What did we do this weekend? We went on a 14 mile hike. On a HUGE volcano. At 5 in the morning.   Exercise and silence with 19 people at 5 am is not exactly my idea of fun, but nonetheless I ended up there…and I am actually glad I did it.   Considering this would be such a huge challenge for me and it was exactly one month from my Uncle Dan’s next brain surgery, I decided I would do it for him. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease just a few years ago and has been one of the most encouraging and inspiring people I have ever met. So, I threw on my...

It was Sunday night, we were about to hear our ministry assignments for next week, and I was stoked. That was, until found out I would be doing manual labor for a week. I walked into our room, ready to have a serious talk with the Lord. To show him how disappointed I was, I even started tearing up. "Are you serious, God? Why?" —-I have a plan. "But the work's hard, it's…" —-Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for me.      Matthew 25:45 He began to mold my heart of stone into...

Yesterday, I was reflecting on our lives here and I started listing all the things that happen here regularly that we don't find too strange anymore, but y'all back home probably will. Regular things that aren’t regular back home. 1. Taking a shower in constant fear of being electrocuted. Just Google “Guatemalan shower heads”… 2. Squeezing into school buses that already contain at least 65 people. Not that I counted or anything. 3. Dipping dishes into bleach after washing them because the water is so contaminated. Because that doesn't defeat the purpose...

Last Sunday the pastor walked up to the pulpit ready to begin his sermon. Knowing he was only going to speak in Spanish, I was debating whether to channel all my attention and translate in my head or relax, sit back, and let the Spanish roll right over my "gringa" head. Before I could decide, the translator took her seat right beside me, and soon I knew why.  The sermon was on loving God as our heavenly Daddy, a topic I rarely consider but one that carries such importance. And while the translator continued to speak, my mind went back to our ministry of the last few...

Today I found myself in a chapel alone with six wheelchair-bound kids with cerebral palsy. How I ended up there alone, not sure. I sat on the floor between two of them and held their hands. They all just smiled at me and laughed. Their joy quickly rubbed off on me. So I began to pray for them, or rather, praise God for them. I thanked God for creating them each just the way they are.             Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Luke 12:7 I realized during my 20 or so minutes alone with my babies that they are...

you can find more photos on my flickr account. A few months ago, I bought a bracelet from a store called MudLove that has the simple word “abide” written on it. At the time, I didn’t realize that this bracelet would speak so much truth into my life.   As you can probably sense from our blogs, this trip has not been what we expected.  For me, many things have exceeded my expectations and some things have just been different than what I expected.   Ministry is one of those things that has just been different. Until my expectations weren’t met, I...