3/19/20
One day after I wrote the last blog, we learned the very hard reality that the safest option was bringing us out of the foreign field and back home to the US.
I know AIM (Adventures in missions) spent time in prayer, discerning with God the course of action to take. I watched God open doors that told me us being in the US was HIS intention.
I’m working on being okay with that fact, and I’d still like to tell you about my time in Peru.
There were a lot of things happening that could have been very frightening if our squad wasn’t confident in the Lord to be with us. You see, after the decision was made on the 14th to bring us home and tickets were bought for a 10pm flight on March 16th, we enjoyed our last full day on the 15th. We went shopping in Lima and enjoyed some local foods and didn’t worry. We were sad, but we weren’t afraid. That night, Peru announced they were closing their borders to all travel on the 16th at midnight. With our 10pm flight we thought God was a fabulous miracle worker for getting us out right before the borders closed. But things shifted and our flight was canceled. AIM worked tirelessly to find us a new flight within that 24 hour window, and they found us a place making a long one-day layover in the Dominican Republic before coming back to the US. And now here we are!
I honestly wasn’t sure in this whole process whether God was intending for us to make it home to America or be in Peru to minister for however long the borders are closed. But I watched God open doors and send angels to help us through the process of making it home. You see, that airport in Lima was a bit of chaos with so many people aware they had 24 hours to leave the country.
Because of all that, I know the US is where I’m supposed to be right now. I know God brought over 500 missionaries in this one organization off the foreign field and back to the US for a reason. I know something BIG is afoot in God’s plans here.
I know and trust my squad. I wasn’t alone. I would have felt perfectly safe with them in Lima and we’d have figured it out. But God wants us here. Now, I will also miss them because our ministry continues in very different places than where we thought we would be. There’s a lot to process through and a lot to figure out.
And my story isn’t over because my mission isn’t over. My commitment hasn’t changed. I’m still going to spread the gospel on US soil. I’m still going to seek whatever God wants me to find. I’ll show up when He asks me to show up. And if I get the chance to go back into the world and do this somewhere else again, I’m not afraid to do so and I’ll jump at the chance.
Right now, I’m called to figure out what the US has been up to for the 2 months I’ve been away and largely out of the loop.
Fear in the world is big right now, but God is bigger.
Be a light in this fearful world. The light of Jesus is really needed right now. Be responsible. Listen to the wise people who know how to help stop the spread of this disease, but listen first and foremost to the Holy Spirit inside you. God knows how to love this country and this world, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing. And if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus and you’re not sure how to have that peace and love He offers, then reach out to me and I’ll be happy to tell you about it and help you find it.
