“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father…� James 1:17.
Are we thankful kids?
God has been challenging me to actually look for His hand, His answers to prayer, His intervention and presence and miracles, in my day-to-day life. I ask for things from Him a lot. We prayer-walk almost every day here, wandering through local communities, smiling at the people we pass and sometimes stopping for conversations, impromptu soccer games, or to pray healing and life over someone. Yet often I overlook the ways He answers, or forget to stop and give Him praise as readily as I stop and make a request.
James’ words hit me this morning. How many good and perfect things the Father has blessed me with, just in the week we have been her in Apastepeque!
I am surrounded by an incredible community here. My team is continually growing together, learning what it means to create a safe environment of honor and love. The extra downtime that we have this month is giving us opportunity to press into relationship with one another even more as we continue to share our testimonies and speak life into each other. Transparency is taking on a whole new meaning as we lay everything out on the table and are rewarded with the gift of being fully known and loved for who we are, no matter where we’ve been and what junk haunts our pasts. We are paired with Hugh’s team, who are also blessing me in huge ways. This group of godly men and women continually inspires me to hunger more for the Lord and long to see Him move in supernatural ways.
A couple nights ago, Emily, Katie H, and I climbed onto the roof of the haunting brick structure across the street from us… it reminds me of an overgrown walled garden. As darkness fell, we sat beneath the stars with my guitar, worshipping our glorious Creator. Emily and I lay there for over an hour, talking and savoring the beautiful moment in God’s presence. When we sat up and flashed our headlights on, we realized we were not alone! One of the neighbor boys had been lying just feet away in the shadows, apparently listening to our music and conversation for quite some time. We laughed and called out, “Buenos noche!� as we climbed down.
Yesterday was a beautiful gift. For our day off, Victor drove the 14 of us (along with Sara) to a waterfall about 2 hours away… in a pick-up truck! Nine of us piled into the bed, while the rest smashed inside. It was the most exhilarating, wind-blown cruise yet! The waterfall was utterly gorgeous and worth every cramped muscle. Hugh climbed up onto the rocks above the pool (which was less than 6 feet deep) and jumped while we watched with mixed horror and wonder. But once he emerged from the water unharmed, others weren’t far behind. I had sworn I wouldn’t jump even as I climbed up the rocks, and then came the moment of truth and as I stood on the rock ledge looking down, my team cheering me on… and I knew there was no turning back.
The moment my feet left the rock, that rush made me wonder why I’d even hesitated.
Cuz that’s what my Father does!
And, my body feels whole today! Despite the parasite that I discovered has taken up residence in my digestive tract (a teammate and I got tested a couple days ago and our suspicions were confirmed…) But I finally got the right meds, thanks to Nurse Julie, and I am back in the game. No amoeba is keeping me down!
Cuz that’s who our Father is.
