Guatemala Short-term Missions trip

Day 4 | Friday, Feb. 14

Home Visits + Home Building

Today when we were on home visits, the most astounding part for me was getting to understand the perspective of Jesus washing people's feet. I had to get down on the ground to put shoes on the children we visited, and that moment felt the most honoring to them because I was able to show how much I loved them without having to say a word. It felt like the best way to show them how much I love them, as I resembled Christ's position of service. When I gave a 6-year-old girl candy, toys, and snacks, her first reaction was to give away what she had. Even though she had next to nothing, she was selfless and her first instinct was not to ask for more, but to give away what she was given. We can resemble this young girl and learn to be content and to sacrifice like she did. We have so much more than she has, yet our first instinct is often selfishness and we feel unsatisfied with what we have. I want to be more sacrificial and content.
-Austen George

I had the opportunity to go on home visits today which are always such a beautiful yet heartbreaking experience. The third family we visited particularly stuck out to me because they have been through so many hardships in their life, yet they have seen the Lord do numerous miracles in their life and have stuck together through it. In Guatemalan culture, it is common for the husband to leave his family when life gets hard, but this family stuck together and encouraged each other. At one point the husband was on life support, and the Lord performed a miracle and healed him. We reminded them that although they continue to face hard things and often can’t afford necessities like food and education for their kids, God is with them and continues to provide.
-Aubrey Miller

When we initially showed up at the concrete job site, we could see that it was tiny, dropped off on all sides, and had no shade, and we could tell that it was going to be challenging. We started working and the rhythm we had working as a team for the very first time was clearly a work of God. Even though we were exhausted, the patience we had for each other was a miracle. At the hottest point of the day, a young boy brought me a pink hat with sparkly cat ears. I had forgotten my hat and was so touched that this family was trying everything to bless us while we were working to bless them. Multiple people from the neighborhood had come to help in any way they could, and it was a beautiful thing to witness the power of God working through all of us.
-Emma Lanxon