God Doesn't Give Us a Map...

A couple of weeks ago I got to travel with my dad to Cochabamba for a five-day course on radical discipleship. Dr. René Padilla, a renown Latin-American theologian, came all the way from Argentina to give the lectures. One night he shared something a missionary once told him: "God doesn't give us a map. He gives us His hand." I had to write that down...Lately I feel like I'm standing at some major crossroads in my life, and it would be so nice to have a map! But instead of a map, I have a relationship with the sovereign, all-wise, omniscient Creator and Lord of my life! In all my confusion, I am forced to draw closer to Him and depend on Him to get me where I'm supposed to go!

Things have started to change around here. Considering my life has been filled with change, I should be used to it by now. Instead, I find change very hard to process, and it really affects me emotionally. Next week my dad and sister are traveling to Canada to be with my brothers. My mom is waiting to finish some paperwork and hopes to follow them shortly. My Canadian friend, Janelle, got very sick with Salmonella for the second or third time since she's been in Bolivia and decided to move in with us, which means things are crowded in the apartment until people start to leave. On the positive side, this seems to be God's provision for a house-mate during my family's absence in Canada!

A few days ago we (my dad, mom, sister, Janelle and I) made a trip out to Urmiri (hot springs) with the Vargas family (a Bolivian-Canadian family who we are close friends with) and some other Canadian friends. It was a relaxing couple of days, and the place was beautiful! Pictured above is a natural pool of hot water with a waterfall coming down and flowers growing along the rock face. I felt like I had stepped into a travel magazine!!! The one night we spent in Urmiri, a group of us climbed up the hill to gaze at the stars. We were out in the middle of nowhere, and the sky seemed to be covered in stars! It was breathtaking! We even got to see some shooting stars! It was also special to spend time with Rachael (Canadian friend who has been living with the Vargas family). She is moving back to Canada next week, which is another one of the changes I am currently lamenting!

If you think of me, I would appreciate prayers for grace to go through this time of changes. Also pray that God could be providing some source of income to pay for my living expenses, etc., during this time. It's kind of hard to get a job right now because I will be traveling up to the US for my brother's wedding in August/September, but God could provide a job that would be flexible/short-term. My dad is also leaving me some projects to work on, which will help keep me busy.