I have always wholeheartedly believed that God places people into our lives at a certain time, for a certain reason. But it becomes a lot more apparent when a total stranger offers to give you a plane ticket. Here’s the story:
One of our ministries at El Ayudante this month is working with the short-term missions groups that come throughout the month. This past week, we had the opportunity to work with a group of people from Tampa, FL who were around my parents’ age, or a little older. This group was awesome! They had a passion for God and missions that I have very rarely seen in their generation, and it was truly inspiring. This group has been coming every year for the past seven years, building relationships with the staff and children here. Some of the participants even sponsor a few of the kids here, and then get to see them when they come back for the week. So cool!
One of the activities they were doing this past week was a Vacation Bible School, and they asked if we could come for a few days to help out. We jumped at the chance, and it was a few of my favorite days in Nicaragua so far. First, the kids there were so sweet and lovable, but it was crazy cool to see how much this group wanted to get to know us, just as much as we wanted to invest in them. This desire on both sides definitely makes for easy relationships.
Our second day, we got onto the bus and I sat in a bus seat by myself, and a woman I hadn’t gotten to talk to yet sat across from me, and as we drove the half hour bus ride, we began to talk about life with each other. It started with questions about our Race, my family, her family, the ministries we’ve been doing, and finally ended with her asking, “are you going to be able to see your family at all this year?” My short answer was no, that we travel for the 11 months straight, but I for some reason in passing mentioned that we have a layover in Atlanta in January that some peoples’ families are coming to see them at. When she asked if anyone from my family was coming, I mentioned that my mom wanted to, but I was nervous about telling her to come with how expensive plane tickets are, and how easily flights can be changed or delayed.
Remember how God places people in our lives at certain times? After I had mentioned about my mom, Trish tells me that she happens to be a flight attendant, and says she would be honored to give me one of her buddy passes so my mom can fly down to Atlanta to see me…praise God!! How awesome is that? Trish loves Jesus so much that she jumped at the opportunity to bless a homesick missionary. One of the things that stuck out most to me was how she didn’t even hesitate; there wasn’t any thought that went into it. It was a gut reaction to offer what she could to me. It was one of those moments where I realized that the more you love Jesus and strive to be like Him, those qualities will naturally be your instinct, because you are always trying to share the love of Jesus with whoever you can.
As I was reflecting on this with one of my teammates, she mentioned how one of the women in the group was talking to her about how our team inspired them by how we live our lives and love each other and other people so well, and how evident it is that we carry the light of Jesus in us. It’s funny that she said that, because I personally was thinking the exact same thing about them. I felt like we had 25 parents loving us last week, and it was so inspiring to see how they interacted with each other. Whether they knew it or not, they were affirming how I want to grow up and live my life: in constant community and loving others as much as I possibly can.
God is constantly transforming my life every day on the Race and bringing our relationship into a deeper intimacy. He shows me how much He loves me, and this was one of those moments where I had to sit back and reflect about how good God is. I signed up for an 11 month missions trip, and He has no requirement to give me the opportunity to see my loved ones, but He loves me so much that He wants me to have that opportunity. How great is our God?
I hope this story inspires you to think about how you can bless others with what God has given you, and to always love others the best you can.
God bless,
Jenna
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As my December 1st deadline is quickly approaching, I am still $960 away from my $11,000 mark. If you are able, any amount of financial support would be greatly appreciated! Visit the “support me” tab on the lefthand side of the page to donate. Thank you!!
