“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will
recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will
sing praise to your name, O Most High.�
Psalm 9:1-2
Antigua, Guatemala. It’s been a good month.
It’s been a month of worship. It’s been a month of aching to
just be with Jesus. It’s been a month of daily handing over fear and anxiety
and choosing instead to take the hands of trust and joy.
We’ve worked in schools, teaching Christian values and
talking about life with Guatemalan teenagers. We’ve shared about love,
discipline, kindness, and honor- easy half hour lessons that have made me step
back and rest in the simplicity of what Jesus calls us to. Love.
I danced with BP at 3am during 24-hour prayer, and then a
few hours later I frolicked on a mountain welcoming in the Easter sunrise and rejoicing in the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection.
I sat in the park, in the middle of the Semana Santa craze,
watching Kirsten paint beautiful art, singing while Heather played her guitar,
and playing volleyball with street kids.
I met Rufina, Lupita, Titi, Paula, and Jessica- beautiful
women with cerebral palsy and contagious joy. I danced between and around
hospital beds, surrendering inhibitions because I would honestly do anything to
see them smile. I sang over them with Jenny, and we speculated about the angels
the ladies had to be seeing because of the way their faces would spontaneously light up.
I held precious Sandra in my arms for hours- her two-year-old
body fragile from malnutrition and cerebral palsy. I stared into her dark brown
eyes, overcome with the emotions and depths of the Father’s heart for His beautiful daughter. I
stretched out her tense limbs and tickled her sides until sweet laughter
bubbled out of her mouth. I prayed that she would be healed and that she will
never ever feel a moment of loneliness, only the Lord’s presence enveloping her.
I had dinner for the last time with my girls, and then
walked home in tears and arm in arm with Kirsten and BP. I worshipped and
danced on a rooftop, thanking my Papa for all that He is and all that He has
done in my heart this year.
