You’re in Xenacoj Sacatepequez Guatemala sharing a room with ten other girls. You’re missing Libertad, El Salvador, but you’re excited for Honduras as well- or wherever you’re going.
I know you never thought you’d write that. I know you never even dreamed of it. I know you think you dream big. You know what, this adventure wasn’t even your idea.
Don’t freak out, but here’s the deal: you’re on a mission trip to 11 counties in Central and South America for 11 months. You’re struggling with Spanish. You’re struggling with trusting the Lord with your dreams. You’re struggling with being wrong and being in control.
I want to tell you some things that no one told you, but they should have. Everything you’re doing is only distracting you from intimacy with the Lord. Everything. Your problems and fears will not go away by avoiding then. You don’t even realize your distracted – television, friends, shopping, social media, books… Everything. And yeah, going to the Lord is harder in America. Even here, though, it’s a choice.
I’ve learned things about us in the last five weeks, and I think you should know. You’re good with kids. You think and say things differently, and that’s a good thing. You have good ideas. You’re brave. You’re useful. You contribute. You’re enough.
Jesus is pursuing you and this has was always his plan for you. You’ve screwed up along the way. But his grace and mercy aren’t just religious ideas. It’s about a friendship that allows mistakes, a lovely relationship. He always had this adventure waiting for you.
So stop what you’re doing. Go outside. Listen and read.
John 1:29-34, John 3:30, and Matthew 11:2-5. Don’t be afraid to believe and don’t be afraid to tell him when you’re doubting.
Joel 2:25 I never liked my past, it was never worth it to me for where I was. But from the first sight of El Salvador, it was worth every second.
So start loving from where you are, what you’re doing and what you’re going through because in the most circuitous and necessary way it’s leading you to life and light and overflowing. It’s leading you to the Lord.
John 13:7 You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but one day you will.
