It’s amazing I have only been in Chile for a week. God has been showing up in some pretty amazing ways here in Calama.
At the church where we are serving, they hosted a missionary day recruiting missionaries from Chile to go to Europe. The head speaker was looking for someone to speak briefly at the end and he landed on me. He said I was the pastor and he needed me to connect with the people. I didn’t know why. Honestly, I discounted myself and wondered why he didn’t ask flick (one of my teammates, super chill dude, great love for the lord)? Flick’s the man for this job I thought. But I ended up agreeing and telling him my story and it fit perfectly for his mission. To connect with people. To be vulnerable and open about my past struggles and the redemption story God has given me and how it has lead me here on this journey.
I was afraid to speak all day. I didn’t want to do it at all. But I knew God was asking me to. Speaking and sharing my story is something I don’t love doing but God has told me I better get used to it. So it’s funny to me that on the second day here I get that opportunity. I knew it would happen I just thought it would be a few months in. But God doesn’t care about my plans or my timeline. He has his own agenda and I’m blessed to be apart of it.
Something that really touched me is the knife I received from David after. I shared in my story about how part of this trip is for God to initiate me into a man of God. Feeling like no one had led me there since I lost my dad at a young age that has been a reason why I chose this adventure. After I spoke David, the man who asked me to speak, gave me his knife. He said “I love this knife and I give it to you. You are a man of God.” That’s probably one of the most meaningful gifts and statements I’ve ever received and I wouldn’t have gotten either of them if I just let someone else stand in where God wanted me.
