Faith, Life, and Lessons

As we near the end of our adventure, I think nearly everyone on the gap year is beginning to feel a bit homesick. It can seem like a lifetime since we’ve seen our loved ones and had experiences that we would consider “normal.” I’ll be honest; it’s not always easy here. Sometimes the AC drips on my head in the night. There’s no hot water. I’ve had to fight off a rat twice in the past week to get a spoon from the kitchen. I eat oatmeal twice daily. I was covered in bug bites a few days ago (we’re guessing it was bed bugs, jellyfish stings, or some kind of rash… aka I don’t know). But you know what? None of that actually bothers me enough to want to change it. The Philippines has actually turned out to be one of my favorite locations. You probably think I’m lying, but I feel fairly un-phased by things that may have really freaked me out a few months ago. I guess my perspective’s changed a bit (I’m still afraid of chickens, though). However, the one thing that finally affected me- for the ...

Before this gap year began, I thought briefly about my expectations and self-growth; I planned on becoming highly spiritual and finding some sort of enlightenment. I didn't know who I would be, but I figured I'd be something like a wise monk who's best friends with Jesus and stuck in an American college student's body. Good plan right? Well now that my gap year is nearing a close, it's somewhat scary to realize that I'm still just me. Human. Layla through and through. I definitely  have  vastly more experiences and  hopefully  consequentially more maturity, but I'm ultimately just a better version of myself. Nothing more or less. I still find myself having to work to carve out time for prayer, Bible-reading, and genuine reflection. I still have to weigh my decisions in my mind, and unfortunately I still make the wrong ones on occasion. I guess wise monk perfection is still not in sight (just to be clear, it never will be. That's the definition of humanit...

I can’t believe it, but I’m officially in my last location: the Philippines!!! I honestly love it here (the tropics is definitely my style). During these five weeks, the other gappies and I are working with a ministry called International Care Ministries. One of the most well-run NGOs I've ever encountered, the ministry has a program called Transform to improve the lives of those living in slum communities by teaching simple lessons about Virtues, Health, and Livelihood (VHL). What I love most about this program is that the communities themselves ask ICM to engage. Instead of implying our superiority through unsolicited classes, we are equals. Further provoking this theme, the local pastor is the one to teach the “virtues” portion of the program. That way, the relationships, small groups, and church setting is unchanged once ICM leaves the area. We foster an environment that can hopefully be sustained long after our departure. (Creating dependence should a...