God's Calling

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he

would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went,

even though he did not know where he was going."

Hebrews 11:8

This summer I spent ten weeks in Guatemala. This will be the first of many post I write about my time there. To start out with, I will tell you a little bit about what I did in Guatemala as well as why God called me to Guatemala.

For part of the week I worked in a village called Pachipac with Luis, Marco, Jorge, and Julia (4/6 Quiche Missionaries). We taught an ethics class in one of the schools and we also worked in a Christian Radio. We would visit each house in the village and share the gospel. I played a lot of soccer with the kids.

The School in Pachipac

Jorge at the Radio

Radio en Nahuala

For majority of the week I was on a construction site. I was helping build a health and training center. At the site, there will be a clinic for patients to receive medical assistance. It will also be a place to receive both medical treatment as well as hear about the Gospel. The site will also be a site where Guatemalans are trained in health promotions, and they will go back to their village to open a clinic and work with the people in their village. The site will also have a pharmacy and have housing for other American missionaries. The site will also host programs such as woman programs. The project is through the organization International Indigenous Community Development (IICD) and through the NC Baptist Men. Check out the IICD website for more details. http://iicommunitydevelopment.com/

Training Center

I applied to go to Guatemala through the NC Baptist Men and BCM summer missions. It was a complete God calling event. I remember sitting in my bed and reading an e-mail about summer missions opportunities. I was looking at all the positions and came across the Guatemalan position. I immediately felt God calling me to apply, so I started praying about the position right then.

Well, God opened the doors and sent me to Guatemala. When I got there, I absolutely loved the people, the culture, and everything about Guatemala. However, for the first two weeks, I had no idea why God called me there. I know nothing about construction, especially Guatemalan construction. I have never made adobe, lodo, cement, or really done anything with construction. I was confused. I loved it, but always asked God, "Why did you send me? Why not someone who knew anything about construction?" I felt like I was in the way cause I had no idea what I was doing. I had no strength to lift the adobe.

The Guatemaltecos that I worked with all summer

After a while, I started building relationships with the Guatemalan workers. I got to hear most of their life stories and meet most of their families. I absolutely loved all the Guatemalans that I worked with. I joked around with them all the time. I never saw them not smiling or laughing. We would through frogs at each other and have adobe fights. We worked hard, but had so much fun together. I would take break with them and eat lunch with them. They taught me Quiche, and I taught them English. We would just yell out each others names across the work site and just laugh and joke around. I absolutely love those guys so much. They all considered me a "Guatemalteco" by the end of the summer. Plus, not only did I build relationships with these guys, but I also built relationships with the neighbors and the workers building a house above the project site. I got to become really close with them as well.

The family across the street were the nicest people I have ever met.
They would invite me over to eat and play soccer all the time.
Pedrito was also one of the cutest kids ever!

Elvin's Son. By far the cutest kid in Guatemala.
He acted just like his dad!

Elvin's wife and daughter

These kids were so much fun to play with

It was through being at the construction site that I was able to meet these guys and work with them. God taught me all about the construction as well as gave me the strength to do it. I now know that God called me to be there to build relationships with the workers. One thing I heard when I was younger that I have always remembered is: "God does not call the prepared; He prepares the Called." I witnessed that this summer. He called me to Guatemala, not prepared at all, to build relationships with these guys and to love and care on them. He prepared me to work and gave me the strength to work, and it was through the construction that I met these guys and built relationships with them.

Francisco and Elvin.
My two best friends!

Francisco, left, and Elvin, right, were my two best friends in Guatemala. I got to be extremely close to them. I know God put them in my life for a reason. One night when I was struggling with wondering why God had me at the construction site, Francisco and Elvin both texted me. Francisco said, to the extent of, "You are such a blessing to my life and an answered prayer." Elvin said to me, "You are my best friend, and I do not have another friend like you. I know God put you in my life for a reason. Thank you for your friendship and loyalty." God's timing was perfect. God showed me that he called me there for a reason, and it was to love on these Guatemalans. I really can't put into words how much these guys mean to me and how much I love and miss them.

Throughout the summer I often referred back to Hebrews 11:8. Unlike Abraham, I knew where I was going, but I had to have the faith like Abraham that God had a reason for calling me to Guatemala. God often reminded me to just have the faith in Him that He had called me to Guatemala and that He had a plan for my time there. If you do not get anything out of this blog, I want you to grasp and understand this: If God is calling you to go somewhere, have the faith to listen and GO! If you do not feel like you are prepared for what He has called you to, have faith in Him, for he will prepare you. He has a reason for calling you, so have the faith and respond by saying, "Yes God, I will go." Like Abraham, you might not know where God is calling you to, but have the faith in God and go.

I had the absolute best time this summer in Guatemala. 

Be ready for more blog post about my summer and the things God did.

Fixing up the adobe

we would cook our tortillas on the fire everyday

so glad the trusses are finally up

God gave me the strength to work this summer
con Francisco