Just Right

So...when I think about the events of the past three days, I don't know whether to sing, smile, or giggle uncontrollably. I just got back from a three-day trek, and though it was not what I expected, it was exactly what I wanted and needed. There is no question in my mind that what occurred was according to God's plan, and there is nothing else I would have rather been doing.

I'll give a few short highlights:

I was the co-leader of an eight-person team. The other team leader could speak just enough of the language to get by, so she was needed to help communicate much of the time, and I was given the responsibility of making decisions on where to go and how to get there. We were probably 50 or more miles away from the city, and most of the time I felt like I had no clue what to do, but God was in control from the beginning, and He directed our every step.

We came to many different villages, and we were swarmed by people within minutes of arriving at nearly all of them. We were able to entertain everyone with balloon animals and hair braiding (the girls), giving out books, and trying to figure out where the best routes to travel were located. We often spent long periods of time trying to communicate and drawing maps to figure out where we could go, but it really gave us the opportunity to make friends with some key people. When we were leaving the first village, we got to talk with a young guy who could speak some english, and he helped us out a lot. We were able to pray for him and give him some amazing books that have life-changing material in them, and they will help him with his english because they were written with the local language and english side-by-side. Not only will he benefit from them, but he is also a teacher of many children in the village, and he is now planning on using the material to teach them. How amazing! The people are going to be learning the truth of the Gospel while they are learning to speak and read english.

That is just one small example among many. To sum up the rest of the trip quickly...we took a speed boat up the river for almost an hour, which was insane, and way too much fun! We met a man who was carrying what looked like a cross, and we just felt compelled to follow him. He ended up taking us across the river to several villages that we could never have visited otherwise. At each of them we met tons of people (I mean entire villages), made balloons, ate with them, gave out more material to those we talked with (carefully), and prayed for them. Afterwards, the man who took us around brought us back to his home, and we were able to give him some things to read and really thank him. They were so excited about the books we gave them. Before we could even leave, they were reading them intently, pointing out passages, and discussing them with their friends and family. Other than all of that, we hiked to a village where we had to stay at a nearby guest house because there was no one to take us in, visited a waterfall, went swimming, hiked some more, visited more villages and gave out more balloons and material. Eventually we were able to catch a tuk tuk from a road back to the city for the last 18 kilometers. We met so many more people and did so much more than I could have ever hoped for.

I realized that it was exactly what I've always wanted to be doing, and it's the most I could possibly do with my level of cultural experience. I often feel so limited because I am only here for a short time, and I can just barely talk to people at all, but God showed me how much he can accomplish through our inadequacy.

While we were taking the long ride on the speed boat, I was just rejoicing and praying, and God just made it blatantly clear to me that this trip was what I have only been able to dream about in the past. I mean, there was trekking, speed boating, real plowing of the fallow ground through prayer and giving out material that showed the Truth, uncertainty, exploring, and hundreds of people from the villages. Man, does God ever answer when we take risks for Him. He gave me an amazingly fruitful experience and adventure, and what it takes is going for it. These things don't happen from always taking the easy route.

I can honestly say that I have been changed, and I still can't believe how blessed I have been in this trip and my life..."unusually blessed." God has done so much already, and I can't wait to see what He has for me wherever I go. I have tasted of His goodness, and there is no settling back into the bland taste of the world which just floats along. Sometimes we wonder how we get stuck in the daily grind of life, but we have to wonder what steps we are really taking to make it different. We can fully serve God wherever we are, but we have to be focused fully on Him in order to do that. I plead with you if you are reading this...go out and experience His goodness (it can start in the quiet solitude of your bedroom). Now is not the time for sleeping!