I've been home ( In Alabama) for two weeks. It's crazy. I can't believe that I've gone to Guatemala for six weeks and have been back for two weeks. To say that I miss Guatemala would be the biggest understatement I have ever made. I miss the people. I miss the creation. I miss the smell. I miss the food. And most of all I miss my family and my home there. I'm going to try the best I can to tell you a little bit about my trip now that I have had a little while to step back and gather my thoughts..hope some of this makes sense!
I never thought that in six weeks a place could feel like home. The day before I left Chichi to head to Antigua and then back to the states, I was talking with my family about going home and being back in the states and how I was excited to see my family at home. My mom there looked at me and said "you will always have a family and home here now" It didn't hit me then how true her words were. I felt so much at home there. I'm not saying it wasn't hard adjusting at first. Every night I would thank God for getting me through another day and helping me grow and learn to lean on Him. It was one of the most amazing feelings in the world. My life, my world, was totally engulfed by God. I could see him, I could feel him, I could taste him. It was amazing. For the first time in my life I realized what it means for God to be everywhere and to truly experience that. I am 22 years old and for the first time in my life I feel like I felt God the way I should feel him everyday. What I experienced that I thought was extraordinary should really be an everyday thing. My prayer is that I will continue to embrace being in his presence daily! Here are some of the ways that I experienced the Lord
I met 11 of the most amazing friends I will ever have.
I am not exaggerating! These people are awesome! I am so amazed at God's plan and just how awesome He is that He brought us all together on the trip. Each person was unique to the group and I love each of them so much! I feel like there are so many things that I could say about these people and the reasons that I love them that I would be sitting here for so much time typing..(and crying because I miss them) that I don't think I would be able to write anything else when I got done. God revealed Himself in different ways through each of my friends and I am so thankful that they were there! Thank you Jesus for my wonderful friends and I pray you bless them everyday. Thank you for allowing me to meet this part of my family. Becca, Marah, Michaela, Phillip, Lindsey, Haleigh, Abbey, Amber, Molly, Zach, and Meredith..y'all. are. awesome.
The people that make up health talents...they rock.
Seriously. The doctors, health promoters, and other staff made my day, every day. They were all always so happy and willing to help and allow us to learn what it's like to be like Jesus. I love the examples that they are and how they have changed my outlook on how I want to be a nurse and how I want to treat patients and just the encouragement that they were. From everyone who was involved in getting us to Guatemala, orientation, and the clinics..every single one of them were amazing! They are all wonderful people and the Lord blessed me by allowing me the oppertunity to get to know them. I learned so much about medicine and missions and love and prayer and life and Jesus from them. Another amazing part of my family.
My families.
I stayed with three different families during my time in Guatemala. My family during language school was so kind, and even though we only stayed with them for a week, I could not have imagined a better family to stay with. They were so helpful and patient with Haleigh and me and I think we both learned so much from them. (Haleigh was my roommate in Xela..it was so much fun! Love her!)
My family in Chicacao was so great! I saw God living in them and through them. They were so patient with me and my mom/sister (she was only 28 so she was more like my sister than my mom) was so friendly and kind and taught me so much while I was there. She loved to sing and she was always so happy that I was there and always wanted to make sure that I was happy. She told me that she prays for me and was so thankful for the time that I got to stay there. She had two little boys and a lot of nieces and nephews that would always come over to play. The girls liked to watch Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty too, which I was totally ok with :) (in spanish of course). This was where I finally had to stop and really think about why I was there and really started to experience life as a missionary and I found my self totally wrapped up in the Lord. I began to notice him everywhere! We went to church everyday in Chicacao and I began to pick up some of the sermons and the songs and really felt like the Lord was speaking to me (if I couldn't understand the sermon, I could at least follow along in scripture). It was truly amazing. I honestly can't put into words how much this family means to me.
My family in Chichi was absolutely wonderful! It was a completely different experience than that at the the coast. My family was much larger and spanish was their 2nd language too! We didn't watch tv as much and we tended to spend a lot of time in the kitchen around the fire. They would teach me kiche (their language) and I taught the kids how to play ERS. We played almost every night. It was so beautiful there. I walked through a corn field to get pretty much anywhere I had to go. It was just so open and fresh. They are so kind and they too were very patient. The girls taught me how to make corn tortillas (which is a lot harder than it looks) and tamolitos. I enjoyed the simple and layed back lifestyle there. The family just loved to sit and talk to me and spend time with me. I saw the patience of the Lord in them and they reminded me so much of Gods unconditional love. My dad worked for health talents and would go to the clinics with us and he was just an amazing man. My mom had the sweetest smile I have ever seen. One of the little girls in the family, Sara, loved to sit in my lap and she would always rub my arm or my face and she love to give hugs! She was such a little cuddle bug! And she was not very happy with me when I had to leave the last day. Another one of the little boys held my hand after I slipped and fell one night the whole way back to the house. They were just an amazing family. God blessed me so much by allowing me to become a part of their family. As I write this I know they are just finishing up dinner and heading to sleep. I pray they have sweet dreams and know just how much they mean to me..which is more than I could ever say.
The clinics
Wow. Where do I start? I saw God work in so many ways during my time in the clinics! It truly was amazing! As I said earlier, all of the doctors were awesome! They are all such great men and women of God and were such a great example of how I want to live and work as a nurse and how I want to show God to my patients. And the patients were amazing too! I loved getting to talk to them and help figure out what was wrong and help find a way to make it better some how. I LOVED praying with the patients. Even though I could only pray in English it was awesome to know that God heard me and heard them as they prayed with me and that prayer and God was what brought us together! He is SO wonderful!
My five..I couldn't have made it without you:
I hated splitting up from the other group after orientation, but I loved getting to know the five other people in my group during the clinics. We were there for each other and we just learned what it's like to be brothers and sisters in Christ and to work together for his purpose. God used each of you in so many ways and I love learning and laughing and talking about poop with y'all :) If I say anymore I might cry..so I'm going to be done now..y'all rock!
This was how Guatemala became a home. It has been really hard adjusting back to my life here in America. It doesn't feel like home did when I left. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't feel at home in my house or with my family, but life here is very different now. I am very different now. But then I remember that this world is not my home. My real home is in heaven and there I will have my WHOLE family with me..what a glorious day it will be!
I know that this is not super detailed and I would LOVE to talk about my time in Guatemala and share more experiences anytime! But hopefully this is a good overview of my experience and what God did!
