Wow, what an incredible day we have had here in Huehue. It’s been a mixture of humbling experiences, raw emotions, and precious sights. Our day started at the orphanage, where we met four missionaries from the States that were volunteering there for the day. They were part of a group of 14 missionaries living near Lake Atitlan, in Panajachel, volunteering mostly at a school and orphanage. When we met them at Fundación, they were on day two of what they called their Luke 10 journey, which is the chapter in Luke when Jesus sends out his disciples to evangelize, telling them to take no food, no money, not even shoes with them, and rely on God’s goodness to provide. And in true form, this team had set out without money or food or a change of clothes, one guy following so literally that he wasn’t wearing shoes. They had relied on God’s blessing, and it got them from Panajachel to Huehue for free, on a series of ‘chicken buses’, and free meals. They even had met a group of pastors last night that blessed them with a hotel room, and dinner at McDonald’s. It was so incredible to hear their story, and so encouraging to see people our age living out their faith so passionately. It made me realize how little I really rely on and trust in God. In America it’s easy for us to go to church, go to our Bible studies, be good people, and consider ourselves saved Christians. But Christ died for so much more than that. Christ died so we could give our lives up to the Lord also, and trust in Him with our every move. It’s not until you have nothing, that you realize how abundant God’s gifts are, and how much He cares for His children. I realized that I had never needed God before, never truly needed God in the sense that He was my last hope. I turn to friends and family for comfort, my bank account for money, and my fridge for food. But the lives that these four missionaries were living for three days showed that if we truly give it up to God and cry out that we need Him, and know in our hearts that He is the only thing that could fill our needs, He provides. I pray now for God to move mountains in my life and in my heart, and to remind me that I need Him, and I need Him so much. Because life without Him is not a life worth living.
After such a reflective morning at the orphanage, the mood shifted for me in the afternoon when we were greeted at the orphanage by a full marimba band. The Spanish volunteers had never heard marimba before, and the orphanage decided that just would not do. So they brought a band to the orphanage, and we were entertained by groups of the children doing choreographed dances. They were SO cute. It was incredible to see that the orphanage gives so much to these kids, and not just in their needs, but in their enjoyment also. They had dressed up almost every little girl in a beautiful dress, and some of the boys were wearing traditional Guatemalan outfits. They fed the kids a full meal of bean tostadas, chicken taquitos, tamales, and punch. And even after the little kids ended up making a mess of their dresses by getting food all over themselves, it didn’t matter. The orphanage had extended grace and freedom to the children to dress up and feel special that evening. It was a great afternoon at the orphanage.
This evening, the mood shifted once again when we went to church at Gloria de Libano for their evening worship service. Linda had a mission team with her visiting from Texas, and they blessed us all with music and amazing voices. Once again, everyone was weeping, falling to the floor, and praying over each other. It was easy to see that we were all sharing in an indescribably beautiful moment together. The raw love and need that they have for Jesus impresses me every time. And it was in this moment that I realized, truly realized, how much I too need God. Dios, te necesito. It felt more real to me when I prayed it in Spanish for some reason. This realization did not come to me because I was battling an addiction or a bad lifestyle or homelessness or poverty, but it was still such a powerful realization to me nonetheless. At that moment I felt so much understanding of what God wanted for my life, and such a strong connection with Him. He wants me to need Him, purely and passionately need Him, with a need that can be filled by nothing else. I pray that God keeps this realization in my heart, and when I am being bombarded by all the feel-good and self help messages of this world, I realize again that He is my creator and wants deeply for me to need Him and His overwhelming love and grace.
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