Back to Reality

Hello dear friends in Christ! We are now back from our Bolivia Mission trip and it has been almost 2 days since our return. I must say that for me, these past two days have been a little numb. Numb because I am readjusting to the life that I lead before going on the trip. I am back to looking at really organized towns and cities which I must say was to some extent a shock for me. I remember feeling this when we flew over Miami coming back from Santa Cruz. From the sky, everything looked so organized, neat and proper. It was not all like that in different parts of Bolivia. I became so accustomed to looking at the scenery and the structure of the towns in Bolivia that when I saw Miami, I was surprised. Going through the motions of the day felt really numb too. I missed waking up for mass and morning prayer and being able to look forward to meeting the Ninos of San Martin De Porres or the children in Santa Theresa De Los Andes.

As I continue to ponder on the past 10 days in Bolivia being the face of Christ to the children in both the orphanages, I am amazed at how powerful our God is. I have been on various mission trips and doing missionary work in the past two years of my life. But this was a whole new experience for me. It was easy to rely on my strength to do the mission that was given to me on my previous mission works. However, during this trip, I was striped of the one thing that I do alot and best. It was talking. The very fact that I was in a country that spoke Spanish majority of the time, limited me to really simple conversations. This was hard for me to get over as I am a naturally talkative person. I love long conversations with people and it was hard for me to hold a conversation like that with the amount of Spanish that I knew. I thought that it would hinder me from bonding with the children in San Martin de Porres or with the Dominican Brothers in Cochabamba. This factor made me frustrated so many times. So, I cried out to God. I prayed. I surrendered everything to Him knowing that there was nothing more that I could have done.
Doing that, made the biggest difference. After praying, I felt such peace in myself and I felt the strength to continue to persevere and to not quit learning. God really did kept his promise as it is said in Isaiah 40:31 'But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.'

The Lord showed me, that there is absolutely no boundaries and limits that can hinder the work of the Lord from coming to past. He showed me that even with a language barrier, as long as we are open and sincere in our mission, He will provide a way. After all, we are merely empty vessels, instruments to be used by God for the fulfillment of His will. It may be a different culture or a different language but as long as we trust in Him, He will make the way.

Coming back from this trip, I feel like my faith level has been increased. It is always easy to say 'trust in God' or 'have faith in God' or 'there is nothing impossible to God' but experiencing it first hand brings a deeper meaning to those common phrases. With this experience that I have been blessed with, I know for sure that no matter where I am or what I do, God can use me to do His will. I learned first hand that it is God who equips us with the skills necessary to do His will. Some of us didn't or could not speak Spanish fluently, but were still able to communicate and even form close bonds with the people around us. Some of us felt uncomfortable carrying out some of the chores at Santa Theresa but in the end, were able to overcome it and did a far better job than what we expected. God provides us with all that we need. All we have to do is just be there and be open to allow God to work through us. Indeed, there is really nothing impossible to God.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to this mission trip. You may have donated money or prayed for us every single day. I am here to tell you that every penny donated and every prayer prayed made this trip a BLESSING to all of us who went on it and definitely a blessing to those who encountered us. Your contributions made a way for us to be the hands and feet of Jesus and for us to be touched by the love of Jesus through the people whom we encountered. I pray that God will bless you abundantly and give you tenfold of what you gave us. Thank you and God bless !