I had no expectations of Chile. I literally had little to no research done before coming on the race. Chile was one of those countries that I never planned to visit. I think that’s one of the best things that I could have done. Chile blew my mind and took a piece of me that I didn’t even know I had. I learned so much of myself, Jesus, my desires and my future. This month was mind-blowing and I cannot wait to share it with you.
Before the race I lived my life knowing about Jesus and about God. I knew that God was greater than me, I prayed and tried to follow the commandments as much as I could with the little knowledge I had of them and mostly because of the values instilled in me by my own parents. I will be the first to tell you that by no means did I live my life perfectly, but I am a rule follower most of the time and I tried my best. Still, something was missing. I didn’t have a relationship with Christ. I didn’t have a one to one every morning with him, I didn’t have this bond that I feel now, the bond that has grown faster and faster the last 9 months. To my non-believers, I know this is a hard concept to grasp when thinking about “having a relationship with Christ.” Believe me when I tell you it took time, but believe me even more when I tell you it has been the best thing that has transformed my life in the best way possible. In order to have a relationship with someone, we first must get to know them. So, I started reading my bible. Before I left for the race I bought the simplest reading version so that I can first understand and then later study what I was learning. (My version of the bible is NLT). Every morning for most of the days on the race I have read little by little. It is hard not to start believing in Christ when you open your heart and mind and allow for the words to envelope both. The bible is full of the wisdom, knowledge, clarification and love that comes from God. It has been super cool to see how God has been changing my life simply by accepting him into my heart. This is why I caption my Instagram and Facebook posts #becauseisaidyes. I said YES to Jesus when I was asked if I believed he died for me to have eternal life. Anyway, it was been an amazing experience to give my life to him and live to serve him and others in every corner of the world. My month in Chile really helped me strengthen my relationship with him even more.
God showed me this month that he will always use me. He is going to use me wherever I go. I was raised by my mom and dad, I was raised in the states with Mexican roots and every single person I have encountered in South America has been blown away by how I speak both languages. At first, I was exhausted, I was tired of speaking and translating everything. I was tired of feeling like I was only being the a translator for our team. However, God showed me that in fact I was a gateway. Both our family in Argentina and every single one we encountered in Chile were able to love us well and we were able to love them even more simply because there was no language barrier. The Lord showed me how way back when, when my parents decided to leave their home that He knew he would use me to roam around the nations and translate everything as we spread the kingdom. It took me a while to accept that I am different. It took me a while to allow for the “different” to be a good thing for my team and ultimately for the glory of God. One day I was having a conversation with one of our kids we worked with this month and I suddenly realized how privileged I was even so far away from home. I have been able to build a relationship with the people we have encountered like no one else has been able to. I felt and expressed the love with no barriers at all. I was able to do ministry in two languages. Now, why did it take me two months to realize this? Because the enemy likes to take a hold of your mind and your thoughts. It took me this long to finally accept it because it was hard work to speak, think, feel and translate all at the same time. So, this month the Lord used a new avenue to snap me out of the enemy’s grip and helped me stay present every single day. I began to realize God’s purpose for my life in South America, I started believing in my heart what my own dad, and what God always says about me. This is one of the reasons why I don’t have the words to express how Chile has changed my heart.
Chile blew my mind, it caught me off-guard and captured my heart. We had the opportunity to serve alongside first time world race hosts and their children. They did a fantastic job, hosts of the year honestly. Now, their children. I don’t know if I have ever met more loving, kind, welcoming humans in all the world. If you took all the Jesus you’ve seen and crammed it in one box, that’s how they felt…AND THEY WERE STRANGERS JUST WEEKS AGO. How on Earth does someone fall in love with people they have never met before in their lives??? Jesus. The answer is that our focus was the love of God that coexisted between all of us. There was multiple nights where we all hung out, laughed, ate ice cream and just enjoyed each other’s company and I thought, “this must be what heaven feels like”. I know you have seen all the post, and they just don’t do them justice. We served them and they served us. Now if only the rest of the world treated each other this way, we’d all be happy. Well, this little family of mine taught me one very special thing. They were the perfect example of how I want to serve God for the rest of my life… I want to serve with my own family. I learned that the race may be over but that doesn’t mean I have to go back to the earthly life I had back in the U.S. I learned that I can serve in my own home and still feel the same radical experiences I have all year without having to move to the other side of the world. (I knew this, but now it just felt more tangible.) Chile blew my mind because of the hospitality, respect, love and affection they deeply felt for us. I can’t even imagine how the Lord can top this month, but there is no doubt in my mind that he will.
