July 20-22 were three of the most beautiful, faith-growing, amazing, incredible, remarkable, astounding, unbelievable, and miraculous days of my life. On July 20th, our team leaders informed us that we would be heading out on a Luke 10 Journey. What is a Luke 10 journey you may ask? A Luke 10 journey is modeled after how the Lord sent out His disciples: without food, without money, and without a place to stay. I encourage you to read about it for yourself in Luke 10:1-12 and Matthew 10:1-23. So with Luke 10 in mind, the fourteen of us split into four groups and headed in all different...

Throughout our time at Guatemala, we have been visiting an orphanage with only 7 kids. 7 kids that have been left by their families and by society. 7 kids that are desperate for love. 7 kids whose smiles light up a room and whose laughter is contagious. On Saturday, we decided to take these 7 kids on an adventure to the water park.   As we traipsed through the park to meet the kids, I was not sure of what to expect. We rounded a corner and as soon as I made eye contact with them, I knew all the planning and work was worth it. Joy* pointed at us and smiled a smile so big that it...

So I've realized I haven't posted many blogs while here in Puerto Barrios but I do have many stories to tell. So here I will tell a few shortened versions of the things I have had the priveledge to be a part of over the past few weeks.  Heres an overview of some of my favorite ministries Bar ministry.  We bring the woman flowers or chocolate with bible verses attached when we visit and God has worked through this as well as our conversations. We have also been able to develop relationships with a few different woman that work at some of the bars.  ...

          To begin to sum up the last seven weeks here, I'm just not sure that I could do it. I've been through so much, seen so much, and fought so much with God.. but He has won. I have learned how to fight for my faith. Granted, I am still trying to find new ways to fight for my freedom (and fight for my sanity) everyday. What has really helped me has been to have quiet time with God everyday. I never thought that spending time with my heavenly Creator at the start of everyday could really change the way I go about my day.       ...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

On Saturday morning I had the opportunity to do something extreme, and rather out of character, that I had never done before… motorcycling and dirt biking (Uncle Kenny, Kyle, and Grant… I know you guys won’t believe me until I put up pictures, so be patient)!  Anyways… three of my teammates and I rode with members of the church for a morning of fellowship.  For over three hours, on an absolutely beautiful day, we rode around Lake Atitlán and I am convinced that I got the best view of Guatemala!  The morning was a wonderful time of...

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...