Clinging to his call

So it has been almost three weeks now since I left my family and friends and came to follow my love on this amazing journey. I have enjoyed exploring this beautiful city and getting to know my new family. This is a picture of Volcán Misti which is one of three volcanoes surrounding Arequipa. The picture doesn't do it justice, but I wanted to give you all a glimpse of the breath-taking landscape in Arequipa.

Although I am surrounded by beauty and am confident this is where I am to be, I have experienced the harsh realities of the battle that is raging around us. Before leaving, I knew that we would face circumstances that would be impossible to get through without God's strength, however, I did not take into account how soon we would face those attacks. Our entire team experienced some difficult challenges that we were not prepared to face, but through God's strong hand guiding us and protecting us, we are going to come out stronger than we were before.

I had often heard of missionaries saying that you need to be very sure of your call because you will face times in your ministry when your call is all you have to cling to. I have definitely learned the full extent of that statement this past week. I know that almost a year ago in a little coffee shop God gripped my heart with compassion and a burden for these people that were in desperate need of the hope that only he can offer. He had restored my heart from the brokeness that I had experienced and he had asked me if I was willing to waste my life for him and his hurting sheep. Through passages like Romans 10:13-15, Isaiah 61:1-3, and Pslams 45:10-11, God comfirmed that he had been preparing all along for me to venture to this beautiful country. With all that in mind, I am confident because of the volume of warefare we have already experienced, we are going to do mighty works for the kingdom of God in Peru. One of my precious friends on our team told me that she knows that God isn't going to bring us all the way out here to only meet us halfway and then to let us fall. He is faithful to the end and will help us become even greater and stronger vessels for him to work through. I am excited to see what the future holds as I cling to his promises and his comforting arms!