When I got back to the States and saw my parents it was so wonderful to give them hugs and share about what God's doing. All the way back from Omaha they let me share with them my experiences, the culture, and my love for those people. We stopped for lunch, which I was so excited for cold milk and savored the taste every sip I took! The next week was full of sharing my pictures and sharing the good news of what God is doing. It makes me SO Excited to tell my friends and family and really anyone who is willing to listen, the amazing things that I saw happen in Peru and how God is working so powerfully! Each morning my parents get a new fun fact of the day as I remember something more about Peru.
Today in church I got the privilege to share about what God is doing in Peru. It never gets old to tell about what God has been doing and as I continue to share He brings new thoughts and revelations to me. For example, the houses have basically nothing in them. As I walked into my house it was like "what is all of this stuff and why do we have it." or how to apply the faith that they have to my life. I don't have a job, yet I know that God will provide a way for me to pay rent this next upcoming school year. or one I will have to remember continually this year about after I graduate I know that God has amazing plans for me and since I trust Him I don't need to worry about a job. He WILL provide and lead me. All of this I shared in church, pretty much everything that I have written about over the past two months. - The work in Iglesia Berea, the jungle, listening with my spirit, and from the last three weeks I was there hearing the hearts of my brothers and sisters in Peru. God blessed me with the language to have deep conversations with Joe, Nery, and many of the other youth of the church to hear about their lives and be able to encourage them in Christ.
Words cannot express how grateful I am for this summer, for the things that God taught me and how I never want them to go away. I know with time some stuff disappears, but I pray to God that I'll never forget the lessons and people I met in Peru. And I know that I won't. Continually I'll be praying for them as they continue sharing the Gospel and living for God.
As I left Peru in the plane, I couldn't help but let the tears flow. Words really cannot express how I feel and how much I grew in Peru. I became very comfortable down there living life as they did, not missing any of my stuff at home (missing family Yes, but stuff no). I see myself and my friends and family in Peru the exact same. Our dependence is on our Father, our joy is in the Lord. The only difference is that I have a bunch of junk in my room and live in a different culture (some of which is good and some of which is bad). Through all of this and sort of despising the culture I was to return to, God gave me a new way of hope and work as He gently whispered to my heart ...and so the mission continues. Peru became my home and I was very comfortable. God blessed me with my goals for the summer beyond what I had ever imagined. I saw God's work being done and was able to be a part of it. I breached a new level of Spanish and was blessed by listening to my brothers and sisters in Christ. And I learned what it was like to be a missionary. I also found out that I will be a missionary for the rest of my life. Whether that be in Peru, another country, or here in America. The mission continues to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, to experience God's mighty power as it is to be experienced and to worship Him as He is to be worshiped. If you are a Christian you are a missionary. You are called to trust in our Heavenly Father and spend your life glorifying Him. For some that may be in an 8-5 business job, others it might be at their college or school, and for some it means going oversees. But we are all missionaries in some form, living life for God, and waking up every morning to remember ...AND SO THE MISSION CONTINUES.
