We have been home now for 6 weeks. It has been a whirlwind of catching up, speaking, meetings, appointments, and preparing to return to Peru. So many people to see and things to do...
Carmen and I will be staying a little longer due to the fact that I need to have corrective surgery for my little toe as a result of breaking it in Novemeber.
Since being home we have been asked a lot of questions. But, two stick out in my mind the most.....
Is it hard being back in the US?
Is it hard thinking of going back to Peru?
And my quick answer is ...No, because it is temporary....
Last year I was privileged to lead a bible study for Carmen and her friends called Faithgirlz. When I am asked these questions, I am reminded of the memory verse from that study.....
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18
Retuning home this time hasn't seemed as hard as coming home in the past. It is because I am reminded that it is temporary. God has changed my heart and the way I think of leaving and returning.
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:" Ecclesiastes 3:1
Our time here is short so, instead of getting caught up in the world; we are valuing our time with family and friends. We are soaking up the comforts of home and realizing the treasures we have in the people who love us. We, of course miss our friends and home in Peru. But, instead of looking at that...we are just enjoying our time being at home.
The same goes for returning to Peru. Instead of looking at it as a time of sadness because we are leaving our family and friends; we realize it is temporary. We have been renewed and are excited to go back to Peru. Excited to continue to build relationships and strengthen our existing relationships. We know we are only there for a certain duration and we want to do as much as we can.
Along our journey, God has placed some amazing people into our lives. He has allowed our paths to cross with individuals that have impacted our lives immeasurably. And for me, saying goodbye to each of them starts with this gut wrenching sadness, due to the fact that I truly do not know if I will ever get to physically see them again. But, as I start to feel this way, I am filled with the Holy Spirit. He fills me to overflowing with gratefulness to my Father for the knowledge that I will get to spend eternity with them. The Holy Spirit also fills me with the urgency to share God's amazing gospel with others so that I will also spend eternity with them as well.
I will leave you with a quick story:
We met a young man from seminary school in the UK doing a five week mission trip. His name was Seb and he was quite an amazing young man. His heart for the Lord was nothing but inspiring. As it was time to say goodbye to him, I was sort of left with a feeling of uncertainty as to how to say goodbye. Because the reality was that we may never meet again in this life. I really enjoyed Seb and that thought was sad for me. As Joel, Carmen, and I were getting ready to leave in the boat; he reminded me that we would see each other again. Would we get to spend eternity together praising our Father in Heaven!! Just imagine that!!
