Well Month 1 and 2 have come and gone and we are on our way into Month 3. Haiti was one that I will always remember. A stretching month of trying to figure things out on my own strength. A month of not giving enough up to the Lord and letting it fog my mind instead of letting go. A month of relationships with 17 beautiful kiddos that weren’t in vain. Then on to month 2 that looked so different.
Bolivia was peaceful but different. I found refuge in the Lord and my squadmates. What I like about the race is that each month looks completely different. This month was very different for us. Hermano Lucho was our lovely host for this month. Lucho is one of the owners of El Puente Camp, which host Christians of all ages to come away for a weekend from their home. Much like church camp for high school students back at home. When the people come to this camp they have their own program set up. Hermano Lucho is in charge of making sure everything is set up, cleaned and beautiful for them. Our form of assistance this month was to come alongside Lucho and help him do the things he couldn’t do with just him and his work partner, Taio. Lucho had wanted to make a cobblestone pathway throughout the camp to allow better access to things. He had been praying for hands to come and help him, but had been worried because he had no money to get helpers. That’s where we came in and ended up being a blessing towards him.
The whole process was tedious, but what I realized is that much like the cobblestone path there were a lot of things I had to work on this month. This was realizing the value of the strengths I bring. It’s interesting being with 40 other people to compare yourself too. Human nature is big with comparison. This is something that I have always struggled with, and something that I would love to rid myself of. This month it was over my strengths.
I think the coolest thing about this month is I found WHO I AM. Not who I necessarily wanted to be. I found out who this girl is. I found out that my strengths are good things. I found out that my strengths I want are also good things. I have started to truly believe that I am loved, cared for and needed on this team and squad. I believe that was a big part of what was holding me back in Haiti. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. I felt stretched, but didn’t allow the Lord to remind me that it was good. I didn’t allow the Lord to work at all. Who knew the tedious task of laying rocks could help me define these things. Who knew that finding rocks could be much like finding my strengths. Who knew that pulling up the roots could allow me to see the things I needed to identify as lies. Who knew that I could see the way I fit in with my strengths by the simple puzzle piece of a cobblestone pathway. I have always been a visual person, but I never visualized the whole process of this race beginning to be laid out in front of me through a month that I felt the least useful in ministry. I know that this month was not in vain and that it is building us for something greater in months to come. Here I am sitting in Peru, ready for what the Lord is going to teach me this month. I am feeling more comfortable in my skin, more confident in who I am in the Lord and more willing for Him to use the people of Peru to teach me more of His ways.
