We left Cusco and headed to our next country: Ecuador! The day after we arrived the people went on a strike because the government was raising the gas prices which led to an increase in all types of transportation. The people of Ecuador weren’t having it so they used their voice to make a stand. The strange part was that everyone we met on the street kept telling us to go inside and stay safe. I had experienced protests against the government in Honduras before so I kept thinking well Ecuador is also Latin America so it must be similar right? I told my team to not worry that it was normal and we’d be okay going out. Well, I was wrong this wasn’t the same. Some protestors were taking it to far which caused the country to be declared in a state of emergency. That’s when we realized we were in the middle of it and since the strike was going on we couldn’t leave to any other city or country.
We were stuck there until further notice. I hate feeling stuck… don’t you? Do you feel stuck in the life decisions you make? How about work? School? Family? Friends? Church? A relationship? Your relationship with God? An ailment? Health? So many reasons why we can feel stuck. I get it, we’ve all been there. Well, MASSIVE lesson! See feeling stuck isn’t necessarily a bad thing. God sometimes calls us into these seasons. So how do we learn from them instead of allowing our anxiety to kick in and giving the enemy room to speak over our life? We TRUST that the God who was, is, and forever will be is by our side through all of it!
“Imagine how the Israelites must have felt after a year of wandering in the desert, and then again, a year later. A decade into the journey, some must have lost hope that God was indeed leading them at all, and after twenty there had to have been murmurings of a coup. A few millennia later, here we are still grumbling at God when He doesn’t give in to our plans, and our schedule. What the Israelites undoubtedly felt is the same thing that we tend to assume— that God is cruel and withholding just to be mean. We tend to think that He’s looking down on us, laughing, as we sit just steps from the other side of a breakthrough, lesson, or door. We shake our fists at the One who is keeping us wandering in the desert in isolation, while others are enjoying their #bestlife in the Land of Milk & Honey. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. The land of promise and provision is where God wants us to live, but sometimes there needs to be a pause before we can rush right in (Fuller, 2018).”
See I let my anxiety kick in and I allowed the enemy to question why God would bring us there if the majority of our time would be spent indoors. I can only imagine God looking down at me and saying, “Dude take a chill pill I got you. I want to teach you something.” That’s what I didn’t understand then but I do now. I know that God had a purpose for our team. We still met people and spoke life into every opportunity we had. Just because our time there didn’t look as we planned doesn’t mean that God didn’t use us in a powerful way. God can use you AT ALL TIMES and in EVERY SEASON! So don’t let your guard down. Just trust that the maker of heaven and earth has everything under control.
As soon as our leadership found out about our safety in Ecuador they reached out and made sure we kept ourselves safe. Then they flew us out of Ecuador and into Colombia because the transportation strike continued in the country.
Do you feel stuck right now? If so have you taken it to the Lord and asked Him what it is He’s trying to teach you?
I’d like to invite you to say YES to walking alongside me for 6 more months!! You can do that in the following ways:
1. Praying for me
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I will relaunch on January 6th with an entirely new group of people that are on FIRE for Jesus and the mission work. I have 3 months to fundraise $8,000 and I’m fully trusting that God will provide. I can’t do this without your support so THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!!
LOVE Y’ALL!
