As I have been reflecting on the faithfulness of God while in Peru so many stories have unfolded.
To start off our journey I was reminded how God cares about every detail in our life. Before we came Esperanza needed a doctor lined up in case of an emergency (click here for details). With only days until we were to leave we had someone sorted however the middle of August she would be on vacation. Questions swirled in our heads. What would happen then? Would Esperanza and I have to leave?
With this uncertainty in the back of our minds we left for Peru the middle of July. The second day we were in Peru I stood in front of our bus chatting with one of the Reimagine volunteers. With our Reimagine logo t-shirts we waited for the rest of the team members to gather their groceries and get on the bus. A man approached me and in his broken English asked if we were with Mama Linda. I smiled and in my broken Spanish I responded that she was still in the grocery store but should be out soon. We made small talk and soon Mama Linda was out. They saw each other, hugged and began chatting away in Spanish.
Excusing myself I got onto the bus. Seconds after sitting down someone was climbing the stairs to the bus calling my name. With confusion written across my face I headed back out of the bus to the man I had just met.
“Kara, what is the machine your daughter needs?”
I was completely lost. What were they talking about? However, I quickly realized that this man was a doctor near by and knew how to deal with the kind of medical treatment Esperanza needed. And he even had the exact kind of equipment Esperanza would need if something were to happen in Peru.
Shock over took me as I headed back on the bus. One of the long term missionaries spoke.
“Kara, that was a complete miracle. We haven’t seen that doctor in years.” As we drove away I realized our question about what we were to do when the other doctor in the city went on vacation. STAY in Peru. God had made it clear He had a plan and we could trust Him.
Now several weeks later and I can look back on how all my worrying was in vain. I didn’t need to have everything figured out I just needed to trust and obey.
Isn’t that so true to so much of our lives? God says trust and obey. And yet we see the obstacles and the challenges and disqualify ourselves before we even get started.
Another story coming to mind took place the week we left. Multiple families from our church and some of the singles joined us the very last week we were in Peru. By this point my children hadn’t been with any English speaking children for three weeks and we had already been in Peru for 8-weeks. We had captured multiple testimonies, b-roll footage, edited multiple videos, edited photos, homeschooled our children, developed lots of relationships with locals, built 12 homes, etc. And yet my children were most thrilled to just have friends to speak English with.
The evening of the youth night the young man who Gryphin had taught drums for several weeks played Psalms 8 in English (Gryphin had taught him the Spanish version). All the kids from our church and my kids went wild. They sang at the top of their lungs and danced around. I quickly realized it was the first time my kids had worshipped Jesus in English in 8-weeks. Their hearts connected to their mother-tongue.
The revelation of the importance of having the Word of God in your own mother tongue resonated so much deeper.
That night the kids also prayed for the youth and the following night they prayed for multiple children, adults and youth. One specific child was deaf and the cry of faith rose so deep within our children that every person in the room could feel their faith. Tears rolled down Zoe, Gryphin, Amara and Esperanza’s faces as they stormed heavens gates. At the end of their prayers the mom said something behind the child and he turned his head. He didn’t speak but our children could see that God had touched this child.
This family doesn’t normally go to the Reimagine Church so I am unsure if the child has been completely healed yet but I know what happened in my children. God had wrecked them for someone else. He had given them His heart as they pressed in and interceded. It wasn’t man made, the kids were not coerced into praying. They willingly came and God wrecked them.
Yes, our hearts desire is that this little boy receives his healing but at times God is doing multiple things all at once. We look for the healing and He’s looking for the heart. We look for the signs and wonders. He continues to look at our heart.
He wants to wreck our expectations of how things are supposed to turn out. He wants to transform our character and grow us into who He has called us to be. He does this by showing us the depth of His compassion, His love, His patience, and so much more. As He molds and shapes us, character takes root and develops us over time.
Today have you positioned yourself in such a way to receive ALL that He has for you? Remember as He works through us it will not look exactly like we think it should. Let us not become discouraged as He searches our hearts. For His ways are better than ours.
