Last Post in Peru...

Wow, it seems so weird to me to finally be leaving South America, especially since I've been here for three years!! The time passed by so quickly; where did it go?? This last week I've been in Lima, Peru, mainly to get LASIK done (it went well, I can see!!), but I've had a lot of down time as well. In this down time, I found that I've been splitting my time between reminiscing about my term here, and trying to picture the future, and what I'm supposed to be doing with the rest of my life... Yeah, I know, just some light thinking to pass the time... haha

I just wanted to share with y'all probably one of the biggest things that God taught me while I was down here. I may have shared this before with some of you, but please bear with me. :) Before I came down here to South America, I was a very Type-A, had-to-have-everything-planned-out-to-the-t, and nothing could change or it was the end of the world kind of guy. I'm pretty sure I was borderline OCD as well. hehe But when I came down here for my term with the Xtreme Team, I was in for a huge wake-up call!! Through our team over these three years, I learned, time and time again, that our plans are never sufficient, only His plans will work, and we have to obey. When we plan out the next 1, 5, 10 years to the minute (and allow no room for change), we do a great disservice to God, whose plans for us we couldn't even begin to imagine!! His Holy Spirit loves to move (seemingly to us) at random; He has no schedule that God gives Him every day on his iPhone, Blackberry, or newest Android... I'm not saying that plans are bad; please don't hear that. I still make plans, to a lesser degree, but I make sure that I am always open to the Holy Spirit, and willing to change my ways to His. It all comes down to obedience; are we willing to surrender our neat, tidy plans for His incredible, and sometimes scary plans for us. Are you? Obedience is life; it is the call for all Christians. Many believe that one is 'called' to missions or to a 'ministry', but that is simply not the case. All Christians are called to obedience, plain and simple. We have to be willing to go wherever God wants to send us, do whatever He wants us to do, and say whatever He wants us to say. Do we trust God enough to simply obey Him at every moment in our lives?

Less than three weeks...

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on how life is going down here in Iquitos, Peru... First, I want to thank everyone for their prayers with regards to the Training Manual that I´ve been working on since who can remember! :) But finally... it has been completed!! The English version has been finalized, and sent out to the various jefes who requested it. I only have 6-7 pages of just one more class to translate into Spanish, and the Spanish version is done as well; there is light at the end of the tunnel!
It seems that at least two of the trainees from this last training (Eliseo & Nestor) are very interested in joining the Xtreme Team. Please continue to pray for these young men; that they may obey wherever God leads them.
And finally, I have just 19 more days left in Peru; only 7 left here in Iquitos. It is amazing to think that my three-year term is coming to an end! It seems like yesterday that I was leaving the States to come down here... Wow... I ask for your prayers for the transition that I will begin when I return to the States; please pray that everything goes as smoothly as it can, and that I don´t experience reverse culture shock too strongly. Also, I still have nothing concrete planned as far as a job, or where I´ll be living, and that´s fine. :) Please pray for me to listen to Him for opportunities, and to obey whatever the Lord tells me to do.
I do have a confession to make... Before about a week ago, I wasn´t spending time daily in the Word; I would read from time to time, but it wasn´t a constant habit I had cultivated in my life. But for about a week now, I have been spending time every morning in His Word, reading the Scripture and meditating on what I have read throughout the day. It´s amazing how that "little" habit can make such a huge impact on your daily life! I say "little" because it doesn´t necessarily have to be an hour at 5am every morning reading the Word; it could just be a chapter, or even a verse, before breakfast, and then all day just think about that chapter/verse, and how it applies to your life as a Christian. Maybe I was the only one not reading his Bible consistently, but if I´m not alone, I challenge those like me to open it in the mornings, make it a part of your routine, and just see how it transforms every single thing you do all day!