El Salvador Missions 2014

It's hard to believe it's been a week since I was asleep in a hammock overlooking the El Salvadorian coast. Hard to believe that just over a week ago, I was painting nails and blowing bubbles with little girls and boys at a local orphanage in the city of San Miguel. Hard to believe that just a week ago, I was on one of the greatest adventures I've ever been on.

I guess you could call it a God-adventure. Because He took me on some pretty crazy rides last week. Both literally and figuratively. I took a couple rides through the crazy traffic. I went to an El Salvadorian doctor. And I learned a lot about Him, about what He wants for me at this point in life.

The big question last week was, "Why does God have you on this trip?" I could give you a lot of answers to that question.

   He taught me to be thankful for what I have. He also taught me that I don't need all my material things to survive. Things like hot showers and flushable toilet paper and air conditioning. I'm blessed. But those things aren't what life's all about.

   He also taught me that adventure can be found in the simplest things. It was easy for me to find adventure during my trip to the doctor while I was there. It wasn't quite as easy to find the adventure while avoiding the sun and dust at the orphanage. Why? Because it wasn't obviously right in front of me. It was a different kind of adventure. One where I got to show love to sweet little children and care for them. It was the kind of adventure that doesn't come from surroundings but from what's going on inside the heart. I'll remember those sweet little kids forever because of how much they taught me about love, contentment, and joy.

   God taught me about trust. One big question that I've always got tumbling around in my mind is, "What is God calling me to?" I wrestled with that question even more during this trip. And here's what I came up with: I don't exactly know. I know I'm supposed to go back to Latin America one day, and I know it's supposed to be for longer than a week. But other than that, I have no idea what He wants to do through my life. One night, this was all that was on my mind. After some tears and talking through it with one of our team leaders, God gave me a reminder. He's got it all under control. He's got it all planned out. All I need to do is trust Him. And I'm also learning that that's a whole lot easier than it sounds.

   Finally, God taught me that for now, my mission field is at home. Since I've been home, I've been ready to head right back to El Salvador and get to working and serving again. Because that's where my heart is, and that's where I feel called to spend time serving in the future, for however long that may be. But right now, God has me in my hometown for a reason. Right now, my hometown is my mission field. He's shown me that there is just as much of a need for people to shine for Him here as there is in the corners of the world. While on the trip, I studied through Philippians. There's a section in chapter two that talks about shining like stars in the universe for Christ, even in the midst of a generation that doesn't shine for Him. So even if I'm not in a foreign country blowing bubbles and learning Spanish from adorable little orphans right now, I can still shine for Him.

In short, the trip to El Salvador was an amazing trip. I have memories that I'll hold on to for my entire life. Our team became like a family and is a group of people I hope to have as lifelong friends. God blessed me tremendously on this trip; I can't even put it into words.

I'd go back in a heartbeat.