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Salvation is here! Salvation is here and He lives in me!

Never have these words meant so much to me. Never have they rung so true.

Being in Ecuador has taught me a lot of things, including:

1)      Nothing is impossible with God. I am in a foreign country, living with people who don’t speak my language, studying and speaking a language I know barely anything about, all while constantly running from place to place and feeling exhausted, and yet… I am fairly successful. My teachers love me, my grades are good, and I get along pretty well with my family. Is it perfect? No. But it’s as good as it is because God is on my side.

2)      People are more important than studying. I don’t know where I would be without the friendships I have with my fellow students (especially my friend Amanda), teachers, and family members. I thank God for the people he has placed in my life here.

3)       Humility. One surefire way to realize how little you know is to live in a country where the people don’t speak your language. I am constantly asking for help and constantly asking people to slow down, be patient with me, and repeat, repeat, repeat. And let me tell you….it kills your pride when you only know how to speak like a caveman.

4)      Patience. Ah… Latin America. Things are slow down here. For example…there is a Bible study I can attend on Tuesday nights. It is supposed to start at 8. It actually starts at 9:30. It’s supposed to end at 10. It actually ends at 11. And the weekends….just as bad. On Sunday my mom said we would leave my aunt’s house at 1:40 so I could study in the afternoon. We didn’t leave until 3:30. For those of you that know me you will probably laugh with recognition when I say… it’s really hard for me to live in this type of culture. I never know exactly where I am going or how long I am going to be there. God is teaching me A LOT about patience.

5)      The power (and overuse) of words. When you don’t know how to speak the language of the people around you, you quickly learn at least two things: (1) we all say a lot of things that are meaningless that don’t really need to be said and (2) there are some things that are extremely imperative that must be explained through words. To sum up, in Ecuador, I say a lot less and listen a lot harder.

In all of this… God is good. The most important thing I have learned is that NOTHING CAN SEPARATE ME FROM THE SALVATION THAT LIVES IN ME. I lack a lot of knowledge and understanding. My body is weak.  My mind can only hold so much information. I make hundreds mistakes each day and sin more than I want to. BUT JESUS STILL LOVES ME. AND HE STILL WANTS ME. There is nothing I could do that would make Him not want me. I AM LOVED DEEPLY AND FEROCIOUSLY BY MY CREATOR. And because of this I have HOPE… for today, tomorrow, and the rest of my life.

Thanks for reading. Hope you are all doing well. And thank you from the bottom of my heart for praying for me. It means more than you can know.

Meagan