Where do I find daily peace,  you ask? Usually I’ll start my day off with a devotion. Jesus Calling By Sarah Young or The Prayer of Jabez Devotional By Bruce Wilkinson are two of my favorites. I have learned to depend on them daily for spiritual up lifting. I’m always amazed how on target they are and exactly what I needed to hear in that moment. Praying for others also seems to calm my spirit within minutes. Focusing on others rather then yourself will also bring you so much peace, joy and gratitude. Find a job or a hobby that lets you shine in your natural environment, where you feel the most comfortable and peace will find you easily. One more thing to tie this all together, always remember to include Jesus in the equation everyday. Jesus wants to be a part of our lives and he wants us to live an abundant life in every way. That statement alone brings me peace of mind.

We are grateful when good things happen. We thank God for them, and we are happy. But do we thank God when bad things happen? Most of the time no, we blame God or ask why did he allow it to happen,  Saying, “We’re such “good” Christians”  “we don’t deserve this”. What we need to be saying is; what is the lesson God wants me to learn through this bad circumstance? And thank God for the good as well as the bad.

Its funny how the shower seems to be the place I always hear from the Lord since I’ve been back in the states. Is it because we are at our most vulnerable? Having the most quiet time of the day enjoying the warm water and I am the most relaxed? Its definitely a place where God tends to share his insights with me. This morning he shared an interesting one.

So many times we are afraid to ask for insights, advise, time with people, money & things. We may feel like, whats the point, we are wasting our time just to hear the word No, we’re not good enough, we may even think sometimes we don’t deserve it. We may feel silly asking for something from someone we can not see (God). Maybe you’ve been talked down to or discouraged by family, friends, advisers, banks or a boss. Maybe you want to start a new venture, take a trip somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, start a new hobby or learn a new language. But all you get back from people are negative responses. I’ve noticed when I receive an insight from God its always positive. Its always about what I can do, not what I can’t do.

Putting our hope in God to lead & guide us is the best route we can go. He always wants us to succeed. His answers don’t always come right a way but they do came when its the most important time to hear what he has to say. He tends to simplify in a way that I know its him telling me and his timing is always perfect. Exactly what I need to move to the next level, what ever that may be. Quiet places & times are vital to hearing the answers that we all long for. And if it doesn’t come right away it is not a rejection it is just being perfected to fit our needs exactly.

When I was at Camp Inca I remember being so frustrated especially my 4th year. I knew I had a year left, because of a promise God had given me, that I would not spend one day less or one day more, that he would set me free. I was so antsy I couldn’t wait I wanted to go home that day. What would I do for another year? He answered me with a knock at the door. The Director of Camp Inca wanted to see me. Gods plan was in play. I thought I was in trouble or something, what does she want to see me for? I worried the whole way, walking down 3 flights of stairs and waiting for 2 gates to be opened so she could talk with me. All the while knowing I had nothing to worry about, I hadn’t done anything wrong. I expected the worst, because thats what we always recieved from her.

Well, deep breath…. She wanted to give me a bakery. So unexpected totally out of left field, I was so floored I had to think about it. After praying about it and consulting with my missionary mom Joan & parents. I decided to take the oppurtunity & run with it. What a blessing it turned out to be. The bakery helped in so many ways, God had such a bigger plan than  I or anybody could have thought of. I started making bread at 4 am in the morning for outside sales and having alone time with the Lord as the sun rose early in the morning. I was able to deliver bread across the street to a little store before any other prisoners were awake. That bakery helped me to get my paperwork signed off-on and maneuver things outside that I had no access to being in prison. Why did I ever have doubt? Those quiet mornings were the key to a lot of successful conversations with God & I could really put everything into prospective and let him lead me right out of Camp Inca.

When you’re in your Camp Inca take time to reinvent yourself. You can become a completely different person. You can become someone you have never explored. During my time at Camp Inca I started a kill the rats campaign, we filled rat holes up with cement and glass so the rats would stop bitting people (not something you would expect a girly girl to be a part of). I also started a bakery to pass the time and to help other prisoners earn money to support themselves. Another pastime I enjoyed was with a Chilean girl, we decided to experiment with spa services such as scrubs and body wraps that we made ourselves. These are all things I would have never explored if I had never been in my Camp Inca.

Then theres the person you never thought you could be. Maybe someone a long time ago told you, you couldn’t do something or you weren’t good enough or you couldn’t afford it. Maybe a sport that you wanted to play, maybe you wanted to be an actor, actress, model singer or play music. I decided to be a step instructor for a little while. It started as just wanting to get in shape but others started following before I knew it I was leading it. I always wanted to be a model or an ice skating instructor growing up. Well believe it or not I was in the Prison Queen contest twice.. That was pretty hilarious! As an adult I wanted to do nails at a spa but everyone I talked to thought it was a bad idea so I dropped it. After my Camp Inca was over I went to Cosmetology school and have had my license now for  years and I also went a step further and now I am a Reflexologist. I read about reflexology while I was in Camp Inca.

Or the most important, someone you are meant to be. You have all of those choices. It’s not about yes or no, right or wrong, real or not real. It’s about what is your choice and what do you really want out of life. What makes you happy? Consider it your do-over. If only prisoners in their Camp Inca’s would only see it that way. God takes things out of our lives so he can make room for better things. Its a crossroads. One choice we all have is; where to live after our Camp Inca? There’s no looking back, Im moving ahead, Im moving forward. Take the time to explore where you should start fresh. When I left Ecuador I had the choice to either go back to California, where it takes a lot to get back on your feet by yourself (after 5 years) or to start fresh on a beautiful lake in Tennessee with family and start a whole new life.  It was a no brainer for me. I knew I didn’t want to go back to my old life. I thank God everyday I picked Plan B I got to spend time with my wonderful family that I rarely saw when I lived in CA. I also helped my mom get herself out of an awful homeless situation and moved her to Tennessee and now we are close again. I also married the man of my dreams that incorages me and supports me in everything I do and loves me so much.

I now believe God puts people in our lives, in his time, not always how we plan it. So be thankful for things that are out of our control at times. Thats when we are dodging bullets and come so close to more heartache and pain, kind of like the guy Neo, in The Matrix, the scene where he’s dodging the bullets literally. The first bullet is the hardest to dodge, but as he gains momentum and tries new moves and keeps moving, the bullets have no chance of touching him because he now knows what it takes to stay away from them. Not just dodge them but remove himself and go to another place where Neo is safe. In the end he stops repeating his mistakes and changes everything. The same applies in real life, not just in the movies.

Surviving Camp Inca