Doing Something New

“Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the wilderness I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers” (Isaiah 43:78-79).

These verses have repeatedly been coming up for me in my prayer time, and I believe it to be a grace from God and a source of great hope. Our community has gone through a heap of changes and transitions over the last year. With all the spontaneity and constant moving parts, it can be difficult to find rest and stability in both our lives and our mission. But every time we feel like we’re pouring out from an empty tank, the Lord shows off in faithfulness!

He reminds us time and time again that He IS doing something new, that things don’t have to look exactly like they did in the past, that seeds ARE being planted here and people in our midst are making REAL life changes, that He makes a way for authentic friendship and discipleship EVEN in our limitations, and that He alone is the fountain of which all grace can flow through us.

Recently, we were able to visit the Hermanas Clarisas in Coopevega this month and bring diarios to several households. Before going to do house visits each month, we go through the diario items and bag them in two bags—one bag is for food items (beans, rice, cooking oil, flour, salt, noodles, tuna, etc.) and the other is for basic household items (toilet paper, toothpaste, dish/laundry soap, etc.). God anointed our day with many beautiful encounters.

We visited a property where three families live and were able to pray over a young lady named Janet, who has been blind for over 12 years. We also sang alabanzas with them and shared a reflection on Matthew 7:7-11 about how the Lord answers our prayers when we are persistent in asking Him for what we need. Eleanor and James-Francis love handing bracelets and stickers to the children, as well as Divine Mercy photos at every house we visit.

Another of our favorite memories lately was a day spent with our friends Mileidy and Miguel and their two sons. Their boys, Ignacio and Mario, are around the same ages as our kids, and Mileidy is eight-and-a-half months pregnant with their third child, a baby girl! Finding these sweet friends has been such a blessing for us all. Eleanor and Ignacio play soccer together, and Mileidy is a stay-at-home mom like me.

Their house is on family property with farmland and tons of beautiful Costa Rican fruit trees. They showed us around the property and walked us to Miguel’s aunt’s butterfly farm down the road. It was SO interesting to learn about the entire process of how they nurture the life cycle of their butterflies from beginning to end! We saw thousands of baby caterpillar eggs, then once the eggs hatch, they are moved to a room with caterpillars. There is another area just for the cocoons, which they export as a means of income, and an entire greenhouse of beautiful butterflies. The whole process was completely fascinating!

As I’ve taken the time to reflect on all of our community transitions over the last couple of months, I’ve come to realize that we are much like these butterflies—carefully nurtured by the Lord, stripped of our old ways, and made into a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). I am reminded once again that He is doing something new in us—in our family, in our marriage, in our mission, in our community, and in this place that He has called us. And I’d bet that He is doing something new in YOU too, if you are willing to perceive it!