One of the things that you learn most when you are in the mission field is that God will always provide. This year I have come to understand this more. I arrived here with four other Colombians, and from the beginning I saw how God was providing not only money, but also food, a place to stay, exciting events, etc.
When you put your life in God's hands it is as if you are riding one of those two-seater bikes. It doesn't matter what the rider in the back does as long as he pedals, because the rider in the front is the one who directs the bike. It is the same in your life when you surrender it to Jesus. You get off the front seat and sit on the back seat, giving Him the direction. Jesus will say to you, “Pedal”, for you can do nothing else. Just pedal. It doesn't matter if you want to go right. If He wants you to go right, then that's the direction you will go. The exciting thing about this is that everything is always an adventure, because you never know where He will take you. You just keep pedaling, and little by little you discover wonderful new paths. He's in charge of the bikes maintenance and of making the necessary stops to rest and eat. All you have to do is pedal. That is how I've learned to live here.
One of the most difficult things I've had to learn is to depend on Him economically. But I have seen that He never abandons us, not even in the least bit. In order for you to understand this part you need to know that one US dollar equals 7 bolivianos (7Bs). It also helps to know that this year I stayed at Familia Feliz (the orphanage where I am a volunteer missionary) with two other friends from Colombia and all the money that was sent we divided among the three of us!
Well, little by little we have been using up the last bit of money we had. Then we realized that we didn't even have $10 left. When there was less than $4 left God provided a little more. So that's how we continued until again we ran out of money, and God brought some more. About three weeks later we said, “Well guys, it looks like after this week we won't be able to go to town. Why go if we don't have money for Internet?” So we went to town that week, and somehow the next week we had exactly enough money for the following week, and that's how it continued. Today, the money was supposed to run out again, but in the middle of the week I remembered that last year I had bought a small generator that no one has been using. So we found it where I had left it, in need of some repair, and we brought it to the town where we hoped to sell it. We took it with us into a workshop, and one of the customers that was there immediately bought it from us for $100. It is not much money. But the amazing thing is that God keeps providing little by little. He doesn't give us more than we need, but we have never, even in the least, lacked anything. I am so thankful to God for His infinite mercy!
The truth is not an easy lesson to learn, but it is something that we will all have to learn. It is better to learn now to depend completely on God, because when the last days come, who is going to support you? Do you think faith will come to you all of the sudden? When you are in Heaven, who will sustain you? It's hard to learn. If you ask God to help you to depend totally on Him, what you are really asking for is that God leave you without money, without food, without a house, so that you will have no other option but to ask Him, implore Him that He provide for you. It is when you see that there are no more options that you realize that God can take care of you like He takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field.
I hope that all brothers in the faith can one day learn to depend on God. I know I haven't learned completely yet, but I know that God will send trials so that I can learn to trust more in Him, and through the trials I will be more valuable than gold.
God bless you all!
Published by Jorge Vergel
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