Reflections from Brennan:
“You are a beautiful pile of dirt.”
How to start? This trip has broken me and built me up more than I knew possible. As difficult as some of the interactions that we’ve had this week have been, there have been pictures and visions of God’s perfect plan, grace, and mercy surrounding these people. And yes, the quote above was from our time together that was just really funny at the time, but is also a really cool picture of the Gospel. Really I cannot put words to the interactions and feelings that I’ve felt this week. I’m sure that over time words will come, but for now all I can say is God is working mightily in the hearts and minds of myself and my classmates, and I’ve never been prouder to call them friends and family!
Reflections from Brittany:
This week started off feeling like more of vacation where we had lots of time to relax and just enjoy each other’s company. We went from a very luxurious restaurant for lunch in a very fancy shopping area to an area where there were homes not even the size of my closet at home that were basically falling off the side of the mountain into the ravine. When we were taken into the city just to observe the ravine where we would deliver food, it hadn’t really settled in yet just how broken it really was. However, the next day we met the students and weren’t really sure how to relate to them, for a lot of us there is a huge language barrier. The schedule here is nonexistent to put it simply, the first day had absolutely no structure and “15 more minutes” quickly became two more hours. But it forced us to create games and just interact genuinely.
The home visits really hit a lot of us, and for me specifically there was one boy named Christopher who was amazing at soccer when we had played with the kids on Saturday. His mother had said they can’t leave their house once they come home from school because of how dangerous it is in their neighborhood. Later that day I got the opportunity to attempt a conversation in Spanish about soccer with him and it was so special. It made me so emotional thinking about it later on and just made me wish I could’ve given him just even a small part of the opportunity I had with soccer specifically. Even in their circumstances they all have so much joy and faith. God is so good and is continually working in all of us and all of these people. God is allowing us to be broken this week so that we can serve his people and honor him now and back home.
#wecriedsomuchbutitwasamazing
Reflections from Ava:
This trip has been nothing short of amazing and emotional. It has taught me how to be flexible with everything. But, what I was taught the most so far this week is how to be joyful in every situation. The people of Guatemala constantly have a ginormous smile on their face. We visited some of the student’s homes and, wow, I feel so blessed. The first home my group went to, we walked in and the mother had Spanish worship music blaring in her home. It instantly made me teary eyed, especially after we prayed for her and her family. All these people are so joyful, and while on the outside it may seem they have nothing, they have so much in their community and in their savior, Jesus.
This morning also made me pretty emotional as the students surprised us with learning an English song named “Same God” by Elevation Worship. It instantly brought me to tears because you could hear all these little voices praising Jesus in a language they barely knew. It reminded me of the verse Philippians 2:10-11, “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” It was an indescribable moment and all I could think about is that this is what Heaven is going to look like. This week has taught me so much, and I am so incredibly thankful to the Lord for showing me everything that I have learned.
LC Senior Go! 