Ok, so I’ve loved how close I have gotten to my Father, and I’m so excited at the thought of getting even closer.
So, month one, my main struggle was getting used to not having my family within arms reach. It was rough in the beginning, but with each passing day it gets better and better. I miss and love them all the same, but I’ve been learning to keep my focus on God and to enjoy His peace.
Time out…gotta get another coffee refill real quick (Guatemalan coffee is AMAZING, btw!)…
Ok, so back to telling what God has been doing 🙂 I just love it.
So, I won’t lie. As we were leaving El Salvador, I couldn’t help myself… I allowed thoughts of “Nothing will be able to compare to this” creep into my mind.
Well, let me stop right there and say that as soon as I thought it, I had to refuse that from staying there and growing in my mind. I refuse to compare ministry sites to that degree. This journey God has called me on is not at all about if one month beats another month! It’s about growing in my relationship with the Lord, and it’s about joining Him in His work, wherever that is at. I loved El Salvador, and I love Guatemala!
At debrief, I got the awesome opportunity to talk to Vanessa (squad mentor…she’s freakin’ awesome!). I was telling her how I feel like a completely different person than I was just a month ago and that I really want to experience God in even more new ways. Her challenge to me was to pray and ask God for something tangible. So, what did I ask God for? I asked Him for my favorite flower, orange roses. That was on a Wednesday, I believe. On Friday, we packed up and made our way out to our ministry site for the month. When we sat down to begin our introduction, I look across the yard…and what do I see, but orange roses!! I was speechless. Up until that day, I had only seen orange roses in pictures. They are gorgeous!
As we are listening to our contact that Friday, I find out he is from North Carolina! How random (or not so much…) is it that I leave North Carolina, following God to Central and South America, only to meet our contact in Guatemala, who is from the place I call home.
And then, if we back up to about Tuesday, I can tell you about the day I God showed me the first thing… So, I saw a random (again, maybe not so random) North Carolina license plate hanging on the wall of a Guatemalan restaurant.
I just sit here and smile as I think about these things, because I feel Him speaking right back to me. He shows me the orange roses in response to a prayer I prayed, asking Him to show me new things about Him so I can know Him even better. He shows me the license plate from North Carolina and gives me a contact from North Carolina as a simple piece of home, as yet another sign to tell me I am EXACTLY where I am supposed to be. It’s the little things..it really is.
Time is flying. I’m loving every second of it…and I love how I feel closer and closer to Him day by day, and He has become the first one I go to when I begin my day, when I need someone to talk to… I just have become aware of Him more and more each day. It’s so awesome. <3
With love,
Ash
