was not only fun to color with the kids and help them spell out our names on their friends box, but there was something that happened with each of the kids that we were in awe about. On the “me” box of the poster, the kids started drawing crosses and people kneeling at the cross. One of us said “no, that’s where you draw yourself!” And the kids replied “not me, only Jesus”. That phrase has turned into our team’s motto and still gives me chills when I think about these young kids who live for God and not for themselves. That is such a hard concept when you’re in High School. It is so easy to live for acceptance and do whatever you can to have everyone like you, but I’ve realized this week through these kids that pleasing God means you will not please the world. To think about all the things I do with my time and all the things I worry about so much and how in the end when I am face to face with my creator all of that is going to be stripped away and mean nothing. It is a serious wake-up call when I look at all these beautiful kids that live in conditions that are hard for us to stand and have lives that have been hurt and broken and hear them tell me “not me, only Jesus”. A few verses that I’d like to share with you all that stuck out to me during my devotions today are Philippians 2:3 and Philippians 2:15. “Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself”. And “You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them”. The innocence and the purity of the kids at Little Flock has opened my eyes and I cannot wait for more incredible times with them to come. I hope you all aren’t missing us too much! We love you and will be home before you know it :)
Love,
Keri Corey