ohhh, my heart is so so so full. what an incredible month. i keep waiting for it to get hard and the Lord keeps blessing me and making it better and better. i even prayed for brokenness in hopes that the hard would come, so I could get it over with and move on, but He told me to wait. He’s got me in a season of harvest, I guess…full of joy, laughter and Him.
again, He blew expectations (you’d think i’d learn to quit having those by now) out of the water this month – I’ve never created such real relationships with people in such a short time. the house we worked in has three couples in it and we became family. we laughed with each other a lot, cried with each other, played volleyball (meaning I got hit in the face with a volleyball a lot), went on picnics, did dishes, prayed, sang, and did life.
these people understand grace better than anyone i’ve ever met. i guess he who is forgiven of much, loves much. but, the passion they have not only for Jesus, but for everything in life is something I wish I could muster up. when you’ve been so very near to death and destruction and literally given life back, vigor for life is apparent and sets an incredible example of what living should look like.
I have been worried that this month has been too much fun…that I couldn´t have possibly made a difference if I´ve laughed this much. I was praying about it yesterday and asking the Lord to please just show me something that we did here that mattered. and this morning during encuentro (daily morning Bible Study with the couples) one of the guys had something to say to us. he called us by name and thanked us for showing him how to have fun and laugh without drugs and alcohol…that we made a difference this month in his life…quickly and perfectly answered prayer!
not everything there is happy though. we watched a couple graduate the program and fear the “real world.” we watched couples fight and want to leave. we watched a new couple come and make it less than 24 hours before they did leave…and throughout it all, I’ve been reminded that the Lord knows their hearts, struggles and hurts. He loves them more than I love them. He can love through me…but, it’s not my job to fix them – it’s my job to love them and show them Jesus through the choices they make and the hurts they have.
i’m so thankful that they accepted us into their lives like they did. they would tease us like old friends, hug us like family, ask questions you’d only ask your best friend and embrace vulnerability by sharing their stories. but, our favorite memory is talent show night (being talentless, they’ve never been something i look forward to). the boys house was up playing a native song with a drum, pan flute and acoustic guitar and two of the men from our house jump up and hold out their hands to me and Brie, asking us to dance. they tried to teach us a Bolivian dance of some sort – in front of everyone! we looked outrageous, but I couldn’t stop smiling for hours. there was just something about them overlooking that they would look silly, choosing us, and loving us through laughter that felt so special. it was such an affirmation to the relationships we created.
it’s been a long month – ministry was 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week. but the Lord blessed us with time to “vacation” to Chile, unending laughter, hot showers and incredible relationships. these relationships literally changed how i look at life…i want to live it with more passion. invest more. love more. laugh more. live with intention and recognize grace. even though my mind is exhausted, my heart is rejuvenated…and I’m pretty sure thats the point of all of this anyways.
so, we have a few more days in El Alto and leave for La Paz on Saturday morning. after we say bye here (which will be the hardest goodbye yet), we’ll meet up with our entire squad, spend 2 nights in a hostel in the city and then head out to Peru (by bus) for next month. I don’t know anything about what it looks like…but, I know I’m excited – this will be my third time to Peru and I know I love it there. I can’t wait to see what life will look like.
as always, thank you for reading, praying and loving.
