Good morning from Ecuador! We landed in Quito two weeks ago after 24 hours of plane rides and 12 hours of layovers and have hit the ground running with life in South America since then! I want to share a lesson that our alumni team leader, Abigail, imparted to me during our time in South Africa that has directly applied to my first two weeks here in Ecuador — in the words of Gail, it’s “being interruptible.”
Up until the World Race, I would have considered myself to be very set in my own ways. I approached everything with an agenda and found satisfaction in having a full calendar. Checking boxes off of my to-do list filled me with a sense of both purpose and accomplishment (any other type threes out there?) Over the last few months, however, I’ve been learning that while the Lord honors schedule, He also calls us to be obedient to His calling and willing to go wherever He sends.
Going into Ecuador, I prayed to be interruptible. I prayed that the Lord would use whatever means necessary to reveal to me His greatness and help me see that His plans are more perfect than any I could ever think or imagine. So, I’m here to share the story of how He’s begun to do that in just the first two weeks alone!
Quito is located 9,350 feet above sea level. And while the views of the surrounding mountains and volcanoes are incredibly breathtaking, the altitude sickness is not quite as grand. As a raised up team leader, part of my responsibility is to take my teammates to the clinic when they aren’t feeling well. We started ministry last Monday and hadn’t gotten 4 days of serving in before the sickness started — and spread. So I spent both Friday and Sunday taking my teammates to the hospital, spending countless hours in taxis and waiting rooms, pharmacies and hospital cafeterias. If I’m being honest, I was a bit frustrated. On Friday, I missed my teacher’s 50th birthday, and on Sunday, I missed my Sabbath — my one rest day during the week.
On Monday morning I woke up to spend time with the Lord, and prayed again, as I had been, for a spirit of interruptibility (not 100% sure if that’s a word, but He knows what I mean). I prayed that the Holy Spirit would interrupt me during the day and that I’d be open to seeing what the Lord had in store for me. And that’s when I realized — He had done that!! He took me out of my schedule and used me in that! He reminded me of Friday, in the doctor’s office when I was translating for my teammate. The doctor asked about why we were in Ecuador and I shared about the Race. He continued to ask me questions about my faith and about what made it different from other religions. He asked me if I believe in heaven and whether I was scared to be living in a foreign country. This gave me the opportunity to share with him that I trust in the Lord’s faithfulness and know that He’s called me on this mission for a reason! That I have peace because I know that there is eternal life waiting for me in heaven! He asked about goodness and why good works alone don’t promise eternal life. I got to share with him the difference between religion and relationship and imparted to him how loved he is by the Creator of the Universe. A similar situation occurred in the Uber ride back home when our driver asked me if I believed in reincarnation and I was able to share about the promise of eternal life in heaven. And the best part? I was able to have both of these conversations in Spanish! Since being in Ecuador, my Spanish has been slowly coming back to me. But during that hour in the doctor’s office, it was like all the words were there. I didn’t struggle to remember the words for salvation or hope or faithfulness — they were right on the tip of my tongue, just waiting to be spoken! It was the most amazing thing, and I am confident that it was not my own words but those of the Holy Spirit speaking through me. And to think, I would have missed out on every one of those opportunities had I not made those trips to the doctor.
The Lord took me out of my set schedule and used me outside of my weekly ministry. He knew that none of my teammates could speak Spanish, and allowed me to go to be able to translate and to share His goodness in a way that the locals would be able to understand. He gave me the words to speak. He showed me that He is not confined to my worldly agenda. And that none of those conversations would have happened if I wasn’t willing to be interrupted.
How many times do I miss out on the things the Lord wants to show me just because I’m too stuck in my own ways? Because I want to check things off of my to-do list or follow the agenda the way I’ve written it, rather than letting the God of the universe write out His plan for me. So yes, while my flesh wants to get things done, to achieve, and to stay focused on my own lane, I’m learning to be more flexible. To be open to the Lord’s plans and to trust that He has me in every situation for a reason. To take advantage of each moment — scheduled or not — and to choose to find purpose in that. In Him.
My prayer is that the rest of Ecuador will look like this. That it will be a lot of me stepping back and releasing control and waiting to see all that God has in store for me here, in this beautiful country. Because while it may not be exactly what I had planned, surrendering my agenda is worth it if it means I get to play a part in the plans that the Lord has been carefully crafting since the beginning of time.
