This article was imported from our previous website, which many have broken some of the content. We apologize in advance for any strange formatting or broken links you may find.
T-minus 21 days until we travel to Guatemala to meet our host families and begin working at the different Students International sites! Receiving the email that told me where I would be working (at the Education site) made this trip seem so real and coming up so quickly! My team can’t believe how quickly time has gone by and we are all so excited to go on this adventure. Our prayers have been for the people we will come into contact with, for us to be bright shining lights of God’s love, and that the people don’t laugh too much at our poor Spanish speaking skills.
Along with our excitement come some fears and reservations. As a team we have worried about the language barrier, the culture shock, and being out of our comfort zones. Those fears are also part of the reason we want to go on a trip: to be stretched and to serve God wherever He calls us. Even if it means being uncomfortable. I have personally been struggling with feelings of inadequacy and that I will have nothing to contribute. That my sins are too big and my past too sketchy for God to use me. While I know these things are a lie, they have a way of sitting in my head and making my palms sweat.
I was thinking about this little voice while sitting in church last Sunday. Shea started talking about Jephthah in Judges 11 and his less-than-perfect background. Jephthah had been born of a prostitute and was driven out of his home by his half brothers. He was not necessarily first pick for a leadership position. Despite everything, God used him in an amazing way. How cool is it that God takes unlikely people to do His work? Not just with Jephthah, but with all the people we have learned about in Judges. During Shea’s message I was so encouraged and felt God building a confidence in me that could have only come from Him. We all have things that keep us from seeing ourselves the way that God does. Whether it’s a physical disability, a lie we believe about ourselves, or in my case, a past that consists of not so smart decisions. Thankfully, we are not defined by our sins or pasts, but by who we are in Christ, which is forgiven and redeemed. God is bigger than all our failures, sins, and mistakes and if He is for us, who can be against us?
As we finish preparing to leave in three short weeks we are asking for prayer for safe travels and for what will happen at the different sites we will be working at. Pray for God’s peace and presence as we are stretched and put in an environment that might be out of our comfort zone. Students International has had teams with them all summer and as July comes to an end they will probably be tired and maybe a little weary. We pray that we are able to serve the staff well so they feel loved, refreshed, and able to continue the amazing work they do.
We are so thankful for your support, and can’t wait to share this experience with you!