I can’t believe its already been 3 months. We’re a third of the way into the race. It feels like we were just getting on a plane here, and now were about to get on a plane to leave. Leaving has been harder than I thought it would be. I think its easy to get caught up in our day to day lives here and not realize what we’re actually doing. Its hard to leave when the moms of the kids you’ve been teaching for 3 months tell you, “Thank you for everything. Thank you for showing Jesus to our kids, you have a place in our heart forever”, all while crying. It’s hard to leave when your ministry hosts are so much more than just your ministry hosts. They have become our friends and our family, they’ve served and loved us so well in our time here. And its hard to leave when our friend Maria ,at the bus stop, is crying and tells us she’s been asking God to send someone to her, and we are her answered prayer.
There are a lot of little things I’ll miss, like taqueritos(our favorite snack), tienda ice cream with my team, and empanadas. But the things that make it so hard to leave are the people. Sure, I’ll miss the chicken bus rides and team trips to pollo granjero, and weekend adventures together, but it can’t compare to the relationships we’ve created with the community here.
We’ve started to say our goodbyes to our friends and ministry hosts. And I thanked Jesus that this goodbye was hard. Hard goodbyes are okay because we know we’ve loved well and were loved well too. I have so much confidence and I believe so firmly in our squad that I know Guatemala has begun to change and will continue to change. I know that more people now know the father, more people know that the authority Jesus has, is in them too, and more people know that its not about rules and religion, but an intimate relationship with Jesus. But most importantly, Guatemala is beginning to look more like the Lord intended it to be. I know it wont change over night but Guatemala has gained so many more disciples of its own that theres no way it can’t change.
I’m so blessed and so thankful that I had the opportunity to serve here. The lord has tough me A LOT in the last three months. But the special thing about Jesus is that he didn’t just stay in one place. He was always going new places to reach new people. As much as I’ve loved Guatemala, I know the Lord has so much in store for the next three months in Asia.
In five days, we’ll be on our flight to Thailand. I am so expectant of what the Lord is going to do. We’ve learned and seen so much, but it doesn’t stop here. Today I’m thankful knowing that the Lord has used us to raise up new disciples and we can confidently leave knowing the Lord is going to finish his work here.
Guatemala, thanks for all the memories.
