Anyone who knows me knows that I hate driving; it absolutely terrified me for many years. To this day I will gladly hand over the keys for my car to someone else. One of my other pathological fears is putting in gas. I refused to put gas in my car for the first year I had my license, and I am forever grateful for a wonderful older sister who would always make sure my tank was full so I didn’t have to face my fears. She never let it get to empty (except once, but I guess can cut her some slack). Then she left for college. Suddenly I was forced to do it myself, and with a lot of encouragement from my dad, I was able to face my fears, and now I don’t think twice about it.
I think being here in Peru is kind of like that. My God, like my sister and my dad, never lets my tank run empty. In fact, he always keeps it near full. Some Days are filled with so much joy that my heart threatens to burst and I can’t make myself stop smiling. Don’t get me wrong, there are also some days where the injustices of the world make me want to curl up into a ball under my covers and cry. But, then God is there providing me with just the right amount of gas to keep me going and remind me why I am here.
I have fallen in love with the kids of Casa Hogar and all the people who work here. When a child masters a new concept in math, or finally remembers the words to the song they must know for their English class, my heart rejoices as well. When they have a particularly good day finding marbles, I share in their excitement. When they are frustrated or upset about something that happened at school, I share that frustration or sadness.
This weekend, many of the children had the chance to go home and visit their families. It may be to visit a grandparent, older sister or brother, aunt or uncle, or their actual parent. Therefore, Casa was very quiet this weekend, but once again God provided. In the past two days, I got to facetime with every member of my family, and despite lots of WiFi struggles, my wonderful co-workers helped coordinate a call with one of my gals from work. Although it makes every fiber in my being ache for the comforts of home, it also overflowed my body with warmth and happiness. I realized to never underestimate the things a simple phone call can do.
As I was reading my bible, I read the story of Elijah and the Widow in 1 Kings. It is the well known story, where the little jar of flour and jug of oil never run out. God never fails to provide just what we need, just when we need it. It may be something as simple as a smile, a hug, or a phone call, but he always gives us the gas to keep the car going.
Alexandra's Adventrues Abroad 