When I first wrote the blog announcing that we would be doing Unsung Heros (UH) in El Salvador for month one, I wrote that we would essentially be wandering around doing what God wanted us to do. Had only I known how much weight that sentence carried! So much provision, abundance, and craziness has taken place in the last week and a half it seems as if we’ve been here a month already.
Two verses come to mind when reflecting upon this week. Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” and Phillipians 4:12-13 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is too have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all ghings through Christ who strengthens me.” This past week has been so fruitful and we have recieved so many blessings I can’t count them all. The 3 main lessons from this week are patience, trust, and especially thanksgiving.
Patience.
Patience with my team, patients with the culture, and patients with God. Traveling with in a group of 7 people means it takes 7 times longer to do everything. It also allows more time to take in everything thats going on around me. Living on Latina time can be a bit frustrating at times, and being in a hurry is not an option. Waiting an extra half hour (or hour) for everyone to finish talking and getting ready can be a bit annoying on the surface, but if I take a step back it becomes visible how much more people, frienships, family, and togetherness are valued above time. Patience with God has been very rewarding. Sometimes our team needs an instant answer about what to do and it comes. Sometimes we have no idea what we’re going to do until we get a phone call at 8 at night laying out the next two days. Sometimes we get a schedule put together and god wipes it out last minute and fills it with something else (like when our trip to San Vincente cancelled and we instead got connected with a pastor later at night and then went the next morning to visit 3 of their homeless-elderly homes that AIM can now hopefully partner with and help in the future). It’s been pretty awesome to watch God spin a spiderwdb of connections about us out of nothing. When you finally tune your clock to operating on His time instead of expecting Him to work on yours, it’s incredible the places you are led to and the people you meet.
Trust.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
Trusting my team, trusting God. Letting other people take the lead has been a new experience for me this month. As much as I would like to be a center for planning and coordinating, the jobs weren’t assigned to me and really it’s best if I just let everyone do their thing. Sometimes I really don’t agree with the way someone else does something or a decison made, or think I have a better way of doing it. It’s been good practice with patience in letting others learn and in trusting them to get it done, and trusting that God has each of us exactly where he wants so that we stretch and grow in something new.
Also trusting God to guide us, provide for us, and trust that everything that happens is for good reason. We really haven’t had any other choices but to trust that he’s orchestrating the show. Sometimes it’s a bit unnerving having no idea what’s coming next, but so rewarding to see the leap of faith that he will provide fulfilled.
Thanksgiving.
“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
As Amanda pointed out yesterday, it is very important to keep these two verses together. Our team found out how hard it can sometimes be to recieve blessing after blessing after blessing of rides and transportation, providing meals, providing entertainment, and even an armed SWAT escort to the park (the park was perfectly safe). We were all extremely gratful for all that was given to us, but we started struggling with feeling guilty for recieving and enjoying so much more than we needed. But as Paul pointed out, it is okay to be plentiful, God wants us to enjoy His gifts, so long as we give thanks to Him in times of plenty and times without.
This month has so far been a roller coaster, and I’m excited to see what fruits come from this next week in San Salvador (and hopefully[!!!] a remote mountain village near Tacuba).
