God has truly been moving within us in Ecuador. Its hard to summarize these past five days in just one blog, and two be honest, it took me a minute just to figure out what day it was.
If there is one thing I know at this point, it’s that this squad is so full of the spirit, love, unity, courage, faith, and life, and this is going to be an incredible year! From the moment I met them, all I could think was, “These are the people with whom I am going to change the world.”, and this week has only confirmed that. Our Creator is going to use us to do amazing things, and I anxiously await His further intervention!
I remember as a college student all the girls would sit around and look at wedding rings and plan their dream weddings as they tried to picture the perfect man. Sometimes I wondered if there was something wrong with me because I never did. When they would fall asleep dreaming of white picket fences and children running in the yard, I would fall asleep dreaming about changing the world. I am so happy for them that their dreams are coming true and the Lord has truly blessed them, but as I lay awake in this hostel in the middle of Quito, Ecuador, I realize that this is my dream in the flesh. It may not have been easy to get here, and it has taken a great deal of faith, but here I stand amongst 60 brothers and sisters ready to step out and change the world!
Allow me to present you with an example:
Today was our day off to relax a little bit and do something fun, so we all decided to go to the Equator. On the way there, we all piled onto buses and stood for a little over an hour. On our first bus ride, we noticed a man who was speaking about Christ (not terribly uncommon). Then he began to sing a worship song. I was standing with two friends who were extremely excited about this because it was their favorite worship song, so they starting to sing along with him. I wanted him to desperately see them and be encouraged by their agreement in his faith, but as I further paid attention, I noticed he was blind. Instantly I made my way up to him, placed my hands on his head, and started to pray over him. Without thinking, a Spanish prayer of healing came from my mouth and I began to ask the Lord to open his eyes. The words were clearly not my own, but I quickly realized that even if it wasn’t God’s intention to restore this man’s sight, I prayed that he had the ability to see and know the things that the rest of us could never understand. As the prayer was coming to an end, I heard whispers of agreement and opened my eyes to find all of the Ecuadorians around me in agreement. The man had tears streaming down his face, and they all laid hands on him, encouraged him, and blessed him with some money. He may not have received sight that day, but he walked on in encouragement and faith, knowing that there was purpose in His life.
This afternoon we are leaving for the village of El Reten, so I cannot wait to tell you many amazing stories when we return!
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Isaiah 42:16
