My mom wrote in my baby book that when I was three I said, “Mommy, I want to be a doctor and a mommy when I grow up.” Well, that dream hasn’t changed at all and this trip has given me so much motivation to make that dream a reality. I am so blessed that one of our ministries is the children’s hospital. Hospital ministry was not on the description of this trip, nor was it on the list of ministries our contact had. Coming on this trip, I figured we wouldn’t be doing hospital ministry. You can imagine how happy I was when I heard that not only were we going to...

               Half way there! Last week the team spent a few days in Antigua, Guatemala for a mid-way debrief. It was so good; a time of refreshing, rejuvenating, and reenergizing. Focusing back on who we are and why we’re here. Antigua is absolutely beautiful, surrounded by mountains and with cute little shops and markets. Most of every day was completely free for us to just have fun, maybe a little shopping or volcano climbing. The time flew by. Last Friday night we arrived back at Casa Verde here in Puerto Barrios after a long day of riding...

Well folks I climbed a volcano. Yep, you heard me right. A volcano. More or less I rode a horse up and down a volcano. This hike honestly was the highlight of my entire trip thus far. It was on this random volcano that I experience the Lord in such an amazing way.   Well let me give a little bit of background before I launch you into this little adventurous excursion I went on. My team and I spent last week (Monday through Friday) in the beautiful city of Antigua for our midway debrief. Cobblestone streets, authentic markets and amazing food galore. Antigua truly is Guatemala in its...

“I lean not on my own understanding, my life is in the hands of the maker of heaven. I give it all to you God, trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me. I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open. There’s nothing I hold on to.”   This past week the Lord has been revealing His beauty to me in a way I have never experienced. In seeing His beauty, He has allowed me to see beauty in myself. I read the book, “Captivating” this week; it brought me so much healing as well as gave me new eyes to see beauty in the world around me,...

Ok I'm not writing this to say I hate it here in Guatemala so don't get that as you read. But ill be back in Colorado in 46 days!!!! That's amazing! What a great experience it has been here and is continuing to be.  My favorite ministry we have done since being back from Antigua (which was absolutely beautiful) was the children's hospital. First off that is really weird for me to say because I'm not a hospital person. I think God has really given me the gift of joy, especially in dark situations. The hospital is where I feel like doing nothing is still ok. I...

        I have no idea what it is about debriefs that turn me into a pile of snot, tears and exposed fears, but this last one was no exception. On the Race, I cried in pretty much every debrief. I am sure my coaches and squad leaders thought I cried every day (close but not quite). For month 2 debrief, I cried because I felt so unloved and unheard by my team (was I loving and listening to them? Nope… but alas, selfishness is an ugly beast and a constant battle). For month 5...

 This past week has been a life changing experience. We got on a bus for eight hours and made our way to the historic beautiful city of Antigua, Guatemala. As a team we felt burdened and just a weight was over us and we were emotionally and physically drowning in it. The city Puerto Barrios left a dark spiritual heaviness on each and every one of us. As we arrived in Antigua it was like a dream to say the least. It was so beautiful and turning every corner made me fall in love with the city!  Nick and Ashley flew down to join our team last week also to be there for support. They...

Roaming the streets of Antigua, Guatemala I found a new freedom and love for life. The first 6 weeks of our trip to Guatemala our team has fought hard to feel a live and not get discouraged, but with a heavy weight above us it has been extremely difficult. On Monday we left Puerto Barrios and headed to Antigua for a week of freedom and fun! It was such an incredible week and a breath of fresh air. Arriving at our hostile we were greeted by two AIM staff from Atlanta, as well as two World Race squads. They were such a blessing to our team. Ashley and Nick (Aim staff) brought fresh air to...

Hiking up the volcano in Antigua is an experience I will remember for a lifetime for two reasons. The first reason is probably what you would expect- I will remember the beauty of it, the amazing sites I saw. The second reason I will remember the volcano is something I wasn’t expecting- I will remember the children there, the children who begged us to buy a stick for five quetzals, who begged us for food and money. I have never experienced something like it. We got off the bus and we were attacked by little boys, pleading with us to buy a stick. They were selling them five quetzals,...