Encouragement

As some of you know, mission trips can be exhausting. It's easy to miss the familiar sounds of home and friends when you realize they're located halfway around the world, approximately 8000 miles below your feet. And it's super easy to doubt why you're there, what you're doing, if it's right, or if it's making any difference at all. It can be easy to succumb to discouragement, especially when communication with the other side of the world is completely cut off. But, lucky for me, a little into the trip when discouragement really set in, I had help.

First, one of my bestest friends, Casey (hi Casey!), made me a little picture book with pictures of all my Santa Clara friends (including one of Cyrus, ha ha) and encouraging notes from them. It was great to see all them, remember their love for and belief in me, and read all their encouragement. It literally turned my week around to have that. So thanks so much everyone!

Then later in the week, I was reading along in Jeremiah, trying to diligently pay attention, but I kept wondering whether the talk I had given the day before at Seminar Day was the right thing to say (see blog about Seminar Day). Though it was neat that Eric and I had independently chosen messages that went together, I was still feeling discouraged. As I was pondering all this, I read:"Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands..."

I read this and thought to myself, "Oh, here! This will tell me what I should be proclaiming and affirming in distant places, to all the nations. Whatever it is, maybe that's what I should be saying." So I read on and it said: "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'" -Jer 31:10

I was so surprised to find that what I had talked about, that God is our good shepherd, was what this said. It was a small thing that I found very encouraging. It's cool how, though God asks us to live by faith and believe in his leading, he takes care of us, helps us, and knows what we can handle and when we could use just a little nudge of encouragement.