Inner Peace

My last week at Love & Hope Children's Home has been quite a whirlwind. I don't think anything could have prepared me for what I experienced and the mad race to the finish. I said goodbyes to: my house and my neighbors, the staff and the office where my desk is empty, my church and church friends, friends of the ministry, Board members, fellow missionaries, and all the precious little ones living at the Home. So many of these goodbyes were filled with pupusas, cake, kind words, hugs and kisses. I drove away this morning with tears in my eyes because I can see more clearly than ever before how God fulfills his promises to give us abundantly more than we can ever imagine.

My little buddy Antonio loves to watch Kung Fu Panda. He doesn't understand the English but he always tells me “Yo soy el tigre!” (I'm the tiger!) and proceeds to make karate chop moves and noises throughout. The panda must learn about “inner peace” in the movie because it will allow him to overcome his flaws and be a better leader. Tonio has picked up these two words and repeats them often. From the actions in the movie he has been able to explain that “inner peace” is “cuando no le duele mas” (when you don't hurt anymore). What a smart fella!

I'm sitting on the plane right now filled with so many emotions as I leave a country that is still developing and a ministry that was once is a fragile state. I have “inner peace” after the two years I have spent pouring my heart into something I knew was a calling from God. It wasn't easy at all. In fact it stretched me in new levels I have never known. In the end, I am amazed – astonished – and overwhelmed by the incredible ways that God has sustained me, allowed me to be used and gave me abundantly more than I could have asked for. It seems like He has given me an “inner peace”, the only place it can come from!