Because of a mudslide, our team was unable to travel to Sololá, a neighboring city of Panajachel, to visit the orphanage where we’ve been serving.  God simply had a different plan for us.  Instead, I and five other teammates headed towards the community where we had our outreach camping trip at the beginning of our trip. Our mission for the day was to go door to door and evangelize to the people of the community; we were also given money to bless people that we came across.  For whatever reason, this day of evangelizing was a little bit more difficult and...

I wrote this blog a while ago and just found it again (Part 2 is in the works–I´m learning the trick of suspense all of our favorite TV shows and movies utilize)… so here goes!  We´ve been in Guatemala for a week now. It has been so neat to get to know the people on my team, the church (that is just above a delicious coffee shop called Cafe Parada), and the people of Panajachel. It´s funny, though, because most of the life lessons has been learned in moments that I was alone. For example:  On the rood of our home we have a third floor that is under...

A few weeks ago, I went with my buddy Nick to rent motorcycles on our day off. I envisioned us cruising the beautiful countryside, doing figure-eights around each other, popping a few wheelies, and peeling out in front of the entertained locals … you know, simple stuff like that. But then I failed the driving test. Turns out, you need to know how to drive a motorcycle before the rental agency lets you take one out for a spin. I wasn´t even trying to rent a motorcycle either. I was deemed unfit to drive a moped, which is pretty low because I swear I´ve seen 10-year-olds...

Nothing casts down all pride like life on the mission field. You are dirty, smelly, unshaven, and unkempt in every way. You start competitions with your team mates to see who can go the longest without showering, you stop washing your hands because the tap water is probably worse for you then any of the germs already on your hands, and no matter what you always smell like a mixture of sunscreen, bugspray, and sweat. The kind of smell that just makes you think of the color brown. This  has been my life for the past 6 weeks. And I love it. I wouldn´t have it any other way. ...

Will someone please tell time to stop going so quickly? I have six days left here, a few days in Antigua, a day in Atlanta…and then home. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited to see you all again…but I am so not ready to leave.  Let me tell you about the things that happen daily in my life here.  I wake up, force down another bowl of Frosted Flakes mixed with Corn Flakes (with no milk…because their milk is made from powder, and typically warm, which I can’t handle), spend time worshiping with my team before we go out, then some kind of...

Today we were suppose to go back and teach at an orphanage that we´ve been visiting in a different city but there was a lot of rain last night and caused a mud slide which was blocking the main road to get to Solola (the town its in) so we couldnt go today. Instead, our leaders gave us 200Q and told us to take a boat to another surrounding city around the lake to do an ATL (Ask The Lord). We´ve done this a lot in Pana, but never anywhere else so we were really excited and nervious at the same time. I was put in a team with Walt, Tashem, and Alaina. We prayed,...

"Pero Jesus llamo a los niños y dijo: Dejen que los niños vengan a mi y no se lo impidain por que el reino de Dios es de <QUIENES SON COMO ELLOS>" Lucas 18:16 Estas ultimas semanas en Panajachel hemos tenido el privilegio de compartir el amor de Dios no solo con palabras sino tambien con hechos como es mencionado en 1 de Juan 3:18, en un pequeño orfanatorio localizado a las orillas de la ciudad de Solola. Esta casa hogar de niños esta compuesta por un grupo de 22 niños y niñas de las edades de 6 meses en adelante. El Señor nos...

"I don´t wanna ride on somebody else´s passion, I don´t wanna find that I´m just dry bones, I wanna burn with unquenchable fire, deep down inside see it coming alive." This past week God has really beenspeaking to me and convicting me.  I truly love living and working on the field.  It is easy for me and I´ve been waiting all summer to hear where God is calling me next just like He called me to Guatemala in April.  God has been telling me loud and clear that it is time to go home and speak truth and life into my family and...

                                           Welding rebar to serve as a base for the concrete wall at the wall.          My dear friend Juan and I at one of our Cafe con Leche dates at Cafe Moka.       Ramos and I….Ramos is a man our team prays for quite often on the streets. ...

On Monday, we went to the dump to talk to people, pray with them, and invite them to a program the following day.  The next morning we spent several hours preparing for the event: buying a piñata, cookies and juice for the kids, rice and beans for the families, a couple pairs of boots, collecting clothes, and planning the program. As we sat in the van, heading to the dump on Tuesday, we had absolutely no idea of what to expect. God worked in a huge way! Let me try to paint this picture for you. As we pulled into the entrance of the dump, an hour late, crowds of children and...

On Friday we visited the nursing home  in Puerto Barrios again. After such a long morning I was spiritually drained and my joy was nowhere to be found. But for about a week the Lord had been putting a lady there on my heart: I don’t know her name or her story but I know that the Lord loves her, and as my sister I care about her well being. She has some problem that has caused extreme infection in both of her ankles- bone, tissue, and veins are exposed. The spirit had been prompting me to pray with this lady for healing. How humbling it was that even when I have no joy and no...

God is amazing. I think that statement is enough for a blog but I must type more so I'm going to tell you how God has worked in my life. Get yourself a cup of coffee or tea or pop or water or even juice (whichever you prefer) and find a place to sit down and read this blog for the next few minutes.  Currently I am sitting outside of a coffee shop in Pana just thinking of how amazing God is. I am so amazed that God knew before I was born, before my mom and grandma was born that at 1:28pm on July 13th, I would be sitting here typing this out. It was part of his schedule and his...