It’s crazy to me that three months have flown by so fast. Even though several year’s worth of beautiful, hilarious, heartfelt, tearful, and powerful memories have packed into this Semesters trip, I feel it was just last week that we all met up awkwardly at the airport and drove in a mysterious white van to Adventures in Missions. A few nights ago, we sat together and reminisced about all our favorite moments, and we laughed for hours. But now that it’s really almost over, I feel like I’m in shock– two more days?!
I was chatting with God about the biggest things I’ve learned here– I’ve only scratched the surface in my blogs– and I realized how much He has been moving. It’s in the reflection where we see God’s hand moving in our lives. I also read through my journal, focused on my prayers, and realized something else… God has answered every. single. one.
Let me list a few:
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“God, we aren’t allowed to even go outside because of COVID. Please work in impossible ways.” Answer: By now, we have gone to the grocery store on several occasions, out to restaurants, over to the coast, and served at several other ministries.
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“Papa, I’m sad because we won’t be able to work with the girls at Dunamis. Please show me how you’re working.” Answer: We actually did get to work with them for a week straight.
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“God, four teammates had their phones and laptops stolen. I don’t know how, but if you’re willing, please bring them back.” Answer: A month later, the police found every single stolen item.
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“Jesus, I feel an unwelcome bitterness welling up inside of me. Please work through me and overfill my heart with grace.” Answer: In some miraculous way, my heart softened toward the people I was feeling bitterness towards. Love replaced all anger.
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“Lord, eleven people are sick right now, the house is in shambles, Mabe has vertigo, and all the toilets are clogged. Help.” Answer: Less than 24 hours after that prayer, all the “sickies” felt better, the tension towards the Gap squad dissipated, Mabe got medicine that worked, and somehow the toilets started working again.
The point is, God has been present everywhere. Internally and externally. He has worked in me and in the space around me.
Now here’s where my Enneagram 3 comes out: subconsciously, I decided that because I had gone through all this spiritual and emotional growth, and the Lord had worked in life-changing ways, that I would come home a mature, adulty, basically-perfect human being. I came into this trip expecting to leave a new person, one without flaws or room for growth. And boy, did God call me out for it.
He said this: “Dearest Ella, you don’t stop growing when your trip ends. You don’t stop becoming an adult when you turn 18. You will continue to grow and mature and make mistakes until the day you die.”
And I was like, “Dang, Jesus, why you gotta call me out like that?”
So I know I will come home more mature than I started, but I have to offer myself the same grace God does. I will still get in arguments with my family. I will still say the wrong thing to a friend. I will make mistakes. My next challenge will be to love and forgive myself for being human and trust others to give me grace, too. Because God’s work in us is not limited to a three-month mission trip. It’s not limited to a hard season or a sabbatical or a set of counseling sessions or anything else we confine God to. God works in our hearts continuously, and we will never, ever be perfect. But God calls us His child; His imperfect, beautiful, beloved child.
As promised, I want to give a quick summary about what we’ve been doing this week. After finishing up with El Refugio, we moved back to Casa Blanca to quarantine before our flight. For our ministry, we finished painting the rooms and painting the bunk bed boards. Here are some pics!
We also did an online ministry with Cru, an international Christian organization. Every day, we met up with a class of students in Quito over zoom (four teammates at a time, three classes a day) and taught them about Jesus! We got to have some amazing conversations about God, how He’s working in our lives, how He forgives, and how anyone can experience Him. It answered my prayer to have some kind of evangelism experience on the trip. Even though I felt like we weren’t doing a good job teaching anything, God worked miracles, and the kids were actually engaged! This was truly a blessing.
I also got a tattoo!
I think this will be my last blog (unless I’m told by the God of the Universe to write another one). If you have any more questions about my trip, you can ask away in the comments section below, or if you want to talk to me personally, you can DM on Instagram @ella.elise.bruno. You can also text me if you have my number. I’d love to chat about everything!
I will also be posting trip montage video on Friday (April 23) on my Instagram page. Please check it out!
Thank you so much for joining my journey. I want to remind you of something: God doesn’t just work on mission trips. He is working in your life, too. All you have to do is open your ears and your heart.
Thanks again! Over and out.
