Hi everyone! My name's Jordan Taylor (also known as JT); I'm a junior English Ed major at Lipscomb, and this is my 2nd trip to Ciudad de Angeles with Lipscomb. Abby asked me to write a bit about our 2nd day in Cozumel with the angels.
Between a stressful semester and the looming approach of senior year, my season of life lately has been simultaneously restless and exhausting. I am in a constant state of planning and preparing for my future while dragging myself through the present. All of the stress and exhaustion has essentially left me in a dry spell spiritually leading up to the trip; I just haven't been willing and able to put the time and energy into my faith life like I normally would. I haven't been feeling His presence lately; even at Ciudad, where I feel like I see God working the most-- I just wasn't feeling Him moving. The bubbling--over excitement I had felt on the plane dwindled, as apprehension, worry, and doubt filled its place as we left for the campus Saturday. It made the first night with the kids a struggle, as I focused less on loving on the kids, and more about the worries and doubts I had, and all of the emotions I carried with me from school. Today, I refused to let my emotions win again. I couldn't continue to dwell on things that shouldn't matter, like the language barrier (that's what translators are for), being remembered (some kids did, some didn't, some recognized me once we were in the light today), remembering names (they came right back), among other miniscule details. Instead of simply asking God to take away those fears and inhibitions, though, I asked that I become aware of God's presence- that I see Him working and moving again. It was as if a switch had been flipped. As soon as I stepped onto campus, a new-found peace just overwhelmed me. Everything that I struggled with Saturday completely melted away, and God sent me new, wonderful moments to focus on, such as: ~Painting nails with Conny and Cristi (and Cristi then putting stickers all over my arm) ~Watching Paloma and Brooklyn interact for the 1st time ~piecing together a sentence in Spanish (PROGRESS PEOPLE!!) ~Marce's laugh as Danny J & Haley chased her around the playground (oh how I've missed that musical laugh!) ~Taking selfies with Carlos ~talking to Wendy at the home and after 8th Street Church ~getting enough hugs and kisses and drawings from Conny to last a lifetime It's amazing what God can do through the simplest interactions and the quiet, unplanned moments. When we lean in to God's spirit and let ourselves ask for and seek His presence above all else, He can- and will- do beautiful things. So this week, my prayer is that instead of trying to make specific things happen, specific memories to unfold, every detail to be perfect, and let every roadblock and doubt overwhelm me-- I'm going to continue asking and praying for God's presence to reign. And through His beautiful, restful presence, may I make the details, the memories and the relationships unfold the way God intends for them to do. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart. ~Jeremiah 29:13 Please continue your prayers for our team as we journey through Ciudad life together! ~JT |