There I was, bumping along in the back of an old truck
with ten shrink wrapped packages. I could peak out of a crack in the wooden
sides to see the heavy Lima traffic. It was interesting to see all the other
drivers staring and pointing toward the front seat of the truck where Jennifer
sat with the kids. Obviously they were looking at Maggie’s blond hair,
something you do not see every day here in Peru and draws a lot of attention.
We were headed to the shipping company to ship our packages to Yurimaguas. The
driver had me sit in the back due to space but told me to stay low so the
police would not see me. Lima must have different rules then Yurimaguas, where
it is not only allowed to travel in the back of a truck but it is normal. Soon
we had missed a turn and the driver was backing up a one-way street, for a
block and a half, and he was worried about me attracting the attention of the
police?
We pulled up to a run down building in a shady part of town.
The driver pulled around to the back entrance. There we unloaded our ten packages
and put them in a pile with other boxes labeled Yurimaguas. The guy in charged
explained that there was a bus leaving for Yurimaguas in three days. They would
load our packages on the bus and then it would take two more days for the bus
to make the drive over the Andes mountains to Yurimaguas. It is the
rainy season and sometimes there are land slides and road closures so it could
take longer. I felt strangely comfortable with the situation as this was not
our first time using this company, yet I could not help saying a silent
prayer that our packages would arrive in one piece.
Nothing is easy here. Nothing is cut and dry. The previous
day we where shopping. The goal: buy some good Rubbermaid plastic totes, some
supplies, and some Bibles, fill the totes and ship them to Yurimaguas. Sounded
simple enough yet we spent the whole morning dragging our tired and hungry kids
store to store searching for the totes. All we wanted were the good outdoor
grade totes with strong enclosures. We hit every Lowes type store we could
find to no avail. Lima is a modern city with almost 10 million people, I thought
they would have some decent plastic totes. We finally settled on some to the
clear plastic cheap ones. Between the totes and the hungry crying kids, Jennifer
and I were both frustrated.
Then in the afternoon we hit the Bible stores. Once again
dragging kids in and out of taxis we had less luck. We were only looking for children's Bibles and Spanish Bibles in a simple translation. Finally, we were able
to order some Bibles. They said they will arrive in two months. I have my doubts.
As we left the shipping company I once again was sitting in
the back of the truck thinking through the events of the last couple of days
and feeling frustrated. Why did God call us to such a different culture, where
everything seems so difficult? The language is difficult. Travel is difficult.
Even shopping is difficult. In the US I could have gone to Wal-Mart for the
tubs and ordered the Bibles online and had them shipped to my door in a couple
of days. Living in a foreign culture I often do not understand what is happening or how to do anything. I feel useless and
helpless. I feel like I cannot do anything on my own. Then I realized, it is
true, I cannot do anything on my own. I was reminded of what Jesus said in
John 15:5:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me
and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Maybe it is a blessing to be helpless, because then I have
to remain in Him. Maybe He called us to a foreign culture so that we would rely completely
on Him. Here I am weak, but in my weakness He is strong. Maybe, just maybe, God
is still on His throne and He knows what He is doing.
I pray that I can remain in Him, that we can all remain in Him. No matter the situation, no matter our weaknesses. May we all allow our weaknesses to drive us to Christ, because apart from Him we can do nothing.
The driver pulled over and let us out. He said to return to
the house where we were staying we only needed to walk six blocks east and
around the Huanca. I did not know what Huanca meant but with a renewed sense of
trust in the Lord, I had no doubt we would find our way.
Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults,
with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for
when I am weak, then I am strong.
-2 Corinthians 12:10
