Sometimes on the Race (and, really, life in general), things do not go according to plan. Ministry is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m, but you are in Africa, so of course it doesn’t start until 11:00. Or originally, you were supposed to leave today for a new town, but a last-minute change has you staying put 3 more days and re-setting up your tent.
OR, as a non-specific, random example…. Your fun adventure day in the rainforest has suddenly changed to a suspenseful drama entitled ‘Stranded’, all because you were unaware how quickly the buses returning to Quito fill up on a Sunday and waited far too long to purchase return tickets. (Did I mention that a certain person had a responsibility to fulfill at 4:00 p.m in Quito, and open bus seats were not available until at least 5:30?)
Admittedly, we should have planned things out a little better. We were just so excited to be in the Amazon rainforest! Some really cool things came out of this mistake that I am pumped to share with you.
First of all, a big thing I have been trying to work on during the Race is peace. I really struggle with succumbing to stress, panic, anxiety… whatever unpleasant feeling applies to the situation. I have had small victories in this area along the way, but I always have to fight for them. Being stranded in Mindo was no exception to this.
I could feel the familiar unsettledness in the pit of my stomach, my mind starting to race with worry… But I forced myself to stop, and pray. I asked the Lord to provide transportation back to Quito for us. (It was really important that I be back by 4:00 for something I needed to take care of). Even if He had to pull some crazy divine strings, I asked Him to help me trust Him. I even took the extra step to speak my faith out loud, that God would provide.
After grabbing a quick lunch (it was now 12:30 p.m.), my two friends and I returned to our hostel to retreive our belongings. Our plan was to wait by the side of the road until a bus came by that would hopefully have 3 empty seats.
But before we even got to set this plan into motion, a man at the hostel heard that we were trying to get to Quito, and offered to drive us part of the way… for free. He just “happened” to be going in that direction anyways! So, we hopped into the back of his pickup truck, completely giddy, so excited about how God was taking care of our needs.
After about 20-30 minutes, he pulled the truck over at a sort of fork in the road, and told us this was as far toward the direction of Quito that he could help us. We thanked him profusely, still smiling widely.
Then, we took in our surroundings and realized… we were kind of in the middle of nowhere. I could already feel my faith floundering a bit. But, fighting to trust that God wouldn’t quit on us, we stood on the side of the road, watching a few cars pass here and there, and one single bus going the opposite direction. I can’t speak for my friends, but I know I was very intrigued about what our Father was going to provide for us.
After only about 5-10 minutes, a van pulled over several hundred feet away from us, and a man started yelling “Quito!” We looked at each other, a bit surprised and excited. We crossed the street to find out if this was actually not too good to be true. The van was a sort of taxi, and to claim a seat in it we would pay less than a bus ticket would cost! So, we hopped in, and started the rest of our journey toward Quito. I made it back just in time after taking a taxi the final bit of the way!
God is so faithful and good!!
Here is the reason I wanted to share this story with you….. I realized while I was riding in the back of that pickup truck that oftentimes, God wants to bless us with grander adventures than we ourselves will settle for. He wants our lives to be full of exciting stories about how He provides. My life is always more interesting and exciting when I am relying on God, adventuring with Him.
That afternoon could just be a bland, dull memory of how we took a bus back to Quito. But because we had to rely on God to provide, it is a colorful memory of how we got a way better view of the scenery by riding for free in the back of a pickup truck, and how we (sort of) hitchhiked back to Quito.
God will do some crazy, awesome things if we let go of control and trust Him. It’s worth it.
And now, I am going into a new month called Unsung Heroes, where our schedule is wide open, we have no pre-arranged lodging, and will need to completely rely on the Lord’s leading and provision on where to go and who to talk to. Our goal is to discover people doing the Lord’s work behind-the-scenes in Peru who we can encourage and bless. It will be one crazy adventure, and it is mind-blowing to me how the Lord has been preparing my heart for it!
I cannot wait to continue sharing with you all about my adventures with the Lord, especially as I must depend completely on Him this month!
