“I sought the Lord and He answered me. He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are RADIANT their faces are never covered in shame.”
Psalms 34:4-5
The Lord is doing some big stuff in my life and has been for a couple months. He has laid out a plan for my life and he has called me to be a servant. He promised me that if I gave up the worries of my future and gave it all to him that he would bless me with so much. The peace that he has covered me with is incredible. As I continue to give up my desire to have it all figured out, He continues to remind me that he has it all under control and actually He has been preparing me for this my whole life. Little did I know that he would eventually send me around the world to proclaim his name. It took me a while to realize that some of the things that I have had to go through would set me up for “such a time as this.” The Lord as been so faithful in so many ways and has brought me out of so much imprisonment and shame that I had put upon myself because of the lies I believed about myself. But now I know that His Grace is so sufficient. I no longer have to hide under my shame because I have been made clean. The Lord has encouraged me to let go of those broken chains that I had been clinging onto for so long because I was scared of what would happen if I let go and let Jesus lead me into the deep waters. It was a lifted burden for sure and he has brought me to a place that I didn’t think was possible. I am able to dance in his glory and rejoice in the sufferings because of his goodness.
Although, there may be many areas of my life that still need healing, I am able to trust that he has a plan. There are defiantly going to be times that I will go through times of trial and discomfort but that just builds the character. So Lord I trust you! I believe that I am here for such a pronoun purpose. This is a time that will carry me into the way I live the rest of my life. I believe that Jesus is going to continue to bring me closer to him and show me more of his character every day as I press into his plan for me, this culture of Guatemala and the people around me. The Lord has so much to teach me.
I think going into this I had a lot of fears and questions about why I was called to this (even though its a crazy opportunity & why not?) and if I was properly equipped for it. I would often wonder why I wasn’t just going to college right away, It would have been way easier. The Lord brought me to this passage in the beginning of Jeremiah, It says in verse 5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” And in verse 7 Jeremiah doubts his plan by saying he is too young and not equipped “The Lord replies, Do not say that ‘I am too young’ you must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.”
He knew the plans that he had for each one of us before we were created in our mothers whom. He calls us to trust him because the only way we are going to live out of the full potential of what the plan is, is for us to engage in an intimate relationship with him. He will continue to mold us and build us. He will give us the courage to face the hardship and when we are put into hard situations his faithfulness will be enough to get us through. The Lord is showing me so much about who I am and who he has made me to be.
We had our first full week of ministry and I feel so at home here. We started teaching English & oh man are we are learning a lot. Ellie, Lexi & I are teaching 4th through 6th grade. I have loved getting to invest in the kids lives & play with them. We had our first VBS in the village on Friday. We had about 30+ kids show up & it was absolutely amazing. The relationships we are building and the things that God is doing already in this village is incredible. the relationships we have already started to build are unbelievable! I’m so excited to see what the next 3 months bring!!
Little sneak peak of what life looks like in Guatemala.
