The past month in Peru was great! I saw God work in some cool ways. We had all sorts of ministry (pictures to come) and I quickly fell in love with the city of Cusco. But the truth is, I am exhausted. The month took it out of me mentally, physically, and emotionally and I’m still recovering.
Mentally, things got incredibly tough as my treasurer duties got more intense.
Physically, living just above 11,000ft elevation is not easy for your body, and neither are travel days.
Emotionally, I’ve had a niece born, one of my best friends got engaged, and I found out I wouldn’t be able to go all within the month.
All of these things, and other things, were taking something out of me… are taking things out of me. On top of that, being missionaries, we are called to pour out on the people we meet everywhere we go. But with all this pouring out, it is incredibly easy to become empty. To look at ourselves, myself, and say:
“Why do I have nothing left to give?”
“What’s my purpose here?”
“Is God even using me?”
This is why it is SO important to make sure we are being filled. To make things as simple as possible, we do that by turning our focus from our empty selves and placing our gaze on our Father. More specifically, we have to find time and a quiet space to spend with Him, take notice of the special moments He gives us, like seeing my niece over Skype, and we have to remember His perfect example of perfect love and that that same love lives inside of us and is ready to overflow at every moment. No matter the level of exhaustion.
Even now, as I sit at a table in this little one-bedroom apartment, sweating in the African heat, while I recover from Malaria, Typhoid, and my last month, I know that I will never be too exhausted to show Christ’s love in me to who ever next walks in the door.
The race is difficult. Life is difficult. I’m not always happy in my circumstances, but I thank the Lord for His perspective and times like these that I get to share it with you.
This was Josh and I surviving a 6 hour bus ride in the midst of having Malaria and Typhoid. Not much else we could do but laugh and pray we make it alive. No worries we are both doing much better!
