Never would I have imagined that God has been preparing to send me to the Dominican republic with a group of teenagers. All these years of going to Guatemala has prepared me to know more and more about Students International and to now add another country is a dream to me. I truly can'y think of a better way to end my trips with my daughter Courtney! She too, has been each summer since she was 8 in Guatemala-our home away from home. :), and it always will be.
A few years ago, I was in a 5K (yeah, me don't laugh!) for a cause that I couldn't pass up. A former student of my husband, who is now my student, had a father, a pastor, dying of cancer-to glioblastoma. It was very aggressive so some people from church set up this 5K to benefit the rising costs of his medical care.
I got a tshirt from that race that said "God's got this". The race itself was easy, I went with a neighbor friend of mine and it was fun. My neighbor asked me a few weeks ago how he (this father) was doing and I had to tell her that he passed away. Hard stuff, REALLY hard stuff for his wife and his children. And the community, he was an amazing man, for sure. And now I have that amazing son of his, Jonah in my Spanish class.
As I thought about that shirt, that phrase "God's got this", I thought what now? God apparently didn't "have this"? NO! God still has "got this"-even now, that dear family, that wife, and even His purpose for having Joel here. His plans are not our plans, we HAVE to know that.
So I reflect on His revealing to me that being in His arms is exactly where he wants us. I never expected to feel as devoted to missions as I am. #blessthemissionaries is a project that I want to use with my mission teams this year. In the Dominican Republic, in Guatemala, wherever His path takes me. I have collected some of the needs from various missionaries and hope to bring a smile to their site in their specific country. I admire what they do there, and although I wish I were there helping them, I know that God has me planted where He needs me to be..for now. But I can bless those that ARE there and bring them the things they need the most. As a team, we hope to collect items and take them to the missionaries, or to the director there to distribute. So for this I need my communities' help, their assistance.
When I translate for church services, it is not my words that are translated, but the pastor's. I love to translate for Mario Mendez, the pastor in Guatemala. I can just feel God's words flowing though Mario and then through me. Theres no better place to be than in His will, being used as an instrument to carry His will to others who need it. In the same way, I hope to bring His love through the missionaries there so they can continue to bless their communities.
We leave so soon, just two months away, less than that now. I am very excited, for sure. Those children, those faces. I will never be the same, after each trip after seeing my students discover how He made them to be and as they are on the launching pad of their lives.
Gracias Señor por permitirme ser parte de su GRAN propósito en esta vida.
