Rachel Short here, checking in from the humble abode. The Lord has revealed so much to me these past few weeks.  As I live in this culture, community, eat what they eat, do what they do, see what they see, I can’t imagine going back to what used to be my reality.  I have been praying to the Lord about my future and where He wants me to go.  For so long I was not sure where I was going with my life, but coming on this trip I gave up what I wanted so that I could receive the gift that God wanted to give me.  I am so thankful that I chose to accept what...

My heart has been broken into fragments. Broken for the 32million girls in modern day slavery             but more specifically Broken for Mercy*, one of these girls,             whose spirit is dejected and hopeless             whose eyes lit for such a brief second             when she thought she saw her son, who she hasn’t seen for 7 months. Broken for the...

´´May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.´´  Romans 15:13 Everyday here in Panajachel has been filled with so much joy and peace.  I am constantly learning new things about Gods character, but for the past few days it has been compassion.  At the beginning of the week I was drawn to John 11 where Jesus is comforting Martha and Mary for the loss of their brother.  When Jesus saw how deeply saddened they were, he was deeply moved and he...

On Sunday, Team Panajachel had the opportunity to visit a hospital in a neighboring town; our objective was to pray for the patients there and ask that the Lord’s powerful hand would heal their bodies and transform their hearts.  After a curvy and slightly nauseating “chicken bus” ride up the mountain, we arrived at the hospital in Solola.  I didn’t really know what to expect, just that it would be different than the state-of-the-art hospital where my mom works back home; what we saw was far worse than anything my imagination could have conjured.  In...

The Lord is doing awesome work within our team! Our weeks are basically set with a schedule right now but starting next week we are about to start doing more outreach and be able to pour God into people’s lives. As of right now we have been working with Pastor Ben on two projects, building a retaining wall for a family whose house gets bombarded with mud from landslides, and also completing a well at Pastor Ben’s house was just now completed after 3 years of being worked on. The wall should be done sometime this week as well. Pictures of working at the wall Alaina, Nic, and...

Blessed.  That is how I feel about this opportunity to spend my summer in Panajachel!  The Lord is doing awesome things in me, my teammates, and this city that were staying in.     This theme of water is constantly being brought to my attention.  One of the first days we were here, something broke in the bathroom and water was shooting out of the wall at a rapid pace.  The room began to flood, and we all had to sweep out the crazy amount of water in the bedroom until the water was turned off.   Our team is studying John, and in John Jesus talks a...

Scoop, lift, throw.  Scoop, lift, throw.  Scoop, lift, throw.  This has been my motion for the last week.  My team and I have been a part of finishing building a water well that has been an ongoing process for 3 years.  Once complete, the well will be a source of water for 4 families in the community.  Being a part of a project that will soon impact so many people has been a blessing.  My main job has been shoveling dirt into the surrounding walls of the well.  First off, I have never shoveled so much in my whole life and second, by shoveling every...

Last Friday was the beginning of our second official week here in Guatemala and we hit the ground running. In the morining we visited a school in Puerto Barrios and had a program for them. Being there was hard because we didn’t get the response we had from the students in the school in San Manuel and it was very discouraging. We came home and had some family time to re-vamp and really prepare as a unit for  our ministry that evening. That night we went out to the bars in Puerto barrios to visit and pray with theprostitutes that worked there.We brought flowers to take with us to...

During prayer I find myself asking God question upon question.  I turn to Him in order to seek answers.  If I don't feel that they are answered adequately or in my own time, I continue to ask Him again and again and again.  However, God doesn't tend to work how we would like him to to work.  Earlier this week I had a revelation about questioning God.  If I lift a decision up to God for discernment and he puts peace into my heart, that should be the answer I'm looking for.  It is only when I am away from God and His word when confusion creeps...

Friday night we went to downtown Puerto Barrios in order to minister to the prostitutes in the bars. Before we arrived though, we spent a powerful time in prayer and worship preparing for this. It was incredible how God used that time to give us confidence, peace, and even joy. I definitely learned how powerful it is to be fully equipped with the armor of God! We took flowers in groups into different bars and gave them to the different women we met. I will never forget one bar in particular. 4 or 5 girls were sitting on a couch and their eyes were filled with an intense hopelessness. We...

The band Casting Crowns has written many songs that speak of our current times and our failure to truly trust, depend, and seek out Jesus Christ.  Their song, “What if His People Prayed,” has been on my heart lately, especially as I observe the members of Mi Reto, our host church.  The lyrics question why the church allows Satan to gain more souls, why we don’t take a stand upon God’s promises, and why we are too stubborn to turn from our own ways and seek to bear His name.  My favorite verse examines the family: “What if the family turned to...