The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Richard P. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Research on Mercy
Ephesians 2:4 ~ God is rich in mercy
It was an amazing journey; the best trip of my life. Just three weeks after getting back from our cross country drive to California and back, I was arriving at the Detroit Metro Airport following my visit to England and France. I had learned and seen so much traveling with People to People International.
Now, I was coming home. Our flight from France started early, at 7 a.m. their time. It lasted for about eight and a half hours followed by a layover in Philadelphia. Due to fickle whether conditions and capricious captains we ran from one end of the airport to the other, with our luggage, to board our next plane in just 25 minutes. We barely made it. The leisurely flight in our small, 40 passenger plane took about 45 minutes. Upon landing we were exhausted and ready to be with our families.
"There!" I noticed familiar faces on the other side of the security gate. Everyone was there; Mom and Dad, Jacob, Kim, Ben, Caleb, Kelleny, and Sam. "Wow!" It was good to see them. I said goodbye to my friends, counselors, and trip coordinators and went to our family van. Little did I know that my trip was really just about to start.
I have seen far more of God's mercy than I ever thought would be necessary. I learned on the way home that my great-grandmother had passed away, my dad had lost his job, and that we now had a dog. Although I knew before my trip that great-grandma wasn't healthy and Dad was having a rough time at work, the news was a lot to handle all at once.
Yet seven years later, I wish life was just that simple. Since then our family has added three more kids, endured a rough economy, started preparing for my departure to college and said goodbye to my paternal grandmother who died in late 2009.
It's been a rough ride. Dad hasn't had steady and reliable work for nearly eight years, almost half of my life. My youth pastor has never known us to be financially stable. My family has been stretched in every way possible.
But for one thing, we never would have made it. That one thing is God and, most specifically, His mercy.
Mercy is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion." What blessings the Peake family has seen. As the ancient adage says, let me count them.
My three new siblings are James, Katherine, and Kristina. I can't even imagine life without them now. We've also grown in the friendships we have developed. It says something about the character of friends when they repeatedly give time, money and resources to help us pull through. Just last year the Thompsons towed us through eight inches of fresh snow. They live about 20 minutes away, and navigated us around more turns than I can even remember.
My "nuclear" family has grown closer too. We know that we're all in this together. That's why we drop everything when a sibling needs help. We pray for each other, and take the time to listen to each other. I hear so many families complaining about their siblings; I'm grateful that my family doesn't have those problems.
In every arena, we've been surrounded by God's mercy -- home, home education, our church, our friends, our camps, even my pursuit of a college education. We relate to the Psalmist when he says, "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer." (Psalm 6:9). Earlier, the psalmist said, "But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple." (Psalm 5:7)
Considering what God has done for the Peake family, especially since last Christmas, we are in awe. I think of checks that have shown up for the exact amount my parents needed. I think of the good men from the Orion Fire Station delivering presents on Christmas Eve. I think of friends dropping work to take my parents somewhere to talk. Blessings abound in the Peakes' lives.
In Exodus 33 God says, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
We see God's goodness. We see his compassion. We see his mercy. Our situation is no "walk in the park," but I wouldn't swap it for anything because I know that, as Psalm 23 proclaims; "....He is with me."
