“Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told. "
- Habakkuk 1:5
Thank you all for the prayers about the mosquitoes!!! This trip has been SO much better as far as that has been concerned! Actually the trip was just awesome! We set out to go to the normal village we go to. The people were awesome and God blessed us with a whole night/half a day of rain for us to catch up on sleep when we got there. (no we didn´t sleep the whole time, but I spent a LOT of time in the book of Ruth and was seemingly faced, continually with the idea of Gods sovereignty). Well for about the three following days I continued to learn about Gods sovereignty and the excellence of HIS plans above our own. We had been going to one village deeper in the jungle to explore the village and hang out with the people there. BUT because of a LOT of misunderstandings between the people they decided they did not want us to come back to their village. We traded with them what we said we would, wiped off the dust from our feet and left feeling dejected.
We then decided to go to a different village this village was appropriately named after a species of biting ants :) lucky for me they seem to be female ants or something because they only seemed to bother the boys. They are SO much better to deal with than the mosquitoes so i was counting my blessings, because in this village i was almost never bit and i even began to not wear bug spray. These people LOVED us! They were so happy that we were there and though I couldn´t communicate with the women with out a translator who spoke Spanish and their language, they were more than happy to have me come sit with them for hours as they sewed shirts and skirts or made bracelets. We were given two monkeys to eat while we were there and... lets just say though i was SO thankful for the gift of meat... I will never again purposefully buy monkey to eat. :) We had meat everyday which was a BIG change in diet, we also had more than coffee for supper which was a big change as well. I was so full that week but so thankful for the INCREDIBLY generous and sweet brothers and sisters we had met in this village!
The village was flooded as is normal for this time of year and we had the privilege of going to the bathroom in the jungle on a log surrounded by water... needless to say, this was quite an adventure, especially in the dark. :) I cannot over emphasize how great this trip was for our group, and especially for me! God, as usual blew me away with his wonder and awesome power over everything. How amazing he is and how wonderful is his love for us! I have recently heard the best version of the song ¨How Great Thou Art¨ that I have EVER heard, it happens to be in Spanish making it even better in my opinion. :)
While I have been this country I have been taught so much about the glory of God´s creation and how beautiful EVERTHING he does is. I have learned to trust him more fully and have been reminded that nothing that I do apart from him I can do nothing. I have seen what the early church in Acts must have looked like when everyone shared and provided for each other. I have seen, to my great shame, the flaws in my character magnified, such as selfishness, pride, and materialism. It is my great prayer that God would continue to shape and mold me into the woman he wants me to be. That He would use me for His glorious purposes, and continue to allow our trips to go well as we see and learn more about his creation and people. I am continually praying for my family back home, both immediate and spiritual. May you be filled with peace and joy through our God and Father in the weeks to come!
