Peru!

Boy, does the time fly! It's already been two months since my last post, and since then I've been to Peru and back! After stateside in Iowa, our first flight to Peru was out of the Chicago O'Hare airport, so we headed for Illinois! We flew from Chicago to Lima, then from Lima to Iquitos. We were all so excited when we finally made it! We took a (wooden) bus form the airport to the YWAM base that was hosting us, and we got settled in. Those next six weeks were some of the most difficult, but also the most amazing weeks I've ever been through. There are so many wonderful stories, and I wish I could type every single one of them out for you! The Lord really used the time in Peru to work in my life, and to help me work through some things in my heart. This outreach was definitely a time of personal growth for me! One huge area was in the area of trusting the Lord, and it played out when it came to house visits/evangelism. I am a pretty shy person, and I don't really like talking to people I don't know. So going up to someone's house, being invited in, and then sitting there uncomfortably while I try to think of what I'm going to say next, was not my favorite thing to do. Needless to say, I did not always have the best attitude when we would head out to do house visits, and I would usually just sit back and let everyone else do the talking. I knew that wasn't right, though. I mean, the whole reason I was in Peru was to share with people about what the Lord has done in my life, and how can I do that when I never say anything?? I was just always afraid that I wouldn't know what to say, and I wasn't trusting that the Lord would give me the words. Until one day, during the week we spent out in communities on the river, we were getting ready to walk throughout the community and do house visits. We stopped at the first house, and there was an elderly lady sitting on the floor. Her name was Juana, and she couldn't speak, so we had to ask "yes" or "no" questions. Then my leader, Kristen, suggested that I share my testimony with her. I was so nervous! I never really share my "salvation testimony," but I felt like that was the story I was suppose to share. I did not expect it to come out smoothly, and I wasn't sure if it would even make sense by the end, but I started sharing it anyway. That was the first time that I had spoken out like that during ministry, and the Lord was definitely guiding me in what to say! I have never told a testimony that smoothly, and the farther I got into the story, the more confident I became. That was just the beginning of one of my favorite days from outreach! The Lord really used that day to teach me to lean into Him and trust Him to meet me in the moments when I feel like I don't know what to say. We got to see people come to know the Lord, and it was really cool knowing that God used me to help make it happen. 

Even though it's nice to be back at home, it's still really weird to think that I'm not only already done with outreach, but that I've finished my DTS! It came and went so quickly, it's insane. I miss my YWAM family!