Wednesday

I didn’t sleep much last night and I think it’s because I was so excited, nervous, sad, anxious, etc for today. It was a very big day filled with many emotions. As a first-timer the others were trying to give me an idea of what the day would be like but I knew I had to experience it to truly get the most out of it. And really, there’s not much that could’ve prepared me. We started off the day with a group picture from the roof of the Mission House in front of our amazing view. After we sang our hearts out we had a slightly different Bible study. This morning we reflected on the whole week, both for the new and experienced Missionaries. We talked about what we would miss. I had an idea of the things I would miss about this journey – the children, their smiles, their trust in me, their friendship, their interest in my iPhone and all the photos and videos on it, their hugs, holding their hands as we walked from casa a casa, having actual conversations with them in Spanish, the locals, watching the families take care of their everyday chores to create the best living situation possible, the unity among our team to come together and build a safe home for our new friends, the laughs throughout the day, reading from the Bible together as the sun came up….and so much more. A major part of our discussion was about how we can keep this feeling we’ve been experiencing all week – the connection with God, feeling so much closer to Him through our acts of service here so far away from home. We have to realize that we can share God’s love and serve our brothers and sisters from anywhere at any time and that we have to take time out of our ‘busy’ lives to do so. It starts with us – we need to continue to improve ourselves and our relationship with God and continue this work (in its many forms) every day. Today we were able to dedicate the houses to the families. I watched a local minister present a new Bible to the family in the most beautiful way. He told the families that the Bible and the house were a gift – but they didn’t compare to the love and blessings they would receive within the scripture. We blessed their new home and prayed that Christ would be with them always and hoped they accepted Him within their hearts. They also received a prayer shawl and an audio version of the Bible with a solar charger along with a whole bucket full of household cleaning supplies, clothes, towels and blankets. I’ll never forget the feeling I had when I saw Consuelo praying, thanking and crying as we prayed with her and presented this beautiful gift to her. It was more powerful than anything I had ever experienced. Honest, true faith in everyone’s hearts. I looked at the houses- I nailed that nail and Linda dug that hole and Shawn drilled that screw into the wall and Dellan measured the house and Ron made sure it was square and Stacy taught me how to build that door and Samuel made sure we built to his expectations. How did I even get here? God led me here. We repeated the dedications at the rest of the houses. The other location that really stood out in my mind was the young mother of two who said she had not accepted Christ. She then explained that she used to be a believer but took a different turn in life that led her to drugs and prostitution. Meeting her husband turned her life for the better but because of her past she didn’t think she was worthy of God’s love and wasn’t ready to accept Christ back into her life. We prayed with her again, this time each of us reaching out to her so that we were all as one speaking to the Lord and letting her hear that whenever she was ready to accept Him in her life He would be ready with open arms. She was very touched by this and I just hope she continues to read her Bible and find her relationship with God again. You can see it in her. Poor Emily took a spill today during a dedication just as a family was accepting Christ into their lives. I think the sun was too hot and we were forgetting to drink enough water that the heat got to her. Thankfully we had a very knowledgeable crew to attend to her and get her back up and smiling. :) When the dedications were over we sat in the street and ate our lunch as the children began their usual swarm around us. Donna printed off the family photos and I helped distribute them to the families – it’s nice to be needed as a translator, too. We eventually had to say goodbye to all the children and families. That was the most difficult part for me. All my new little amigos came running for hugs. Many of them told me to remember them and to visit them the next time I come to Guatemala. Saying goodbye to all these little hearts and hands that I had come so close to was more difficult than I could’ve known. I hope I made as much of an impact on their life as they did mine. Shopping for boots was a fun way to distract from the heartache of leaving the village. But I still leave knowing I have to come back. Que lo dios los acompañia. Love, Jess :)