This first month on the Race has been a crazy whirlwind of emotions…
I’ve experienced the bittersweet in goodbyes and leaving everything that I’ve ever known and loved behind…
I’ve become initiated as a World Racer, experiencing a 17 hour travel day, filled with a few unexpected bumps along the way, but experiencing God’s greater plans throughout it all…
I’ve found home in the beautiful town of Quiche, with our ministry host Agape in Action and experienced community in full form, with my 50 squad mates in that cozy home across from the hospital….
I’ve wandered the streets marveling at the beautiful architecture…
And explored the local market, taking in all the noise and smells and sights of rich colors…
I’ve celebrated Guatemalan Independence Day…
I’ve cuddled, swaddled, bathed, burped, fed, and loved the most beautiful babies in the world…
And had my heart break for their stories…
I’ve played, and colored, and experienced grace and giggles with my attempts at Spanish…
I’ve learned that words aren’t always necessary and that hugs can conquer any language barrier…
I’ve explored the Mayan Ruins…
I’ve had many bus adventures…
And some tuk tuk ones too…
I’ve ridden in backs of trucks and in vans with twenty-two people and random Guatemalans sitting on your lap…
I’ve painted curbs, washed windows, mopped, moved boxes, and moved a medical storage room, all while making new friends along the way…
I’ve cooked and fed fifty hungry squad mates…
I’ve celebrated Children’s Day and dressed up as a clown and painted faces…
And brought Jesus’s joy to some who needed it most…
I’ve experienced a whole new meaning to the word team and all that entails… the laughter and the harder moments of decision making and calling each other up to be the people God has created us to be…
And seen the blessings from the people put on our Race to help us walk in this new journey, like our squad leaders and coaches…
I’ve learned that everyone is important to Jesus and to never overlook a simple smile and friendly hola and I learned it in the form of making coffee, for a hundred people who sleep outside all night in the cold as they wait for their loved one who is inside the hospital…
I’ve read bedtime stories to a very special girl who has no one to read to her…
I’ve experienced the fun of debrief, in the beautiful city of Antigua…
And woke up with my squad at 5am to see the sunrise and pray for the country…
And in keeping with the theme God has had for me for my first month on the Race, which is embracing the bittersweet, I have left a little part of my heart in Guatemala…
God has done so much, it’s crazy to believe all that was just in the first month! We serve an awesome God, every day of working for His kingdom is such a blessing and an adventure! Our race has just begun…
