“french fries are the potato version of toast”
October 28th-November 3rd
heyooo!! This week has flown by in all of the right ways! Life and tough decisions still weigh heavy on my mind. However, I’ve had numerous teammates speak into and help with some of the these decisions. I am learning to let go of my desire to be in control. It is work in progress and I know I am still human. There was one day this week were I was super thankful it was late ministry day. I woke up and my head was not right, the combination of sickness and mental strain hit me hard. I walked out of my room ready to tell leadership that I wasn’t sure I was able to go to ministry that day. However, God had other plans and we weren’t leaving until 11. I went back to bed and thanked God for being in control. Yet, another reminder that when my flesh fails me, he won’t. Thank you too all who are praying for me and praying for the tough decisions ahead. I can not thank you enough for your faithfulness to God.
This week in ministry we worked with a church in a nearby town of Ventanilla. It’s about an hour and half from where we live. Some of us have a system for getting through these bus rides. Here it is: Jesus music on the way there & Taylor Swift on the way back. I know for me it gives me an amazing opportunity to spend time with Jesus in the morning. It allows me the opportunity to wake up, LOL. The church is high above the city though. I remember the first day of ministry stopping dead in my track as I stated down the beast. The beast is the hill we have to climb everyday to arrive at the church. This hill was about 75 degrees uphill, it was literal beast. Putting it into perspective for some of you, imagine McAlpine’s hill and multiply that by twenty. However, the church we were blessed with serving was incredible. They were some of the most generous and loving people I have met on this trip. They loved us and the people of their community so boldly. They also loved the Lord so well. They didn’t have to make us lunch almost everyday, yet they did. Let me tell ya, it was incredible! It lead to some pretty amazing food comas. I am convinced that a great meal is always followed by a food coma. That should be the standard of how good a meal is, food comas. LOL, the ladies name was Rosa and she sure did know how to cook! We did lots of manual labor and were able to bless them greatly. There are two things this squad is really good at, worship and manual labor. For a squad of 20 girls and me, that may see odd. However, our team is filled with a ton of selfless and servant hearted individuals. I was extremely proud of us for the ways in which we poured and loved this church well. On Saturday and Sunday, we had the opportunity to work with the kids of the church. Oh. My. Word. Some of these kids loved so much like the Father does. They were so gentle and genuine. I had an absolute blast loving on the kiddos of that church!! This week was a week of learning and a week of thankfulness. Thankful for God and the ways in which he has blessed me. A week of him teaching me to understand when I am not okay and admit it. A week of him teaching me that no matter what I am not the one in control of anything. The last one is something that is going to take some time to learn. Control is something that I really can’t stand about myself and letting go of this is a goal of mine. As we go into next week, I ask for prayer for another week of health and for God to work.
Thank you for taking the time to read this! I ask for continued prayer for me, as I have to make huge decisions in the near future. I ask for prayer for this squad, may we not forget last week. I ask for prayer as we continue to do ministry in Peru. I ask for prayer for the church in Ventanilla. I ask for continued prayer for the country of Ecuador, for God to restore the country. For God to bring his presence to the people! I ask for prayer for Dunamis and the girls they pour into daily. I ask for prayer for Gina, Dan, and Savannah that they continue to minister well to the girls as well as each team that comes to serve! I also ask for prayer for Camp Hope and that they continue to bless each child of God!! I also ask for continued prayer for Pan de Vida and the work they are doing there. Thank you and God Bless.
-Ben
