Receiving and Sowing.

¡Así, después de dieciséis horas de viaje, estoy en Perú!
Well, after sixteen hours of travelling, I'm in Perú!

It's so hard to believe that I am already in Perú, that the flights (for today, at least) are over, and that early tomorrow morning I'll be flying to Trujillo! Everything went so smoothly today--the flights were all very quick, including the 6.5 hour flight from Houston to Lima, the layovers and waits have been painless, and I've even made a few friends already!

This morning, after a delicious breakfast of mom's homemade white chocolate cherry bread and coffee, we all headed to the Jackson airport. After arriving, at about 10:10 a.m., Mom, Emily, and Dad stayed and talked for half an hour as I checked a bag and got tickets and such. An old camp friend, Johnny Barnes, that lives a few minutes away also voluntarily met up and talked with me for a while which was such a blessing. Sitting in the Jackson airport talking with Johnny about summer plans, the past school semester, friends, and the Gospel truly calmed any pre-flight anxieties that I had before. It was a very pleasant, sweet goodbye to my family and that dear friend. The fact that family, friends, and I all realize that this is clearly where God is calling me this summer has made the departure much smoother than it could have been otherwise.

As I was flying from Jackson to Houston, TX (at around 11:45), lyrics from a Hillsong United song were brought into my head and really hit home. Though the song as a whole doesn't fully correlate with my current situation, the last two lines are 100% applicable.

     "I know I'm filled to be emptied again,
      The seed I've received I will sow."

This song has been sung at many worship times of summers past at Camp of the Rising Son and has really been engrained in my memory by a dear friend, Anne Clair. She has taught me so much about 'sowing seeds' while doing missions and how exciting it is to visibly see fruit of God's work through oneself. So, as I flew out of Mississippi on my first flight of the day, I was singing these lyrics in my head.

I have been filled to the brim these past months of support raising, and especially these past few weeks at home. Whether it be grabbing coffee with mom and talking about God's work or talking with Grandma Coleman for several hours about life and our Savior's grace. Going to the lake for a night with friends and being encouraged by their words and intentionality or being commissioned by Westminster to serve abroad. Catching up and talking with a life-long friend over lunch, laughter, and lattes or a thirty minute time of care and prayer. I have been so filled by these acts of love, encouragement, and kindness and I have received, with open arms, the seed of joy and excitement of the Gospel that I am now ready to sow. This process of being filled started over 5 months ago when I was in Trujillo over Christmas break; talking with missionary families about the possibility of coming back and receiving positive feedback in the very beginning stages of thinking and praying about returning, to just this morning being sent off by prayers of a good friend and hugs from family.

     "I know I'm filled to be emptied again,
      The seed I've received I will sow."

I am a cup that has been filled and is overflowing. I know that this summer will be a summer of humbling and challenging growth, but I am so very excited to share this seed. To sow the seed of the internal, and in turn external, joy of the Holy Spirit with my brothers and sisters is Perú. To share with others the pleasure and happiness that comes with being overflowed by the power of God. These lyrics sent me away from home with a sweet taste in my mouth. Upon seeing how blessed I have been and how evidently God has called me to Trujillo this summer, it would be impossible for me to be downcast or sad.

I landed in Houston at about 1:10 p.m., walked a ways to a train that connected gates, and after a few stops I was at gate E2. Just like that. Though it was intimidating at first, everything (basically only my nerves) eventually calmed down. As I sat there eating my Italian herbs and cheese sandwich and reading "Follow Me" by David Platt--a fantastic book, by the way--I eavesdropped in on a group of 6 middle-aged, wealthy Americans who were going on a jungle excursion in Perú. Don't worry, they never knew that I was listening. They were recounting all of their previous adventures and travels together, which was quite entertaining, throwing in as many "Oh look how wealthy I am" statements. Such as "Oh, yeah. It's very liberating just spending $800 in under 20 minutes on necessary equipment." But I mean, yeah, it's not like I was really paying attention to what they were saying.....

Anyways, after a chapter and a half of "Follow Me" and a nalgene of water and a sandwich consumed, my flight from Houston to Lima took off! From 3:45 to 10:20 I was flying over water and land and whales and air and stuff. Even though the flight was six and a half hours, it seemed to take no time at all. Two more chapters read, "Captain Phillips" and "Argo" watched, and I was miraculously in Lima, Perú--where I am now. Once we landed, the man that had been sitting beside me the whole time began conversing and asking questions about what I was going to be doing while in Perú. He was born in Perú but moved to Oregon about 30 years ago with one of his sons to work with one of his uncles. He was coming back to Perú for the wedding of one of his nieces! Thankfully, he was very familiar with the Lima airport, so I followed him to the baggage claim belt, talking the whole way. Once we got our bags, we said our goodbyes and then separated. Such a great welcome to Lima!

Going through customs and 'security' was a breeze, and soon I was wandering around the same food court that I had been in just 5 months previous. I was only alone for about 5 minutes before a man sat down beside me and gestured if it was okay that he sit there. Another friend! I got to talking with him a good bit, and the conversation ranged from boxing matches (pelea de boxeo) and favorite boxers (boxeadores) to where I was coming from to what are my favorite bands to who is my favorite American football team. It turns out that Ivan was waiting in the food court for his wife to get off of work at 12 a.m. Ivan and I were able to talk for about 30-45 minutes, I was able to tell him what I was going to be doing while in Trujillo, and why I was going. It was a great time and those minutes passed by way too quickly. Before his wife came over to let him know that she was off of work, he asked if we could take a picture on my phone to remember him.

Ivan and me in the Lima Airport Food Court

That was a blast being able to put some of my broken Spanish to use and make a friend immediately. 

     "I know I'm filled to be emptied again,

      The seed I've received I will sow."

So, thank you friends and family for filling me with this inexpressible joy that can only be found in Christ. "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy...." 1 Peter 1:8. I have been filled with the joy of the Gospel by so many of you in so many ways. All I can do is thank you for praying for me and for supporting me in this journey that Christ is taking me on.

As I sit in this Starbucks at 1:40 a.m. in Lima, Perú, rambling about my day and how I saw God in it, I can't help but overflow with the joy that can be found in Christ and pray that God may use me to sow seeds in others' lives. 

Daniel