I couldn't decide what to write about for a long time….write a story of redemption? I.E. Write about the night 4 squadmates went missing for hours in one of the most dangerous, crime ridden, and murderous areas of Peru? Write about our ministries? Write about the weather, the beach, the Holy Spirit, squad volleyball, my disdain toward sand, what?! Then I just thought…why not just write about honesty? I don't want to have a facade that everything that happens on World Race is SUPER DUPER GREAT FABULOUS SINCE WE HAVE JESUS. Nooooooo. Part of having Jesus is being aware of that brokenness and walking in that freedom while we're at it.
So…. this month…. is really stinkin' poopy…pun intended. There are a slew of things that are hard or unusual to adjust to: our whole 60 person squad living together, rotating ministries weekly, having nightly sessions providing almost no time at all to journal or just be, moving from the jungle to the desert, and feeling more exhausted than I ever have. Also, I've had my first pangs of missing home which stemmed from an unexpected activity: dutch blitz.
I've had to remind myself of a lot of things:
This is God's country, not my experience.
God's love for that person is equal to His love for me.
It's worth spending money to have proper nutrition.
Hebrews 11: faith
Isaiah 61: Salvation
He comes before and stays when we leave.
Only God can heal us from sickness.
I might fall asleep standing up today, but I'm ministering to teens who are being raised up in gangs and by the power of a smile I could literally save the lives they could potentially kill in the next couple years. This is huge.
Look among the nations and watch – be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you. – Habakkuk 1:5
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. – John 1:5
My unofficial contract with Inkalink (ministry organization): Choose joy, Give 110% and remember everyone's 110% is different, Be here now – Gustavo said to take a black bag at customs, put your family, home, denomination, etc, inside and don't pick it up for 11 months, Challenge by Choice, Love Covers All.
Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love. Prone to wander, LORD I feel it, prone to leave the God I love, take my heart Lord, fix and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.
On a different note… I hate Valentine's Day. A lot. Like my senior year of college my townhouse hosted an anti-valentine's day party. We celebrated Easter (dyed eggs), Christmas (tree), Thanksgiving (feast), the 4th of July (decor), President's day (photo of class president), Snow day-day, the list goes on and on and oooonnnn. So my teammate woke me up on Valentine's day in Peru and said, “Chelsea Chelsea breakfast is exciting get up!” Since the squad is altogether this month, the guys decided to make the day special for the ladies. There was a snickers and gummy bears in my mug, a note from one of the guys, and they hugged/served us. I REALLY hate Valentine's Day. But my note was PERFECT. All it said was, “Happy Valentine's Day! I want you to know I'm praying for you and can't wait to get to know you this year. You are really awesome. – Alex” Everyone else's note at my table was very long, filled with a BUNCH of sincere and kind words that I wouldn't have appreciated as much. I just don't like Valentine's Day… haha. But anyway, I just think it's rad how every tiny thing that happens, when soaked in prayer, is ordained by the Lord. Alex's note was so perfect, concise, and he's mad cool so it was pretty sweet… I appreciated it so much. And my teammates loved their notes that were wordy and ushy gushy mushy and Valentine-y. God is so kind, even on the weird holidays. Thankya Jesus.
Fun fact: I saw the biggest mural in either Peru or the world (a big difference I know, but Tony, an intern working with us, wasn't sure and google is too slow to find out, hah) on the ride to church this morning. It was siiiiick.
Fun fact #2: This is the end of this blog.
Pizzy.
