I could never express the depth of knowledge I have gained by working here in Guatemala. My life is being transformed little by little, and this missionary lifestyle is one that I truly enjoy and am becoming more and more passionate about. The needs of these people are far greater than anything I have ever experienced, and I have a new appreciation for so many things. I find myself feeling guilty for taking so much for granted when these people live with the basic necessities and are doing just fine. I am truly more blessed than I could ever deserve.
Shalom is one of our awesome translators. I have been so fortunate to be able to not only work with her but also form a great friendship as well! She is a wonderful Christian and she has a beautiful heart for the Lord.
This is Joslyn and Dami. They are members of the church that we worked in. Joslyn is 18 and Dami is 23. They are beautiful, and I got to know a lot about them during our time working together.
These girls are from the first home we visited. I shared the love of Christ with the girl in the middle, and she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She was very shy, but I made it my goal to help her to feel comfortable talking to me because I know that it had to have been intimidating for her.
These are the people that were at our first home. I painted all of the girls nails and handed out stickers and candy. As I painted one of the women's nails, I told her the story of Jesus washing His disciples' feet. I explained to her that the reason I liked to paint fingernails is to show people that I care, and that I desire to serve people the way Christ served His disciples.
As one of the members shared with a man, the women in my group all sat outside of the home. While we were sitting there, these four pretty girls came outside of a home across the street. I felt the need to go and talk to them because they reminded me of my close group of friends from home. As Mrs. Betty and I talked to them, we discovered that they were 14, 15, 16, 16. These girls are so young and as you can tell from the picture, one was pregnant. Another one already had a young son. They touched my heart because of the close friendship they shared. I hope and pray for a bright future for these girls. Young women in Guatemala aren't always treated like princesses and beautiful children of God. I just want them to know how special they are, and I want them to know the love of Christ.
This sweet, sweet lady came up to Mrs. Marsha and Mrs. Betty and spoke to them while Shalom and I were sharing in a home, and they had no clue what she had said to them. When they told us that, we literally ran up a very steep hill after her because we felt like God had placed her there for a reason. After talking to her, she explained to us that she was very sad. She had no family, and her health wasn't great, and she really didn't have much hope. Pastor Lucas shared the Gospel with her, and she willingly accepted. She was 81 years old, and praise the Lord that we will see her again in Heaven some day.
This is Jon with a young man that he got the opportunity to share with. This 16 year old guy had never heard anything about Jesus Christ. Every single time you come across someone who has never heard the name of Jesus, it absolutely breaks your heart. It makes you wonder how these people have any hope. Jon's passion is for youth, and so this opportunity to share fit perfectly. He did very well, and this young man accepted Christ. Praise the Lord for putting us in that home!
This lady was a talker. She talked to me for a while even when I had no clue what she was saying! I can usually get the first little bit of a conversation, but when you ask several questions, sometimes these people assume you can speak Spanish and they talk and talk and talk. All I can do it say "Si, si!" I really get tickled at myself sometimes. But anyway, this lady was Catholic, but she had such a sweet spirit and I truly believe that she knew the truth about Jesus Christ. Her two sons were alcoholics, and so we prayed for her and for them.
I finally made a good tortilla! When Gustavo asked a lady if I could make one without me knowing, I was thinking, "Oh goodness, here we go again..." But Mrs. Nancy and I got it on the first try!
I just want to share with ya'll one of my journal entries from this week because it is something that has been made very clear to me lately:
"God has taught/shown me several things today and throughout the rest of this week. The thing that has stuck out the most to me though is the power of prayer. It is such a special thing especially to believers and the body of Christ. The life of a Christian should revolve around constant, genuine, heart-felt prayer. Our Father desires to hear from us. When we call upon His name in faith, He is faithful to hear us and He is faithful to answer us. God answer us in mysterious ways sometimes though and things don't always turn out our way. But prayer is the key to communicating with God. Just like any other relationship, you must have effective communication in order to maintain a relationship. It's the same with God--when you don't talk to Him, He doesn't answer you. He already knows your needs, but He needs to hear you confess that you are trusting Him to provide. Your God is BIG. Your God is FAITHFUL. Your God will answer you! You know how important prayer warriors are to the body of Christ. Make prayer a priority and fight the battle with all of your heart. Make prayer a constant necessity in your life--for God fulfills your deepest needs when you lay your requests at His feet."
God is changing me day by day. He is testing me with new challenges all of the time, and through those challenges I am learning what it means to truly trust in the Lord with all of your heart. I can't share the Gospel on my own. I can't go to the mission field on my own. I can't give my testimony on my own. These are things I have tried by myself, and it just doesn't work. I know it may seem like I'm preaching, but God has laid it on my heart to share with you the things I am learning. I gave my testimony 3 times this week. Some aspects of my testimony are difficult for me to share, and sometimes I wonder what people will think. But honestly, this isn't my testimony. It's God's testimony of His grace and mercy and power to change people. If you have know me for a while, you know that I am a different person than I was just a year ago. That is not because of anything I did--it's because I let go and let God change me. If you will let Him, He will change you too.
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