Whatever situation to be content

¨I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strenghens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. ¨ Philippians 4:10-14
Sunday night our whole team (which is four guys and our boss and his wife) met as the church in the house of Trent, our boss. We ate a great dinner that Kay prepared for us, tacos -they were delicious!- and then we discussed the passage of Scripture above. Trent said that these verses ran through his head constantly while we were in the communities for the past month. We each got to share our thoughts on the passage and also how it related to our experiences in the villages. Trent asked us what were some of the ways that we `learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger´ and it was really good to get to hear and share the ways we coped with our situations. So I´ll share mine with y´all...
I have to admit to y´all that the first five or six days were very dark for me spiritually. I had many thoughts running through my head that nearly had me convinced I was in the wrong place. There were a couple of days when we first in Qolqa Pampa that I just wanted to give up and head, at the very least, to Pocoata, and at the most transfer to another, easier job. After a couple of days of feeling this despair bordering on depression I finally got smart enough, or desperate enough, or inspired by the Holy Spirit, to open the Word of God. Even after just an hour of reading it, I felt refreshed and my eyes were opened to the folly of what I was considering doing, breaking my covenant I made, not with man, but with the Almighty God. After this I spent as often as I could soaking in story after story from the Bible. Of course there were days where I wasn´t able to read my Bible before we worked for that day, and I noticed a big difference in my attitude that would permeate every situation for the worse.
The second thing that helped me through our first trip was that I realized I needed to have faith in God to take care of us no matter what. I know that sounds really cliché but it´s almost like I had an epiphany when I read parts of Matthew 6; ¨therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on¨ verse 25, ¨and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his life?¨ verse 27, ¨but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.¨ verses 33 and 34. There was a time during our stay where we didn´t have work for four straight days... and no work means no food from the people. I was really worried about what we were going to do until I read that passage and just let God take care of it. And He did; we were able to eat crackers from a store for those four days! Hey, it was better than not eating... I had been worrying about all the details and had gotten frustrated whenever our plans changed, or fell through. Once I had released all of that stress and tension that my OCD side so much enjoys feeling, I was able to fully rest in Him like Jesus says in Matthew 11; ¨Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,¨ verse 28. I thought I had learned my lesson to keep focused on His Word in order to survive, like Deuteronomy 8 says: ¨that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord,¨ verse 3, but like the Israelites time and time again in the Old Testament, I forgot and went my own way. Thankfully, God is a God that constantly pursues us no matter what, so He was right there when I turned back to Him once more.
So for an update now. Our plans have changed slightly. Now Javier and I are in Puno, Peru once more working on getting my missionary visa... again. I supposedly have all the necessary documents I need now so I should be able to get it. I´m just asking all of you to pray that the process goes smoothly so I can more effectively serve our Lord. If we can´t do it here in Puno, then I will have to go to Lima for about two weeks and mail my passport to DC so they can do it there and mail it back.