Reflections on Wandering through the Desert... of Perugia, Italy!
by: Former Link staff in Italy
A former Link staff in Italy shares how God has provided for her during her desert experience.
2006-11-06
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. ~Deuteronomy 8:2-3
Okay, so four months of wandering through the quaint cobblestone streets of Perugia isn’t exactly the same as wandering in the desert for 40 years, but I have found this passage very applicable to my time here this semester. Unlike the past year and a half, this semester I don’t have any teammates. Over the summer I worried a bit about the challenges of not having a team…. yet God has been so faithful, and I believe He has put me in Perugia on my own to teach me about how He provides.
In Deuteronomy it says the Israelites wandered for 40 years so that God could humble them, and test them… so that He could know their hearts. He put them in a place where only He could provide for them. In those hungry days of wandering, when they couldn’t find any food on their own – it was God who fed them. He provided manna – something they had never tasted before, and would have never been able to obtain on their own… in order that they would realize, that it is God they are dependent on, not themselves or anyone else.
In these team-less months of autumn, I’ve been blown away by the His provisions for ministry here, and for me personally. *Our ministry is the now largest it’s ever been… with four bible studies, two conversation exchanges, and a leadership course! And on a personal note, God has given me one of the greatest gifts – a road bike I’ve been able to rent for this semester. Exploring the rolling hills and quaint, medieval borgos of Umbria on a bike is a dream come true! What an awesome way God has provided for me to “recharge” emotionally, physically AND spiritually!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
