All is Worthless Compared to HIM

This is Sarah Mae, also known as Pulay :) She was one of my first friends here in the Philippines when I came in 2008. She has always been such an encouragement and inspiration to me. She has more energy than I will ever have, she loves to sing and play the guitar, and she has a huge heart for people... to love and serve them, and to share the Truth with them. She has been a great example to me of someone who follows hard after God and lives out her faith day-to-day as we are all called to. Pulay went with me to work on the In-Agta translations today, and on the way there she shared her story about how she has been able to share the Good News with those around her. I hope it encourages and challenges you as much as it did me.

Pulay was raised in a Christian family, so she hasn't experienced persecution from her family, as is common here. However, she has experienced persecution from her classmates and teachers. The schools here are highly-influenced by the catholic church. In high school, they have a required religion class that teaches purely catholic doctrine, and does not allow for any disagreement. But one of my favorite things about Pulay is that she is bold. Though her grades suffered because of her stand, she consistently refuted the wrong teachings and shared Truth from the Word. She sacrificed her academic scores for the sake of Christ, and for the sake of her classmates, so that they would come to know and believe the Truth. And God took her faithfulness and multiplied it. By His powerful hand, Pulay became the president of her religion class, which meant that whenever the teacher was absent, it was her responsibility to teach the class! The Father gave her so many opportunities to proclaim His Word and to live out the love of Christ. During her time in high school, many of her classmates put their faith in Christ. His Truth was made known, His light shone in a dark place.

This grace we have received is not for us alone... we are meant to share the Good News with all. This faith that we cling to is not a quiet thing... it requires us to be bold. But be encouraged, friends, that when we are faithful to proclaim the Word of God and live out our faith, God multiplies that faithfulness and opens doors that we could've never opened on our own. It is not us, but God who is at work... in His world, for His purposes, for His name's sake.