Its funny that before coming, I
tried to rationalize to myself that the communication issue with the outside
world would be something like the seven months I spent in Spain. Instead, I guess I’m getting about the same
experience someone might have gotten 100 years ago… okay, granted I get email
access like once a week, and that obviously wouldn’t have been the issue in 1907,
but that’s still a huge change from Wake, where you pretty much had to check it
seventeen times a day. Add that to the
fact that my cellphone is pretty much obsolete here, and mail doesn’t get sent
till about a week after its written, and its kind of like the horse and buggy
days. Its hard (and I’m sure it would be
for anyone from my generation) – I can’t just google how pollo mole is made, or
call my friends when I see or do something that makes me miss them. But God’s working through that, reminding me
that all I really need is Him.
We are going through a book called
“The Art of Listening Prayer”- and I mentioned how we had learned about it in
my last entry- but this type of communication with God is completely
revitalizing my relationship with Him.
Its so cool. When we first did
listening prayer at training camp, I felt incredibly presumptuous about writing
down things the Lord was saying to me- but His words to me this week have been
so clear that I would have to intentionally try to block Him out to not receive
what He has for me. So we were instructed
to do listening prayer about where God would have us do our internships, and I
had planned on doing the women’s and children’s shelter, but He told me pretty
clearly that I needed to spend my time at the prison. That was especially hard to follow through
with after we went to the shelter and I immediately fell in love with the kids
there. But, as I’ve learned in the past
(in realizing He wanted me in Mexico, for example) – even if I’m not excited
about the specific thing I’m being called to do, there’s reason enough to be
excited that He has a particular purpose for me there. I’m still not excited that from the moment I
get out of the shower I have to start spraying bug spray on myself, or that
there are hundreds of frogs taking up residence in our hallway, or that I’ve seen/
had to kill more roaches here than our RA has seen in the year she’s lived
here, or that I get frisked every time I go to the prison. But I’m delighted to be here, learning what
I’m learning and growing in the knowledge of Christ’s love for me and in the
understanding of His heart for the nations.
