“The fruit of this will be beautiful.” -Jesus

The word I chose in January for this year is “surrender.” And little did I know how much that word would come to pass in so many minute and immense ways so far. It has even come with days in my human flesh, where I plead with God wanting to hold on to plans, fears, people, or whatever it may be-  that He wants me to surrender. Knowing, in my spirit, the release in my grip will come with a richness that the weakness of my human grip never would. May my head understand what my heart doesn’t always want to.

There have already been so many moments this year that my heart aches for. Ones that I didn’t to want to happen, events that I don’t understand, plans that I don’t want to move forward or backwards in and I hear, “surrender it to me.” Situations that I already know my “letting go” was His greatest lesson that built life. Moments that I see how wonderful He is working in HIS greatest plan, not my own will.

Surrendering is saying to God, “I trust you.” And at points in our lives, those may be the toughest words that we will whisper.

Right now everything is unknown… to us and to nearly everyone around the world. Everything that was, is at a standstill. And everything that was supposed to be, isn’t. And that’s ok. Because we choose surrender, every day we choose it, and we whisper back in the moments of fear and questions, “I trust you.”

{What is fully known right now are His faithful promises that still stand, even on the darkest days and toughest nights. In the big picture of this short human life, that’s all we need.}

As many of you know we were supposed to be leaving in a little under two months to move our lives and hearts to a foreign country as full time missionaries. And we still are doing that, we are just waiting on the perfection of God’s timing. With borders shut down with an unknown reopening, it’s a unwanted standstill for us and for many. But it is a welcomed and accepted fact that God knows best in the timing of this next season. It has become the epitome of surrender in a position that we cry out, “We trust you.” It’s a place of surrender where we believe whole heartedly that His plan is greater than the one that’s been in place thus far. Where we trust that He made the blueprint over our lives, we didn’t. As we have prayed on this entire journey, for His timing, His will, and His way.. we will continue to stand on that.

It aches our hearts that of all times that the Ecuadorian people need someone, we can’t be with them now. So, with surrender from our little Tennessee farmhouse, we place our lives and the lives of those Ecuadorian people that we love so dearly in the hands of God, trusting that He is working all things together for His good. Our hearts ache for the people of Ecuador right now. As hard and scary as it is here, it is so much there too. With poverty and already such scarce materials and goods, now emergency and fear is at its most high. Numbers are rising and such little help.

The most beautiful part of all of this uncertainty is the beauty that the world is seeing. We see God working right now and we see Him moving. We see Him changing and bringing back what has been lost. We see Him restoring and grounding people and families on foundations. We see problems and hurts being brought to light so that life may be found. We see families being restored to something that was lost generations ago. We see people looking out for others again and not just their own. We see selflessness and not selfishness. We see news channels praying that weren’t allowed to even mention God. We see healing. We see rebuilding. We see a coming home. Back to what was, what is, and what will always be.

So with all of this being said, we ask you to join us in praying for the people of Ecuador and of this world. For their health and their hearts right now. Where God is scarce, let Him be more evident than ever. Where fear is at its highest of many lifetimes, let faith be found stronger. Where sickness is running rampant, let healing be found a miracle from THE source to their own eyes. Where many don’t know Him, let Him be made known. And mostly where death is prevalent on earth, let the gates of Heaven be flooded.

We ask you to pray for our hearts in this time as well, as we continue to prepare our lives and hearts to move. To pray for patience in this time and to trust that God’s timing is so, so perfect. We thank all the incredible numbers of people who support us in every way possible. Those who have reached out and those who are praying. We covet every prayer and financial donation for this mission. We will continue to prepare our hearts and supplies for the day, very soon, that we step onto the Ecuador lands to love on the precious people. The needs and desires grow stronger every day. As we have been and will continue to walk, step by step, with our arms held out- waiting on Him to move us.

With much love and many blessings,

The McLeod’s