I’ve been home in Anacortes for the last two months working on support raising. As I’ve met people and started to share my story, I’ve found myself being asked the same question pretty consistently: Why Guatemala? The story of how I ended up in this little country is a crazy one, much like the story of the last three years of my life.
It all starts back in January 2014, when I first moved to Gainesville. The day that I moved into my house, I was getting to know my new housemates. Josh, my house mentor/big brother, was the worship leader for Adventures in Missions and was planning a trip to Guatemala to worship on the high places in the country. He was bringing a team from the CGA worship track, and the team had already been formed. When the trip was first mentioned, I felt this desire to go, but I didn’t think much of it, since the trip wasn’t even open to me.
A month later, the team was getting all prepared to leave. They were going to head out a couple of days before Valentine’s Day. Literally, every plan was in place, and the team was packed.
Then Snopocalypse hit.
An hour before they were going to hop in a van and drive to Atlanta in the cover of night (driving was a no-no in the snow storm), all flights out of Atlanta were cancelled
[I posted the above Facebook status that night. Little did I know how big God’s plans actually were!]
We began to re-plan the trip, this time for the end of March. It was opened up for all of worship track to go on the trip. When it came down to it, only four of us raised the funds to be able to go. We were joined by Josh and two other guys, a team of seven.
My friend Michelle and I joke that Snopocalypse 2014 literally changed our lives, because for each of us, it led us to serve long-term in a different country. Like me, Michelle was not originally supposed to go on the Guatemala trip, but because of all of the changes, ended up going. While there, she had some incredible conversations with members of the base that helped lead her to choosing to serve in Seoul, South Korea, where she lives today.
The Lord did some pretty amazing stuff in my heart during our six days in Guatemala, some of which you can read out in this blog. One of the biggest things I walked away from the trip with was a sense that God had more for me in Guatemala.
[the Worship Track team at the airport to leave for Guatemala, March 2014]
I knew I had to go back, but it scared me. I never wanted to be a long-term missionary. So when an opportunity to head back for three months as part of my apprenticeship came up, I jumped on it. I figured three months was plenty, that it would fulfill God’s plan for me in the country. Boy, was I wrong.
I flew back to Guatemala on June 4th, with the intention of flying back to Georgia at the beginning of September. I jumped right in to the community down there, getting to know the other members of the team and looking for ways to serve the ministry.
[team Guate back during my first week in the country, June 2014]
The fourth night I was there, I remember laying in bed, unable to fall asleep. In the silence, the Lord began to speak to me. I felt the Spirit moving, deep inside of my heart. The next day, I spent some time journaling, talking to the Lord.
You’re gonna change everything, aren’t you?
My head was swirling last night with the possibility, but there wasn’t fear. I’m not gonna make any choices now, but I definitely feel You doing something in this.
I really didn’t make any choices for the next couple of months, at least not officially or publicly. But something inside me changed that night. Two months later, when I finally talked to my base leader Noe about sticking around longer, there wasn’t a question in my mind that it was the right decision.
It didn’t come easy. Let me tell you, fundraising from out of the country is a challenge! My teammates, as well as random other people, consistently told me that they felt like God was going to provide the funds at the last minute. And it truly was the last minute. The day that I was going to have to buy a plane ticket home due to lack of funds, I got an email with a pledged donation that was enough to keep me in the country and on the team.
[team Guate, circa August 2014]
The next month was spent walking through a time of deep surrender. Somewhere deep within me, I knew that by choosing to stay for an additional four months, I was also choosing to come on staff long-term. At the same time, two of my other teammates were walking through surrendering and committing to the same thing.
It was pretty crazy when we all came together after a week or two with the same decision: we were all coming back in the new year as staff members.
I spent my Fall serving as a contact for our incredible World Race: Gap Year team. I served alongside them for much of their three months in Guatemala. I also got to help teach and train our first ever short-term team from Guatemala, who spent a week and a half serving in Honduras.
I started going to Spanish school, beginning the process of learning the language of my country. I took over the role of accountant at our base, tracking every quetzal we received and spent. We spent a couple of weeks re-designing our house, turning it into more of a home and making it more able to house guests and teams. A few of us also travelled to Nicaragua to meet with some fellow Adventures missionaries and begin a partnership that will allow us to bring short-term teams to serve with them.
[team Guate, circa November 2014]
I constantly find myself telling people that Guatemala was never my plan for my life, but that I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Its the truth. Guatemala was just about the last thing on my radar, but now I can’t imagine what my life would have been like had I not followed this path. And I’m ready to be back.
I’ve officially fundraised 67.7% of my goal for the next year! As soon as I hit 90%, I’ll be able to book a plane ticket back to Guatemala, and return to serving with my amazing team. I’m looking for 12 more people to commit to join my support team for $35 a month. I’d love for you to consider being one of those people!
