It’s so crazy how the Lord blesses us when we lay down our expectations—when we open up our hands and let the Lord take all of our own desires and dreams. This past weekend, I found myself needing to let go of expectations, still. Like many of my teammates, I had many expectations for this trip that were not being met. I had dreams of little children running into my arms. I had desires to connect with the people of Guatemala and make life-long friends. I had expectations to learn Spanish, and to learn it quickly and easily. And again, the Lord asked me to give these up to Him....

Today I found myself in a chapel alone with six wheelchair-bound kids with cerebral palsy. How I ended up there alone, not sure. I sat on the floor between two of them and held their hands. They all just smiled at me and laughed. Their joy quickly rubbed off on me. So I began to pray for them, or rather, praise God for them. I thanked God for creating them each just the way they are.             Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Luke 12:7 I realized during my 20 or so minutes alone with my babies that they are...

Last Sunday the pastor walked up to the pulpit ready to begin his sermon. Knowing he was only going to speak in Spanish, I was debating whether to channel all my attention and translate in my head or relax, sit back, and let the Spanish roll right over my "gringa" head. Before I could decide, the translator took her seat right beside me, and soon I knew why.  The sermon was on loving God as our heavenly Daddy, a topic I rarely consider but one that carries such importance. And while the translator continued to speak, my mind went back to our ministry of the last few...

you can find more photos on my flickr account. A few months ago, I bought a bracelet from a store called MudLove that has the simple word “abide” written on it. At the time, I didn’t realize that this bracelet would speak so much truth into my life.   As you can probably sense from our blogs, this trip has not been what we expected.  For me, many things have exceeded my expectations and some things have just been different than what I expected.   Ministry is one of those things that has just been different. Until my expectations weren’t met, I...

At training camp, they told us to toss out all expectations. Left unmet leaves us still seeking, unsatisfied in where we are. I thought I didn't have many. Easy surrender because I thought I was open to anything.  That was before two weeks into the trip and I'm standing in the middle of a dirt field with a hoe and they keep saying we have to do the whole thing. The second morning of all day hoeing, I realized I didn't do as good of a job surrendering as I thought.  With each sling of the hoe, I let the frustration grow. How is hoeing a field ministry? How is this...

We have now been in Guatemala for a couple of weeks now, and I can say that our time here has not been how I imagined it would be. As I settle in to life in Antigua, I find myself feeling more at home each day. I love Antigua- it is such a beautiful place. I am surrounded by eighteen wonderful teammates and I have so enjoyed doing life with them. But not every day is pure joy and perfection, as you might imagine. I have experienced joy and excitement, but also frustration and even a bit of sorrow. But through every whirlwind of emotion I experience, God has been teaching me so...

Well, I love Guatemala.   I love the people. I love the culture and the colors. I love the doors on every single home. I love the tiny convenient stores and cobblestone roads. I love the coffee and traditional, homemade Mayan outfits.                         I’m even in love with living with 18 other people and the packed “chicken buses” (However, I do miss my daddy, clean water, my own bathroom, and washing machines more than I ever imagined).   Today we went to a new church. It was all in Spanish and I...

Sometimes during my life I just stop for a second and ask myself, “What is my life?” I examine the crazy situations and then I assess it. Today I had one of those moments. I’m finally getting used to the crazy,  non-sensical driving that makes up Guatemala, so the hourish drive yesterday morning to a Mayan 7th-12th grade school was no big deal. We walked through a parade, finally learning not to respond to the vendors cries of “Special price for you my friend!” and into the high school. Up some stairs, through some hallways, and then I looked around and...

We're halfway through week 2 in Antigua and we're still going strong! Today my small group was supposed to go volunteer at a daycare where the children of the market workers go. That fell through so instead we went into the square in Antigua and did some "Ask the Lord."  Heather W. and I broke off and walked around trying to see where the Lord would lead us. Hearing God speak to me is something I've been working on and praying for. I desperately want to hear His voice. So for a while I was feeling discouraged. We were having an amazing time talking to people...

PHOTOS For some reason, photos won't load on this blog. I'm uploading as many as possible to my flickr account, so check it out at the link above! I'm really struggling to find words to write this blog. This last week has been such a mix of emotions: excitement, frustration, happiness, sadness and pure joy.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week we all took off our "normal" ministries to help out another ministry. We spent the days hoeing and raking a field that will eventually be a community tomato farm to help families get out of the poverty cycle by...