God, I Surrender My Expectations

*I wrote this post last Tuesday, which is when our weeks end here in Ecuador and when I’ll be writing most of my posts, but I am just now having a chance to post it. I’ll be posting an update on this week soon! 

It’s crazy to even think that we have only been in Ecuador a week! This week has been filled to the brim with activity and reflection. I’ve learned more about the importance of surrendering my expectations to God. During training camp, one of our talks was about the cost of discipleship. At the conclusion of the lesson we were asked to write about our personal cost of discipleship and reflect on what we needed to surrender to Christ. I wrote down “God, I surrender my expectations to You.” I didn’t expect for that surrender to be tested so suddenly. 

Our time in Ecuador started with the few expectations I had crashing down around me. I was so excited to freely journey around Quito and start working with kids with special needs. Upon our first meeting with our hosts, they told us some of the necessary changes because of covid. We would only be going to places in Ecuador with limited contact with people and instead of interacting with kids at the special needs ministry, we would likely just be doing manual labor at the ministry. The place where we would be doing special needs ministry was not yet open because of the pandemic and since the kids being served there are a more vulnerable population. We were also told our first week in Ecuador would be spent doing manual labor on the property where we would be staying. I was disappointed and nervous about the changes, but tried to start the trip with open arms and an open heart. Even though our first week was far from my expectations about how this trip would start, filled with moving large furniture, sawing wood, and building driveways, it was such a great week. It was spent growing closer with my teammates and having intentional conversations over our shared tasks. It was also spent helping our hosts with work they needed to get done and forming relationships with them. The property that we are staying on also has a ministry for teens who are pregnant to offer them a place to live, a supportive community and family, and to help teach them important life skills. I had the opportunity to talk to some of these girls and help them with organizing donated clothes. I didn’t even know about this ministry before I got to Ecuador, so being able to work with them was such a sweet surprise. It was just the encouragement I needed after all the initial changes to this trip. This trip started far differently from my expectations, but I know everything is working according to God’s plans. I’m excited to see what next week brings!