It’s easy to get caught up in the comparison game, especially when your world race squad is incredible and all the teams were doing amazing things for the Kingdom at their very different ministry sites all over Colombia this past month. But it’s also easy to get caught up in the comparison game just in every day life-jobs, friends relationships, social life-how does my life measure up to the lives of the people around me? It was way too easy for me to look at my month in Planeta Rica and hold it up against other people’s months and say, “hello, God? Yeah, it’s me, ashley. Where were you this month?” It was way too easy to hear the stories of the miraculous ways that God showed up through other teams to cast out demons and heal people this month and say, “but why not me? Why didn’t You do those things through me this month?” But here’s the thing, comparison is a thief-it steals the joy the Lord has for you right where you’re at. And here’s the other thing, yeah my month may not have looked exactly the same as some of the other teams’ months, but that doesn’t mean that God wasn’t present. God was there the whole time! And He was doing different, but still incredible things through my team this month! How boring would it be if He always showed up in the same way for every person and every story was the exact same? The big crazy ways that God shows up are worth celebrating and celebrating big! But the seemingly pedestrian, pedantic ways that often times go unnoticed because we are too busy waiting around for the big things are worth celebrating and celebrating big too!!
So here’s a list of just some of the Acts 4:20s from my month in Planeta Rica. Acts 4:20 says that we cannot help but share the things that we have seen or heard-the ways that we have seen God show up and move, no matter how big or how small!! And wow, God has done some beyond natural human ability things this month and I just can’t help but share them and I hope you share in every single little and big victory with us too!
1. There is this guy that worked at the church that we partnered with named Carlitos. He invited us to go to his mother’s house and meet his family. As we were walking there he asked us if we would invite his mom to come to the church service that evening because she had stopped coming to church and he really wanted for her to get plugged back in with community. So of course, we invited her and she said she would think about it. I didn’t expect her to show up, it’s a long walk from her house to the church and she had lots of things to do around the house, but a couple minutes before the service was supposed to start I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around and there she was!! And it made my heart so incredibly happy!!
2. There was a little boy who we thought was named Luis, but we later found out is really named Manuel, that was at one of the feeding programs that we got to help out with and all the other kids picked on him and he would never smile at any of us, but on our third week of being there he let us hug him and tickle him and he laughed and smiled and hugged back and it was the sweetest thing in the entire world.
3. On one of our first days in Planeta Rica, the pastor took us to the beach. We got to relax and soak up some sun and just be silly and have fun. While we were swimming, a lady swam up to us and was asking us about what we were doing in Colombia. After telling her all about how we were on the world race and how we were serving at a church and helping out with their feeding programs, she told us about the kids in the areas where the feeding programs are and how there are lots of kids that die from malnutrition in those areas and how thankful she was for what we were doing and what we were going to do and it just felt like God was sending me confirmation that this is where I was supposed to be and this is what I was supposed to be doing.
4. So during our time in Planeta Rica, we stayed at host homes, members of the church opened up their homes for us to stay in. Sara Lou and I lived with the Bravo family. They were so wonderful to us and so welcoming and so accommodating, but at first they were so hard to communicate with. I couldn’t understand a single word the host mom was saying to me and it was horrible. But I prayed and prayed that God would help me to communicate and connect with her and guess what, HE DID!! By the end of our stay there we were crying as we hugged and kissed goodbye and she was asking us when we would be back!
5. Our host family had 2 daughters. While we were there the oldest daughter turned 20. She was so cold towards us at first, she wouldn’t even smile or wave at us. All we got was an angry stare. But slowly she began to open up to us. I was persistent in saying hello to her and smiling at her and showing her love any way I could. Then one night at church service, as soon as she walked into the church she ran right up to me with the biggest smile on her face and gave the biggest, warmest hug and it melted me sweet little heart.
6. One of ladies that acted as our translator while we were there was named Luzkelly. She was also an English teacher at one of the schools in town. She invited us to come to her school and help out on her English classes. I honestly didn’t really want to go, but I went any way. And I am so glad that I did!! The kids welcomed us with open arms and they just showered us with love. They let us sing songs with them and dance with them and just be kids with them and even though we only spent one morning with them, they will always have a very special place in my heart and it is one of my favorite memories from our time in Planeta Rica. It’s funny how God always shows up, even when we don’t want to.
7. There was one day where we didn’t really have a lot going on, so we decided to walk around and let the Holy Spirit lead us to where He wanted us to go. We walked and walked and no one was getting anything, just radio silence. We ended up walking past my host dad’s shop, so we went in and talked with him for a little bit and then we prayed with him. As soon as we finished praying for him, he said, “hey you know what? I have a friend who owns a shop that’s right down the street. She could really use some prayer. Would y’all want to go over and pray for her?” So he pointed out where her shop was and we walked over there. We found out that she’s the only Believer in her family and that she was feeling defeated and in need of some encouragement so we spoke Life over her and prayed for her. As soon as we finished praying for her, she said, “hey you know what? The guy who owns the shop next to me could really use some encouragement and prayer. I’ve been inviting him to come to church with me, but he always says no. Would you all want to walk over and pray for him?” So of course, we walked next door and prayed for him. And the Holy Spirit was there and moving in him and we never would’ve even walked into his store if we wouldn’t have stopped to talk and pray with my host dad.
8. One night after the church service, some of the young adults at the church invited us to go over to their house and eat pancakes. Honestly, when am I not down to eat pancakes? So naturally, I jumped at the opportunity. It started off a little awkward, they don’t really speak English and we don’t really speak Spanish and so it was really hard to involved everyone in the conversation. But we ended up having so much fun!! We joked and laughed and ate yummy pancakes and stayed out way past my bedtime and it just goes to show that love and laughter and fun don’t have a language barrier.
9. We had a really hard time at first connecting with the pastor and his family. They were nice and friendly towards us, but we wanted to really get to know them and pursue them, but it’s hard when you don’t speak the same language. One day we asked the pastor’s daughters if we could paint their nails for them. They were a little hesitant at first, but they finally agreed. We washed their feet and painted their nails and had a fun little girly day and it was just the best time! And for the next couple days we went around showing off our pretty painted nails to each other.
10. One afternoon, one of the sweetest members of the church invited over to her house. It was hot and I was sleepy and it was a long walk from the church to her house and I really didn’t want to go, but she was opening up her home to us and inviting us into her world and so I couldn’t say no. She greeted us with the most delicious fruit smoothies and pan dulce and freshly sliced mango and it was so wonderful. We made a mannequin challenge video with her daughter and some of the other kids that live in her neighborhood. And there were so much laughter and silliness and Jesus!!
11. One of our first nights, we went to visit another church in a poorer rural area. We were in charge of running the children’s ministry during the service and we were told to prepare some activities for about 20 minutes. In typical Colombian fashion, the service went way longer than 20 minutes and we ran out of things to do long before they were finished and so we had to just wing it. It was hard and draining and a little awkward, but still fun. On the drive back into town, I rode in the back of the pastor’s pick up truck. As we were driving back, I looked up at the sky and wow!! The stars out there were just incredible!! And I was reminded that even during the hard days of ministry, God is still there and He is still good and I was just awestruck by how the God of the universe who created the earth and the heavens and placed all the stars in the sky would want to know me and have a relationship with me and love me so much that He would sent His only son to a broken messed up world to die so that I could spend forever with Him!!
12. One night, they asked us to go visit with a family who had stopped coming to church. Once we got there, they asked if one of us had prepared a testimony that we wanted to share with them. We all panicked! What?! No one had told us that we would be sharing!! We just thought we were tagging along, there for moral support! We sat in awkward silence for a second, then I finally said, “umm I can share a little bit of my testimony I guess.” This may not seem like a big deal to some people, but I was terrified. I believed for a long time that my story wasn’t worth telling because it’s just mediocre, nothing special, but the Truth is my story is a miracle because I once was dead but God gave me Life! And so I shared a little piece of my testimony right there in the spot with this family that I had just met 2 seconds ago and the coolest thing happened. The little piece that I shared lined up so perfectly with the message that the pastor that had come with us had prepared to share with the family! Even though it caught me off guard, God knew what He was up to the whole time and it was so awesome!
13. One day during our tribe we decided to do listening prayer. One of the things I had been struggling with was comparing the way that God speaks to me with the way that He speaks to other people. He knows exactly what we need and He meets us right where we’re at and He personalizes the way that He speaks to us to fit how He designed us. But I wanted Him to speak to me in a different way, not the way that He wants to speak to me and the way that He designed for me to understand Him best, but a way that He speaks to some others around me. I was playing the comparison game once again and I was losing and being robbed of the joy that God had for me right where I was at. But He sent me the biggest wake up during our time of listening prayer that day, like Ashley, I may not speak to you the way you want me to, but I speak you! Me, the author of the universe, I speak to you and I want to speak to you! And man, it was everything I needed to hear and more. I am thankful that God knows way better than I do how and what I need to hear the things He wants to speak to me!
14. On our last day at the feeding program at La Fortuna, I was feeling like I wish I could’ve spent more time with the kids there, like I could’ve connected with them more. Then the cutest little girl came over to me and asked if she could sit in my lap. We snuggled and chatted and it made me realize that even though I didn’t get to spend a lot of time in La Fortuna, that the time that I had gotten to spend there was worth it! Even if it was just to love on that one little girl!
15. During one of our visits to one of the other feeding programs in Loma de Piedras, we were attacked by all these little girls who wanted to be carried. They would pull on us and cling to us and cry and cry until we finally picked them up. And it was exhausting, but also so so sweet. These girls not only had hungry bellies, but also hungry hearts, starving for affection. And we were able to show them the love of Jesus that day, something that they had never really encountered before, and it was absolutely beautiful and worth every single moment of hair pulling and shirt stretching and arm cramping.
16. One day, the pastor invited us to go out to his family’s farm. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but he was inviting us into his personal life and I was in! Even though I watched a chicken be slaughtered right in front of me and an iguana be snatched open so that they could take the eggs out of her, it was one of the most incredible days! We got to spend some good quality time with the pastor and his family and just get to know them a little better, which was something we had been praying for all month!
17. There was one boy in Planeta Rica named Fernando. He was a little different and it seemed like he didn’t really have a ton of friends, but he was so drawn to us, or really the Jesus in us, even though he doesn’t know that, he just wanted to be around us all the time. Not gonna lie, loving him was hard sometime. He was a lot to take in sometimes and he would show up at inconvenient times. He wanted so badly to be loved and accepted, but he was searching for those things in all the wrong places. But we got to tell Him that He is noticed and loved and accepted by the best friend any one could ever ask for, Jesus!
18. On our last night, the pastor threw a little going away party for us. I had been asking myself a lot, “what did we even do with our time here? Did we make a difference? Was this a waste of time?” But wow, seeing all of our new Colombian friends in that circle saying how much they loved us and enjoyed having us there was so so so worth it! We got to really connect with and love so many people! We got to show them Jesus and encourage them to tell their friends about Jesus too! Our time wasn’t wasted at all, God was there and He was on the move in beautiful ways!!
