First morning in Argentina – I open my eyes and look over to the other bunk bed across the room. My eyes meet two beautiful brown eyes starring back at me from under the covers. I heard a soft sweet voice say, “como te llamas?”
This month I lived with three of the girls who live here at Adulam- ages 23, 21, and 8, and I absolutely loved it! The team I’m with this month lived in the room across the hall. Each morning I’d hear the girls get the youngest ready for school and head to the main dining hall. Each night I’d have conversations with them about life. We talked about when we accepted Christ into our lives, where our families were from, how people respond to Christ around the world, and parts of our stories. All in Spanish. I wouldn’t trade this month for the world.
Some nights other girls from the building would come and gather. They’d share stories about their lives and ask questions about my life. One night they told me about their birthdays and how three of the girls had a big party recently for their quinceaneras.
During our second week here, I had a lot of congestion and a mini cold, so I slept in and took some naps. One of the times, my sweet eight year old roommate came in to check on me. She gently pulled the eye mask off my eyes and asked how I was doing. She put her hands on my cheeks to check my temperature and told me to keep sleeping and feel better.
As I got ready to leave Pontevedra last week, the Lord brought to mind the key I received in January from Keys for the Journey, a business from a past world racer. Each key gets prayed over, and the Lord gives him a prophetic word for each person. In January at launch, I received my key with the word “trust” on it.
Trust was the perfect word for this year. I felt like in various ways my trust had been tainted or broken. I became skeptical of people. I didn’t know the right balance between giving trust too quickly and never giving it. In the midst of change, graduating, new people, and the start to this eleven month adventure – I needed trust. I needed to rest in the promise that God says He will never leave or forsake us. I needed this firm foundation and steady rock to sit on. I needed that before the race, and I needed it in this new journey.
The Lord has taught me a lot about trust over the last eight months. Month one, we jumped right into full ministry days and all of the newness. That month He taught me about depending on the Lord. I needed to depend on the Lord in each new thing and with the new team. Following that, the Lord spoke to me at our first debrief that in trusting Him, where I stepped into abandonment- He wanted to fill me with abundance.
The Lord continued to pursue me with His unconditional love in West Africa. He taught me more of who He was and who He created me to be. He led me to Southeast Asia where I trusted Him in a new kind of ministry with my team called ATL – Ask the Lord. He brought truth and reminded me of His promises through all of it. He asked me to trust Him through team changes and Squad Leading. Each month He continued to shape and grow my understanding of trusting Him.
As I continue this journey, I am so grateful for the ways the Lord has broadened my understanding and deepened my trust in Him this year. Last week, I was able to pass along this beautiful truth and key to one of my roommates in Pontevedra. I shared how much this word has meant to me this year and how the Lord has been with me in trusting Him. I left behind “trust” to this beautiful new friend of mine. The Lord has wonderful plans for her and for each of our lives. We can rest in Him knowing we are in His hands, and He is in control. He is so good. A good, good Father.
