Hello Everyone!
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to blog, but life has been pretty crazy for me lately. I left home a few days early to meet up with some squad mates in L.A. and have a little fun before leaving the country for 11 months. We had a great time and made some really special bonds. We got a chance to go on the game show “Let's Make a Deal” with Wayne Brady. It was a super cool experience! Then we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and did a little sight seeing. The last day we basically hung out at LAX and welcomed our remaining “B” squad mates. Around midnight we were ready to head out to Antigua, Guatemala for a few more days of training and getting to know each other.
Launch was very surreal for me. Up until then I felt like I had been on vacation, or maybe I was just in denial. Either way, I knew that this was very real now. The World Race staff held sessions for us on topics such as positive attitude, prophecy, and the presence of God. Unfortunately, I became very ill the second to last evening and missed out on an entire day of training. Thankfully, whatever was making me sick ran it's course pretty quickly and I was able to hike the Pacaya Volcano with the rest of the squad our last day in Antigua. We hiked 3 hours up and roasted marsh mellows at the top. It was definitely a bucket list experience! Antigua is an amazingly beautiful place. Volcanoes, mountains, cobblestone streets, and amazing architecture! A great place to start off the Race!
Our first ministry is about 30 minutes outside of Antigua. This month we are at a orphanage with 32 children. So far we have helped pick beans, shell beans, do yard work, build a sidewalk, organize rooms, and sort through bags of donated clothes. We are also taking over the role of house parents for some of the workers to get a vacation. There is one floor for girls, one for little boys, and another house for the big boys. The four of us girls are staying in the house with the little boys and 2 babies. That definitely makes for an interesting wake up call! They are wild, but I love it! Our day usually starts around 7 with breakfast, cornflakes, then at 8 we start working. Around 10:30 we get a half an hour break to drink some “atol” which is a warm drink that consists of milk, sugar, and either oatmeal or rice and it is delicious. Lunch time is around one and it's something different every day. Then dinner is around 6 and is either rice and beans or beans and rice. We get hot water every other day(ish) when the boys start a fire to heat up the water heater. Baby wipes and baby powder have become two of my favorite things…EVER! We have a washing machine but no dryer. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but it's rainy season now so drying clothes is nearly impossible! Thank God for Wal-mart!
I'm totally loving on these kids! They are so awesome. It breaks my heart to see how amazing they are and to know that someone could just give them away. At least 8 of them are infected with HIV and have to take medicine two times a day. Most of them don't even understand what HIV is. They have had cases where some of the children have been prayed over and taken back to the hospital for more tests that came back negative. The doctor's are amazed at the miracle! Some of the children here are adoptable in country and some are orphan's that will stay until legal adulthood. Some have brothers and sisters here with them, and some have nothing and no one but this ministry. The children are such a joy to be around. They are so beautiful and just keep reminding me of why Jesus tells us we must be like them to enter the Kingdom of heaven. I absolutely love being here with them and am honored to love on them for a short month of their lives!
Our team is really just getting to know each other. We are in the process of telling our “stories” so that we can really know what makes each person tick. We have six different personalities and sometimes six different opinions so we are in the process of learning how to work with each other and honor each other and honor God at the same time. This is all still very new to us and we all come from very different backgrounds so it's exciting to see God unify us and use us all in different ways!
Here are a few random thoughts for you…
Things to be thankful for…hot water…all the time, a dryer, toilet paper, being able to flush toilet paper instead of throwing it in a trash can that will stink really soon, the convenience of going to the store every day, eating different things for dinner every night, baby wipes for your baby, not being woken up to dogs barking at 3:30am, heat and ac, and internet at your convenience! I don't say these things to complain, only to help others realize just how good we have it and not take things for granted!
Some things to pray for…
My whole squad and our leaders…every ministry that we are serving here in Guatemala…my team…our health and safety…unity for us…the country of Guatemala…the people in our ministry and the kids…their healing….our next ministry in Honduras….our spiritual growth…our faith to be expanded and enlarged! Also be praying about supporting this ministry in Guatemala or coming to serve. I'm going to post some info on how to do so if anyone feels led. This is a great ministry worthy of our time, effort, and money!!
Here is some scripture that I was reading and was convicted so I thought I would help convict you all by sharing! LOL Seriously though, it's time for us to stop talking and start doing. To make a lifestyle out of it, not just a once in a while thing. This is the Christian walk my friends!!
The Message (MSG)
James 2:14-20
Faith in Action
14-17Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
18I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
19-20Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
Just to let you all know, it's difficult to be on the internet because of lack of time and slow internet. So please don't be offended or think i'm slacking, we just do the best we can. I mostly check in with my family and let everyone know i'm okay! I'll upload pics as soon as I get to a place that it doesn't take so long and doesn't cost money!
I miss everyone dearly, but am happy to be where God wants me! I am growing and being stretched in every way already! Please continue to keep me in your prayers. I Love you all and think of you often!! God Bless 🙂
