Refinement

Have you ever been in an uncomfortable situation in your past that felt so far outside of your realm of comfort that you wanted to run to familiarity? This most definitely describes the second week for me in San Miguel. As I entered Spanish class for the first time in my life on Monday morning of week two, I realized that I was very much out of my element! As I talked with a couple students from the class, I discovered that the teacher would only be teaching in Spanish. I panicked. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so helpless in understanding someone and quite honestly, I wanted to escape. But, no matter how uncomfortable the time would be, I was soon reminded what I had prayed for in regards to this class. I wanted to be put in a situation that would get me connected with other Americans for the opportunity to build relationships with them. It’s English that I understand very well, and here I was surrounded by 4 other students that spoke my own language. I had also been praying that my heart would be teachable and humble in not only this class, but this entire time here in San Miguel. This has been an opportunity for the Lord to refine me in this area! Not only has the Lord been teaching me humility, but a characteristic he is faithfully refining in me is patience. THIS I am severely deficient in.

I have also been taught patience in not just my class but also in every single day as I realize that I cannot get around town nearly as quickly or conveniently on foot or by the bus or even taxi! I have been discovering that the things that seem so simple and make me very independent at home are a bigger deal here. Simple things like ordering food, asking for directions, asking questions, shopping, etc… I took the convenience of it for granted at home. I have had to ask for help here in those simple things. THAT is humbling for me.

Enough about this challenging stuff. The Lord has been so present in my heart- even throughout situations of discomfort! I have quite often been reminded by the Lord how my heart felt as I prepared to come here a few wks ago. I had reached a point that I described as “welcoming the uncomfortableness of change and difficult circumstances.” This meaning that throughout the past 21 years of my life the Lord has allowed situations that have not always been the most comfortable. During those times it was not always easy or clear as to WHY this was happening, but I had enough evidence that the Lord had been faithful in past circumstances, and I knew that He had used them for good in my life. The Lord, the exact definition of LOVE desires to bring good from the hurt in our lives. So, part of my excitement was to see how the Lord was going to “come through” in this period of my life!
As I’m typing this, I’m reminded about the story of Joseph and his response to his brothers at the end of Genesis. His brothers finally discover that the brother they were jealous of and sold many years before now had influence and power in Egypt; enough that they were fearful of being paid back for the wrong they did to him. However, Joseph’s comment to his brothers is what hit me: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Satan can so badly wants to bring evil from difficult circumstances, but God sees clearly the big picture and wants to cause GOOD and GROWTH in our lives as a result.

For the past 3 weeks, Scott and I have visited Los Labradores to read to some of the residents once a week. The book we are currently reading is about a missionary, Bruce Olsen, who has spent his entire life reaching out to the Motilone Indian tribe from Colombia. He started this journey at the age of 19 years old because he felt the call of the Lord! I had read this book last year, but it has touched me in a much different way this time around. The tribe he had a heart for was an unreached tribe since anyone that had attempted to reach them had been killed. The very thing that has blessed me so much through this book is Bruce’s determination to follow the call of the Lord regardless of how uncomfortable the times were. After spending an entire year living with this tribe, he still understood very little of there language. At one point he mentioned that he was so bored with his days that he wished the days would only last 3 hrs and he could sleep the rest of the time. However, this was a man that was committed to the call that God had placed in his heart, to share Jesus Christ with this tribe. The Lord gave him the strength to accomplish this very thing over a course of many uncomfortably, challenging years! What I am getting at with this story is that fact that there is something about knowing that you are in the will of God that nothing can shake you from that place no matter how difficult it may seem; this brings contentment. I want to rest in contentment that comes from being in the presence of the Lord!

Very soon the entire team for this portion of the internship will be down here. This is exciting! Jamie, the intern with the organization FINO made it here over a week ago, and Adina will be here in about a week! I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do through these upcoming months! My continued prayer is that the Lord will reveal HIS vision for all of us, and that we will continue to present the Love of Jesus to the community of San Miguel.

Once again, I appreciate all of you and your commitment to pray for me VERY much! Thank you for your part in the work the Lord is doing!