A couple of days ago I was back in Ohio, saying goodbyes to my loved ones. I remember the entire time thinking that it was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I knew that I should be grateful for the awesome opportunity I was given to travel the world telling people about the love of Christ, but instead I felt like I was just being ripped away from everything and everyone I love. The thought of leaving the people that mean the most to me and missing out on being part of their lives this year was heartbreaking.
Now that I am here, my perspective has changed so much. For some reason since training camp, I forgot how awesome the people on my squad are. My squad mates and team mates are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met. I have so much love for the people here, and they are continually teaching me more and more. My relationship with the girls on my team and the community we have already is so amazing, and we still have so much deeper to dive into each other's stories and community life. These girls are committed to loving each other no matter what. They are so gracious to each other and so encouraging. We are beginning to learn what it looks like to bring life to people and to call out greatness in each other. And we've only been together less than a week! I can already tell the Lord desires to grow us so much.
Even though a few days ago I was ready to call it quits, I am confident that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. God is so good.
We are now in Guatemala working with Agape in Action. Today was my team's first day of ministry. We get the opportunity to work in the hospital, visiting with the children and families there. This hospital is responsible for giving care to 1 million people in the area. Their supplies are very limited, and sometimes people must wait for a very long time to receive even basic care. Although I am so excited that this is where I get to work, my heart is already broken for the people here.
Today, I met a little girl named Roseanne Maria. She was about 4 or 5 years old (her grandmother didn't know), but she looked as if she could be about 2. She was extremely malnourished. We tried to talk to her, and she couldn't even focus her eyes on us. The hospital staff said that she might not even make it through the week. My heart was broken the moment I laid eyes on her, and when I got to talk to her grandmother and feel Roseanne's frail body beneath my hands, my heart was in a million pieces.
Although most of the time i just wanted to sit in the corner and cry (which I did at one point), I am so excited to communicate joy and love to these sick people and their grieving loved ones. This is the first time this hospital has had a group come in just to play with and hold these kids, so we have such a great opportunity here. Please pray for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing for these beautiful people.
