Well it’s here….i’m saying goodbye to Guatemala after living here for the past 6 months….
I head out to the airport tomorrow morning to fly back to the states. I’m not sure whats next for me in life, but I have hope and know that my Father has a great plan for me. I will be heading back to Georgia for a couple of weeks to pray and discern about whats next. Thank you so much for all of your constant encouragement, support, and belief in me and the call that God has upon my life. Transition’s can be scary, but they are also times that The Lord deepens and strengthens my faith and trust in Him. I feel as if God has told me not to make any plans for my future. He doesn’t want to me to reach out to connections or plan out what i’m going to do. This is scary for me and goes against everything logical within me that says I need to plan and prepare. Yet I believe God doesn’t want me to make plans, because he wants to be the one who leads me to his plans for me. I believe he wants me to face this fear of transition and the unknown face on, so that then He can show me that he will be the one who will provide for me. A word I believe he spoke to me this week was,
“Ryan you need to stop fighting, striving, and trying to earn peoples approval and make things happen, so that then you can see that it is I who is the one who fights for you. As long as you keep on fighting, you can’t see that I am the one who goes before you and fights for you on your behalf.”
This verse has been on my heart a lot this week – Proverbs 19:21
– “For many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it’s the Lord’s purposes that prevail.”
So I am sad to say goodbye to such great friends who I have became family with these last 6 months, yet I’m so excited and ready to embrace this next season of life even if it’s unknown what it will look like or where it will be. I’m so excited to see how God’s going to amaze me with His plans for my life and provide for me in a way that he always has yet in a fresh new way that will amaze me.
” I cry out to God, to my God who fulfills the purpose of my life.” Psalm 57:2
“Praise be to God my Father who is faithful to complete the work that He has started in me.” – Philippines 1:6
Below are two video’s from our long term team here at the Guatemala base that summarize my last 6 months here in Guatemala. It shows our base’s mission and shows some of the ministry and fun times that we have had together. Below that I will add some pictures of ministry from this past month. We have had a fun yet busy month of doing outreaches, going to orphanages, playing in a soccer tournament with the shoe shine boys, ministering to people at the city dump in Guatemala City, hosting short teams, co-leading a high school youth group of about 40 students, and continuing to grow closer to The Lord as a team and family.
Guate Vision Video Oberg from Stu Oberg on Vimeo.
Living Full from Kara Yohan on Vimeo.
Below I would also like to share a part of a blog post from my friend and teammate Stu – I do this to share a glimpse of an amazing story, blessing, and day that we all had with the shoe shine boys!
“Hey Stu!” Lucio shouted as we were all peacefully eating breakfast at 6:30AM in the morning. “Are you ready to play some soccer today?!”
I replied, “More than ready to play with you all, my friends who I will miss dearly!” I felt like an older brother to all of these shoe shine boys. After many months of spending so much time with them, this day was a special gift from God. An invitation for all of us to play on the same soccer team in a tournament containing eight teams (6v6 per game), with plenty of skilled Guatemalans to go up against. Our team consisted of four of the shoe shine boys, Marvin, Henry, Ryan, and myself
We all decided to wear USA jerseys, and the Lord graciously provided jerseys for the shoe shine boys to keep.
As we traveled by “Chicken Bus” together with our lovely short term team from Michigan, we soon arrived at a school that hosted the tournament, with two nice fields, this was rare for us to see, but more rare for the shoe shine boys to play on such a spectacle.
When everyone arrived, we all huddled in for a prayer of thanksgiving to play our best before the Lord, using this opportunity and our abilities that He’s given us to satisfy our desires in playing a sport that we love, for His glory and the good of our teammates and opponents. Soon thereafter, the first two games commenced with everyone giving it their all!
“I really want to win this tournament, for the shoe shine boys.” Henry and Ryan told me. And I said, “Me too, and I pray that the Lord opens up a way to win so that their hearts will be opened more to the glorious wonders of our Father, who offers forgiveness of sin, loves them dearly as His children that He created, and that they are not forgotten, but known deeply. Either way, no matter what happens, let our prayer be that the Lord will let Himself be known in and through us for Jesus’sake.” We were all ready to play as a living sacrifice, and this time reminded me of my college lacrosse days and high school soccer days where I remember two profound parts of the competitor’s creed:
“I do not trust in myself.
I do not boast in my abilities or believe in my own strength.
I rely solely on the power of God.
I compete for the pleasure of my Heavenly Father, the honor of Christ and the reputation of the Holy Spirit……
I give my all – all of the time.
I do not give up. I do not give in.
I do not give out. I am the Lord’s warrior – a competitor by conviction and a disciple of determination.
I am confident beyond reason because my confidence lies in Christ.
The results of my efforts must result in His glory.
LET THE COMPETITION BEGIN.
LET THE GLORY BE GOD’S.”
The tournament was a process of elimination, so you had to win in order to play another game.
Through prayer and giving it our all, through God’s strength, we won the tournament!!!
This really meant a lot to the shoe shine boys, to win a tournament with friends, and to experience something that they have never experienced before, giving all the glory to God.
“For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.” –Colossians 1:29″
– Stu Oberg (http://stuoberg.myadventures.org)
I give it all I have and whether I win or lose, play good or bad, I play to give all the glory to God!
Pictures with the short team high school mission trip that I was blessed to co-lead with two of my teammates Robin and Morgan!
Playing soccer together on a rainy day after ministry!
Worship night with another short term team that we were blessed to meet!
Family fun night to celebrate birthdays!
Got to go back to the children’s home for a weekend to say bye to all of the kids: These are two pictures with Jeamy and Isaac!
Saying goodbye to my team today to leave for Guatemala City to fly back to the states early tomorrow morning!
Javi and I all packed up and ready to go!
God Bless you all and hope to see you soon! Thank you again for your constant support, encouragement, and love for me not only on this journey to Guatemala, but for for living out this journey and adventure of life that the Lord has called me to and chosen for me to live
Ryan
