My love for international missions started when I was 16. In 2010 I went on a mission trip to Guatemala with my youth group. When I first asked my parents if I could go, they said no. However, I kept bugging them until they changed their answer. I was fighting my Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and a lot of people didn’t think I could do it. They thought I would fall apart on the trip or have some other issue.
Despite people’s opinions, I was determined to go. In July, I left the US for the first time and went to Guatemala. I absolutely loved it! God took care of my OCD while I was there. I didn’t fall apart. I flourished! It was the best trip of my life up to that point. (It might still be the best). I had the opportunity to go to Guatemala again with my youth group the following year.
Both times we went to a children’s home called Casa Aleluya. We helped around Casa in the morning and interacted with the kids in the afternoon/evening. I met so many wonderful children! I heard terrible stories of what had happened to some of those children, but they seemed so happy. Why were these children so happy after what they had been through? God is so amazing! He can give joy to people who have experienced awful things, and He makes children so resilient.
I became pretty attached to some of the children: Andrea, Julia, Cristina, Dulce, and another Andrea. Their stories range from abuse to mental illness of a parent to literally being thrown away as a baby. Those children will always have a place in my heart. I don’t think any of them are still at Casa. They left in different circumstances (some good, some bad). I would greatly appreciate prayers for them!
I fell in love with international missions from those trips. I knew I wanted to do international missions in the future. I’ve been back to Guatemala once since then. I’ll share about that mission trip in another blog post. I now have an amazing opportunity to serve and grow on an 11 month mission trip to 11 different countries!
I still need to raise $17,500 to go on this trip. If you would like to donate, click the orange button at the top of the page or send me an e-mail. Thank you so much! God bless!
