…more than all we ask or imagine…
This phrase found in Ephesians 3 describes exactly my five year journey to Guatemala. Just recently returned from my 8th trip to Guatemala, I cannot help but reflect on the past years in awe. I am very organized and detailed. I selfishly pride myself in having my life in pretty well under control but as I recall my journey from my very first Guatemalan trip to now and am completely overwhelmed by God’s power and my helplessness.
My two months in Guatemala were filled with training as I became internationally certified in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and taught English in the public school in the village of Chivoc.
2010-
I am on the plane back home. I am tired. Annoyed. If I wasn’t surrounded by hundreds of people I probably would have cried. The trip was pointless. Why did I go? Why do I not feel how all my other friends feel? Where was the spiritual high I am supposed to get after a short term mission trip?
My friend next to me tries to start a conversation about the wonders of the week and everything he had learned. I don’t want to talk. I do not share his excitement. I ask to be left alone. I tell him I’m tired and want to sleep. I close my eyes and turn my head to quickly wipe a tear off my cheek. I can’t sleep.
I open my journal and begin to write, scribbling the words and they pour in a fury from my thoughts. What was wrong with me? My dream for the longest time had been to go on a mission trip to a Spanish speaking country. I had spent the last week in Guatemala doing just that. But the poverty was not nearly as bad as what I had seen in pictures. No miracles happened. I did not cast out any demons. I had not witnessed any outstanding miracles. I did not understand anything they were saying the whole week and I do not even remember anyone’s name.
I want to go home. I miss Texas. I’m tired. I’m annoyed. I was not the hero I thought I was. I’m never going back…
2015-
I am on the plane back home. The people around me speak in a southern accent. I get excited because it is the first time I have heard English in a while. I settle into my seat and look outside the window to catch a last glimpse of Guatemala. I expect sadness to be leaving, but I feel a smile curl the corner of my mouth. A bubbling anticipation and excitement forces a deep breath and a prayer of thanks. The last two months have flown by in a blink, with all the work training and teaching, but I am excited for what the future holds.
The girl next to me fidgets with her bracelet which I recognize instantly. Five beads: yellow, black, red, white, green. The gospel. I introduce myself and learn that she had been in Guatemala for a week on a mission trip. A week? Way too short. But I am exhilarated and want to hear all about it. She hesitantly tells me about what they did, mostly playing with kids, and says she is ready to go home where she can understand people. I smile encouragingly and thank her for serving the people I love so much. Then I turn to my phone as she looks out the window. I know far too well how she feels. Maybe the five days of missions satisfied her more than it did my first trip. Or maybe not and she will be filled with a hunger for something more. Something deeper.
I open my phone to look at the pictures I had taken and smile at all the silly faces. My friends. Old and new. We had a blast hanging out and working together and I loved the fact that language was hardly even an issue anymore. I still had some slang to catch up on but any blunder I made turned into a laugh and a learning experience. Side by side, my fellow Guatemalan brothers and sisters in Christ had worked with me these last two months and I had learned so much from them. Their selflessness and unwavering faith in God revealed so much about God’s love and power. They are true heroes.
I can’t wait to come back and stay. Stay to live and work among the people in Guatemala. My friends. My home.
My first mission trip to Guatemala was a drawn out week with my friends from my youth group in Texas. My 8th trip to Guatemala was an all too fast two months of fellowship and ministry. I did not go with my church and no friends sat with me in the airplane but I was not alone. As soon as I landed in Guatemala I was surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ.
I am excited about what the future holds and how God will continue to show his miraculous power in my life.
Please continue praying for me as I travel along this journey and please consider partnering with me on this Camino (path, road, walk).
“ 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
If you would like to partner with me as I pursue a teaching position in the village of Chivoc, Guatemala please follow this link to Camino Global’s website.
