Written by a Cafe 1040 Student

“If I'm being honest, deciding to go on this trip was a big risk for me. By nature, I tend to be a pretty fearful person, especially when it comes to big decisions. However, thankfully, when we ask God for His strength, He doesn’t leave us where we are. Because of Him, peace overcomes fear, every time. 

There have been several times in this program where I have been fearful of messing up and where the lies of, “you cant do this, go home” or “you’re crazy for being here, what do you hope to accomplish anyway?” have been in my head.

There have been days (especially the ones where I have been sick) where those lies ring so true in my mind, but learning to recognize those lies & discern the Father’s voice is something I am learning daily, and getting a lot better at. 

One of the staff here told us that if we hear something in our minds that starts with “you’re” its probably the enemy. Because you don’t call yourself “you,” right? Hearing that has been really cool to start discerning which voice to listen to. 

Learning to listen in a culture that is completely different than yours is a challenge in itself, but God is teaching me to trust His voice above all else. 

I am learning a lot about myself in this program. If He has given me strength to do something so out of my comfort zone, why can't I continue to go without fear to the unknown?

As I was on our morning run, lyrics from a song you all probably know called “Oceans” rang in my head:

"Your grace abounds in deepest water, your sovereign hand will be my guide. Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me, you've never failed, and you won't start now."

This echoes so true when you are fearful. When has He ever failed? Why would He start now? He never fails us— what peace that brings. Fear has turned into peace over and over again because the Father is so good. From preparing for this trip to being here 7 weeks, He is good, all the time.”