This blog is from Tues Feb 22. I wanted to share this with you as I haven`t been on the internet this month.
Today was a rough day overall for me. Our team went into the jungle to do some farming. It was a 40 minute hike through the jungle to get there. There was deep mud, bodies of water to walk across and lots of bugs. We wore rubber boots which was great for the deep mud. Mine were a little too small which I realized later on. As a result of this I had sore feet and one big blister on my toe. We got to the family`s farm and were told we were going to plant corn. Great I thought, that can`t be too hard. It wasn`t too sunny which was a blessing. The area is all open so no shade. Regardless it was hot and humid. Within minutes my entire body was pure sweat. Sweat was everywhere. I believe I never sweat so much in my life. My pant legs were wet, my shirt was soaked and every part of my body was stinking of sweat.
The men and women working there put a little hole in the ground with a stick and we followed behind them to put 3 kernels of corn in the hole. We were actually planting corn. It was a lot of bending down and repitition. We took little breaks to drink plenty of water.
Near the end after finishing the whole field I was feeling gross and sore. I just wanted to get home and take a bucket bath and get out of my clothes. Again I was thinking about myself. The walk home was rough as my feet hurt and my blisters were bad. I walked slow and started to cry. I was frustrated, overwhelmed and not feeling great. My thought was “God I have reached my limit and I am done“ and “get me out of here I just want to go home“ Unfortunately I realized later on that due my selfishness and pity party I missed so much of God`s beauty all around me. We were after all in the jungle and the beauty of it was wonderful. I came home tired, grumpy and pure miserable.
After a great lunch prepared by my teammates I had some queit time with God. It was in that time that alot was revealed to me. I listened to worship music and read his word. I then cried some more and asked God how he could love me after the bad attitude I had today. I felt unworthy of such love and grace. God reminded me of his love for me and that his grace was sufficient. God then made me come to realize that today we were actually planting seeds. I always think of what we are doing is planting seeds in the community we work in. This time it became very real to me. We planted the seeds that in 6 months would be corn so the people could eat it. I wish I could be here to see the end result.
God made me realize that I am like the tiny seed of corn. I am the seed that he is planting and I am continually growing in my faith walk. In the midst of my misery and self pity I forgot the true meaning of why we were here. We as missionaries are planting the seeds. This is just the beginning. Wow what an awesome God we serve. By the end of the day I was grateful and happy that God reminded me of these things. All I needed was a wake up call once again.
This is just a glimpse of what we are doing in the jungle of km 17 Ecuador. Even though it is often hot and humid it is beautiful in and of itself.
