there is a certain sensation that has always warmed my heart in the most genuine of ways. in the middle of worshipping i can just stop. listen. and hear the chorus of all the people. the joining of all the voices. some are beautiful, melodic, angelic on their own. others, hoarse or off key or out of tune. but the gathering and collection of all the voices. it always sounds good. and if we stop and listen to it. its the one body of christ that matters. not the individual.
this sensation has only been multiplied while being in guatemala because not only are there different voices making up the chorus. but different languages. and to me. it makes it ten times more special to stop and listen and understand that we still are all saying the things that are placed in our heart.
this sensation is one of the moments that keeps me going here. because the race is not always rainbows and butterflies and perfect days. the days are sometimes long. i miss home. i feel inadequate or unequipped. some days I’m just emotional. some days i really wanna be alone. there are days where i am being stretched and molded and all my character flaws are brought to the surface. but there are moments that get me through. my team leader brittany called them love notes from god, and how stinking spectacular to think that the author of all the stories and perfect details takes the time to write love notes to me, to remind me i am loved and adored. to remind me this is where i am supposed to be. so during a harder week i picked out the love notes and reread them over and over to share with you.
for starters i sit in the same place every morning for breakfast and morning devotional time. its the perfect spot to catch the sun making its ascent to the top, feeling the warmth so clearly on my face while i soak in all that his word has for me to mediate on for the day.
he gave me a friend at the old folks home named gabriella. she doesn’t speak at all, sometimes going unnoticed or just misunderstood. but she laughs. and she got mad at me when i cut my hair. and she wears the ring i gave her that matches mine, meaning ill always have a friend here in guatemala when i leave. she has a spirit that just intrigues me and matches my own in ways i can’t explain.
in the midst of a stressful wednesday he placed peace in my heart as i watched kids of all ages and sizes play soccer together at recess with the mountains and volcanoes as the backdrop. my teammate paige and i just sat there, in crazy awe that this is our life. finding it hard to imagine being anywhere else.
he places guatemalan fourth graders in my mornings that write my name and theirs, draw a heart around it, and write “amigos por siempre”. we don’t speak the same language. but they don’t care. they just want to dance, learn english, be spun around. to know my name and know that i know theirs.
he places names of people from home in the bible verses i am led to in the morning, reminding me that they are loved and protected while i am here.
the biggest love note of all is the team of seven girls he perfectly picked out to be my best friends. so ana, midge, skylar, evelyn, paige, may, and brittany.
thank you for calling me higher, noticing me, listening to me, loving me so well, being the utmost intentional beings, letting me show you pictures of my boyfriend too much, doing me favors, showing me grace, reminding me to do the same, being the best community i could’ve asked for, and always choosing me. the author of the entire universe wrote you all so perfectly, uniquely, yourselves. he wrote your every detail and character trait to match mine and inspire me. you keep me going everyday.
life is oh so good.
signing off for now,
charlie<3
