Two weeks ago I was arriving in Musho, Peru with 27 other people to start reaching out to the neighboring town of Tumpa. One wek ago team Zeo and two brilliant translators movd down the mountain to Mancos, Peru to encourage and unify a church body that had slowly fallen apart. And now, once again, we´re back in Musho to join back in with the ministry that continued here while we were away.
With all the moving about these past weeks I found it easy to start getting lost in transition. I began to allow thoughts to play around in my mind, wondering how much of a difference can we make staying in Mancos for only one short week and thinking that the church needs so much more repair than we can accomplish in such a short amount of time. Then I was quickly reminded through the laughter of one child, the salvatoin of one soul and the gratefulness of one pastor that God called us there to accomplish His purpose.
It is so easy to go into different situations thinking we have to solve every problem, save every soul and touch the lives of entire communities, when in reality that is not what God called us to do, that isn´t always His plan. In submitting and surrendering to a plan greater than our own, we are able to experience the true joy and reward of following the perfect plan. We didn´t have great numbers of people return to the church after going door to door. We didn´t see multitudes surrender their lives to Christ upon hearing Jesus´offer of salvation. Many of us were laid up in bed sick on various days during the week and often we were tired from restless nights sleeping with fleas and dogs (hmm… wonder where the fleas came from?).
But, through a handful of redeemed sinners, God accomplishes His purpose. He took us to Mancos for a week to love on and encourage a community that had fallen away from the Lord. He took us to Mancos to answer the prayer of a Pastor who had lost most of his congregation to gossip, rumors and disagreements. He took us to Mancos to show us His glory by changing hearts, mending relationships and igniting renewed passion in a 70 year-old Pastor in only one short week. The God we serve is big, much bigger than we can comprehend. We can be confident that if He calls us to a place, even for only a short amount of time in our eyes, He has a plan and a purpose to accomplish while we are there.
¨But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are the fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.¨ 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
To Him be all the glory!
Women´s Bible Study
Spending the afternoon with Pastor Elaidio at his home in Mancos
