THE BEGINNINGS
Joana Karlguth, Vision carrier and leader of buhay, takes you on a journey how buhay started.
Hello!
My name is Joana Karlguth, I was born in 1992 and originally come from Hückeswagen in North Rhine-Westphalia. I now live in the Philippines and in Oldenburg.
My vision beyond the classroom
It has always been my dream to become a teacher and to accompany others on their journey through life. For this reason, it came as no surprise to anyone when I started my degree in English/American Studies and History at the University of Wuppertal in 2011.
The goal of becoming a teacher and thus achieving my dream got me through every semester. Nevertheless, I already felt at the beginning of my studies that God would lead me somewhere else one day. I completed my bachelor's degree at the beginning of 2016.
In the meantime, I had gained some experience abroad in Australia, on the Fiji Islands and in Costa Rica. During these trips, I was confronted everywhere with the misery of people in the poorest regions. ‘It can't be that I can't do anything about this suffering.’ This thought manifested itself more and more.
Be the organizer
I couldn’t shake the thought of so many valuable lives going unnoticed—people without enough food or recognition—while I lived a life of privilege.
I made a deal with God: if he had placed this vision on my heart to step out of my comfort zoned serve the poorest of the poor, then I would go. But I told him: "You have to be the organizer."
I continued my studies, never forgetting the vision growing inside me. I wrestled with the question, "God, where are you in all the suffering?" But then I realized the more pressing question: "Where am I in the suffering of the world?" I began to understand that God wants to work through us to reach those in need.I knew I was blessed, and that meant I also had a responsibility. I could no longer ignore the injustice of the world's blessings being unevenly distributed. I felt called to respond by sharing what I had to help alleviate others' suffering.
The Challenge
The sermon by Tobias Teichen, Dangerous Prayers –Challenge Accepted, had a significant impact on my journey. It was about making myself available to God and trusting Him to work through me. I realized it wasn’t about my abilities, finances, orresources, but about being willing. God wasn’t looking for perfect people; He was looking for people who were willing to trust Him and let Him work through them.
Not a drop in the ocean
The Bible says that we should share our food with the hungry and give a home to the homeless. We should open our hearts to the hungry and help those in need (Isaiah 58:7-11). At the same time, it also means that everything is possible for me through Jesus, who gives me the strength I need (Philippians 4:13). On the one hand, my personal mission to meet the poor in suffering became clearer and clearer to me and at the same time I got to know God more and more: A loving God who wants to meet the poor through me and will give me the strength and resources I need to continue on my journey.
I have no other life here - just this one! Stop talking - start doing!
I came to know that I am loved and accepted by God, and that my worth and dignity come from Him. They don’t depend on circumstances, opinions, or achievements. I didn’t do anything to be born in Germany, to live in safety and abundance, or to have access to education. So many are denied these privileges, often forcing them into poverty, depression, or crime. I can't save the Philippines, but I don't believe believe in the idea of "just a drop in the ocean." Every life is valuable, and everyone deserves to be seen and appreciated.
In 2016-2017, I lived in Leer, East Frisia, and taught at a comprehensive school. This time deepened my understanding of how much impact we can have on others. I want to live a life motivated by love and the actions that flow from it.
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
– Martin Luther King
Practical beginnings
I remember a dream I had shortly before receiving the vision for Buhay: I knocked on a wooden door in a poor district with five friends and asked the people what they needed. That dream was the start of the journey. On April 19, 2017, I received the vision: “Leave what you have—your job, apartment, family, and friends. Go with what you have and how I created you to the Philippines, ask the people what they need, and you will see that I, God, have already prepared everything."
That night, I messaged Moritz and others from my dream: “Shall we travel to Asia, ask the people what they need, and see what God has prepared?” They all declined.But later, they all ended up in the Philippines the following year. I realized then that if God gives you a vision, it’s not your job to force it into reality—He will open the doors.
In May 2017, I shared the vision with a friend, and her reaction was defining. She pulled out a €10 note, wrote, “All began with 10 Euros. May 5, 2017,” and handed it to me, saying, “I believe in the dream God has placed in your heart."
In Manila
When we, Moritz and I, arrived in the Philippines on 10 January 2018 and had a first sleepless night behind us, I felt very bad. One reason for this sleepless night was that our friend Laura, who wanted to accompany us for the first few days on site, couldn't be reached after her arrival at the airport and it took hours for her driver to find our hostel. So on 10 January 2018, I stood at the window of a high-rise building on the 28th floor and looked out over a sea of corrugated iron huts, tower blocks, cars, buses and people that looked like tiny dots from there.
There is no suitable picture for this moment, but the following can give you an idea of what my gaze fell on at that moment:
A feeling of fear and shame came over me. So many people knew that I had left my job, home, family, friends and my country because of a vision I thought I had received from God. And what if it didn't work out now? Again I stared at the sea of huts and said: ‘God, there are two possibilities here: Either You've misspoken (which is unlikely - we know that) or I've really misheard You. All of this is impossible.’ Suddenly I became very calm inside and my thoughts were directed to the back of the vision: ’[...] and you will see that I, God himself, have already prepared everything.’
And so we began to live in Manila, day by day, step by step, and every day we asked God in prayer: Where have you prepared something for us?
What we are now is God's work alone. He has created us anew through Jesus Christ to do good. We now fulfil what God has already prepared for us in advance.
So we got to know people and places in the craziest ways. Buhay spread throughout Germany and more and more people were willing to support the project.
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