God is with us. He is within us, beside us, before us, & behind us. I know you all already know this, but He is so gracious to remind me because sometimes I forget. Even though I am thrilled to know 100% that I am pursuing & following His will for my life, Satan still attacks me where I'm weakest - my fear of failure. Luckily, The Lord often uses others to remind me of His Presence, Strength, Guidance, and Mercy....

I am moving to Peru...as a missionary....to work with & among Peruvians(NOT fellow American missionaries). I am trying to decide what personal belongings to get rid of, leave here, or ship to Peru. I am shipping a 20' container to Peru....hoping I fill out all the paperwork correctly so it doesn't get held up in customs....while trying to plan how I'm going to schedule getting my residence card during the time I'm in Lima while the cargo shipment is inspected and processed by customs agents. I'm planning on flying to Pucallpa before the container arrives there to make sure my house is ready for me to move into....then to purchase appliances, etc..........then to unload the container when it arrives.....to then get my house settled before School starts a week later.....assuming nothing gets delayed in the midst of this time line......while doing all of the above in Spanish.......

Does this sound overwhelming to you??? Cause I'm pretty sure doing all of that solo would probably test just about anyone's sanity and cause them to question why on earth they are putting themselves through it all.

I was recently venting this to my mom as I'm trying to make sure I don't forget anything, because, of course, I am ultimately responsible for making sure ALL of the above happens successfully. I don't have a significant other going with me that I can talk to, hash ideas out to, split responsibilities with...nope, its just me. And as I started on a rather lengthy and progressively tenser tone of voice describing everything I'm trying to make sure I get done right so I don't fall on my face in disaster, my mom very quickly cuts me off. In the middle of my "I have to make sure everything is done as correctly as possible with the shipping container, because if something goes wrong with getting the container through customs once its in Peru, I am the one that will be standing there, alone, and having to make the decision what to do......"my mom says "Stop. You are not alone. You are never alone. You are not going to the Mission Field alone. God is right beside you. When you are standing there with the customs agent and you have to make a decision, you are not making that decision alone. Christ is right next to you and will guide you to do what needs to be done."

What a wake up call! I was a little put off at first because logistically, I AM GOING ALONE.... But as I continued to listen to what she said, I checked my selfishness and my heart...I may be the only "person" going, but I am by no means alone. Oh, how I wish to confidently live each day constantly aware of Christ's presence surrounding me, with full faith & confidence that He will direct and guide even the smallest detail. In my mind I know that He does all of that, but I often allow the busyness of life to distract me from His face and look to myself for the answers. How useless! All of you are out there praying for me, encouraging me, & partnering with me as Christ leads this great work forward. ALL OF YOU are going with me! And Christ is at the forefront of us all! He directs our paths. He is my rock and my great comforter. What a blessed assurance! I quickly rebuked Satan and his wiles and thanked God for His grace and mercy. He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us. Thanks You Jesus for such an awesome promise!

#provision #Peru #missions