Ecuador, Part 2: I Chose You

Stairs at Mirador Tres Cruces, one of the first places we stopped on our trip. 

A major theme I think I learned on my mission trip was a deeper, more intense knowledge of things I have actually known most of my life. I think that anyone who has been a believer for very long at all knows a great number of things "in theory" that we may not ever really "get" until God takes us out of our ordinary life and into something that opens our eyes more to Him and His ways. That was certainly the case for me. There are 3 things I've known about God that He rooted even deeper into my heart on this trip, and in this post I want to share the first one.

1. I Chose You for Good Works and to Leave a Mark for Me

Just taking in the beauty on one of our team bus rides. Wow God is an amazing Creator!

You guys remember that I went into this adventure really struggling with the thought that I was going to somehow hinder our team. I knew that God wanted me there, and I was stepping out in obedience and hope that He had something He wanted me to do there, but I was still very shaky and insecure just the same. I wasn’t nearly as anxious or uncertain thanks to that amazing message God sent through my friend on our first morning in Ecuador, but I still felt a bit out of place and uncertain. Even on that first day, though, God reassured me with the promise that He had me there for a reason.
We had headed over to the café a few of the Ecuadorian missionaries ran in order to meet the people we would be helping in serving, and as we were all waiting for dinner and getting to know each other, one of the missionaries I hadn't even met yet came over to me, holding his phone in his hand. 

“Hey. I’m Ed. I know we haven’t really even met yet, and this is gonna sound so weird, but…I know your doppelganger.” 

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but I was definitely curious. I laughed and said, “Oh yeah? This is intriguing. Can I see?”

 He turned his phone over and showed me a photo of a young lady, about ten years younger than me, who was indeed eerily similar to me. “I mean, you have the same face, same eyes, and you totally act like her.” He laughed. “Her name is Morgan, and she used to come to my youth group. You guys have a lot of the same mannerisms and just...yeah. It kinda freaks me out!” 

“Oh wow! That is awesome!”

As the evening wore on, Ed jokingly asked me if I would be willing to do a little project. “I think it would be so awesome and funny to do a video for Morgan, acting like you are her from the future.”

I’m always up for a little fun, so I eagerly agreed; and even in that moment, I felt a gentle prompting to take advantage of this opportunity. "Could I also maybe tell her some encouraging stuff, too? After we do the silly part?"

"Of course!"

Me, Meghan, and Ed (showing off his silly side)

A few days later we set the plan into motion. After a few minutes of discussing how we should make this work, we finally decided to make it a "survival" video, where I would be in some kind of peril and would have to tell Morgan all the things she would need to know in order to get through it. We were at an old schoolhouse that our team was helping to fix up and paint, so the backdrop was perfect.
Now, when I am tasked with something, I'm pretty much all-in. This was supposed to be a survival video, and I was determined to look the part.  I smeared dirt on my shirt, let another leader smash a wad of mud into my face, and tried to ignore the fact that the local Ecuadorians were watching me in stunned curiosity (and one had even pulled out a phone to tape the crazy missionary girl smearing mud all over herself). We went into one of the rooms that had already been cleaned, and successfully pulled off our silly "warning" video, somehow managing not to lose composure and laugh ourselves silly. Then after taking a moment to "pull it together a bit", I asked him to turn on the camera again, and then I got to share with this dear girl I had never met that God loves her and has amazing plans for her life, and that He has her exactly where He wants her for a reason.
 "Obviously I'm not really you from the future," I laughed, "but even still, I do know you have a good future ahead. God has plans for you, and special things for you to do."

Later on, Ed pulled me aside to thank me, and explained that Morgan was in a rough season at the time, and could definitely benefit from that kind of encouragement. This was one of the most impacting things on the trip for me, because this little project was something no one else could have done. One of the reasons God chose me to go to Ecuador was to reach a young lady who looks, acts, and speaks just like ME. I mean, it doesn’t get much more personal than that. I am still so blown away by how God did that for me, and how He said loud and clear that not only was I not a liability or a hindrance; I was chosen specifically for this time and this place by Him. 

Literally smearing mud on my face for the special video for Morgan

On that same day, God gave me one more very sweet picture of how He was using me in Ecuador. After making the video, I went into the other schoolroom where my friend Meghan had been spending time painting the walls so I could tell her about what I'd been up to. As I entered, I saw that she had gotten to create a sweet little mural for the kids of the school, and I joyfully exclaimed, “Oh wow, Meghan! That is so special! You get to leave something behind here in Ecuador that will bring so much joy to these kids every time they see it. How cool that you got to leave a mark here!”
She turned to me, a little surprised. “Oh wow,” she said, “I hadn’t thought of it like that. Way to put a cool spin on it!”
She went back to work for a few minutes while I told her about the video, and then she asked me to go get one of the ministry leaders. "I have an idea," she said, "and I want you to be part of it." When I returned she asked the leader, “How do you feel about me putting handprints on this wall?”
“Sure,” the leader replied, “You have free reign. Go nuts.”
Then Meghan told me, “Put some paint on your hands and follow me.”

Both of us smeared the thick paint on our hands, and then she led me to a blank wall and pressed one of her hands on it, indicating I should do the same. So I stuck my hands on the wall, and smiled at the colorful prints left behind. We repeated this a few more times and then Meghan grabbed another color of paint as she grinned at me and said, “There. Now you’ve left something behind, too.” 
In that moment I was struck with God’s small voice whispering, “You’ve left a mark for me here. Not only on that wall, but all over this place. I am using you to make an impact.” 

For the next thirty minutes my friend and I left multi-colored handprints all over that wall, and she wrote the message, “You Are Loved” above them. In that half hour, between painting our hands, and then having to pour gasoline and powdered soap over them, laughing as we tried to scrub that sticky, oily paint off, I realized that this was one of the most meaningful moments of the whole trip. God allowed me to leave a physical mark in Ecuador, in pretty-much permanent paint, to show His love and care to the people there, and He let me see a very visual image of the truth that He was using me to impact others.

Meghan and I with the finished "handprint wall"

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Just like God had specific missions for me to do in Ecuador, God has specific works for each of His people to accomplish exactly where they're at--for each of you. There has been a few times now that I've heard the quote, "If you have a pulse, you have a purpose." and whether that means going on a mission trip, raising up godly kids, blessing your neighbors or friends, ministering to people at work, or a whole myriad of other possibilities, I hope that inspires you like it does me. 

Seriously overjoyed at getting to leave an impact for God

Later I'll share the second thing God taught me in a deeper way through my mission trip, but for now, I hope you all can really soak in the truth that God has very personal plans and purposes for you, and realize that this is really a perfect time to ask Him what those are in this season of your life. I can't wait to hear about what amazing things He does in and through each of you.

Click here to read part 3