guatemeaning

I just returned from a trip to serve the people of the rural villages in Guatemala. My heart is full.

I think Nate put it beautifully when he said that this trip gives the members of our team an opportunity to reach those whom we can't help from inside our offices or our cubicles. Yes, we do meaningful work at home - raising kids, helping sick people through Mayo clinic, providing hospitality to families through our work, homes, and church. But that doesn't mean that our work in the world is done. This trip gave us an opportunity to reach out across borders, across miles, across our own personal boundaries, to help people who need it.

Heather said it well: Guatemala sticks to people. It's true. I have served in different places in this country - Kansas City, Kentucky, Missouri, Minnesota, Tennessee... but I have never before experienced the warmth and gratitude that the people of Guatemala expressed to us. They lit a flame within us - a flame that will burn throughout the months to come, a flame that will remind us to keep on giving because that's why we're here. We're blessed to be a blessing.

My strongest impressions from my trip are of the people of Guatemala. Our interpreters, drivers, construction workers... the people whose teeth we pulled, whose stories we heard, who simply came to us looking for a little relief from the hard work they live through each and every day. One woman told the story of how her husband died a month ago. He was working on a cliff and fell. She expressed worry about pain in her chest, feet, legs, and worries about the fact that she had headaches and was quick to anger with her children. She was 32 and has 4 kids to support on her own.

I gave my Spark Story Bible to one of our intepreters. His name is Raul, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He is one of the funniest guys we met, always filling the air with his infectious laughter. He also is one of the most gracious people we met. He expressed gratitude to us - the angels that have been sent to him to help him find his way. He praised his mother, who planted in him the desire to be good and do good and spread good to the people in his life. We couldn't have done it without him or Ivan or Jose or Fernando or Emerson or Alberto or any of the other Guatemalans who worked with us. They are grateful to us for giving them work, but we are more grateful to them for making it possible for us to do God's work.

Faith is not easy, but the people of Guatemala are filled with it. They think we were sent to be blessings to them, but we received countless blessings in return.