Surrender is the hallmark of every missionary’s journey. For many of us, the first realization we encounter is just how dark and difficult the world can be outside our familiar bubbles of comfort. But once that bubble shatters, it can never be put back together like it was. Our minds are opened, our hearts reshaped, and we begin to taste what it means to live as part of the holy catholic and apostolic church community.

This new worldview becomes a part of us, like an arm or a leg, impossible to remove. That was my experience during my mission’s journey in Peru. My old assumptions and heart posture lay around me in ashes. But through the rubble, God was doing a new thing.

The first lesson He taught me was the true meaning of surrender. Not just the idea of surrender, but a total draining of self and a complete filling by Christ and the Holy Spirit.

I remember experiencing this on my very first morning. I had just arrived in Peru and woke up late after a long day of travel. I was hungry, nervous, and overwhelmed by the looming cultural and language barriers. Sitting in my room, I prayed, begging the Holy Spirit to guide my steps, heart, and mind. And then, peace. A deep wave of peace.

When I finally made my way downstairs, I was greeted by my host, Wilma Grandez. She looked up and smiled—the kind of infectious smile that you can’t help but return. It was warm, radiant, and deeply human. In that moment, the nervousness faded, and Christ took the lead. Within minutes, Wilma and I were chatting and joking like family. I felt completely at home.

It’s amazing how God magnifies our small steps of obedience. Like the mustard seed it is more than just faith that can grow 3x fold. That one act of surrender became a seed, and from it, Christ began to ask for more, my fear, my doubt, my ambition, my selfishness. And with each surrender, I found more peace.

This was my first mountaintop moment. I realized more clearly than ever that Christ is fully in control, and that the valleys we walk through make the peaks all the sweeter.

So I leave you, dear reader, with a quote from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, to reflect upon, spoken by the elf Haldir:

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

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