Finding Strength

Today I spoke at all three services at my church. At the end of every month my church takes up a second mission offering that went to me this Sunday. In order for me to explain why I feel the need to spend a year in Guatemala, I told the congregation the story of Alta Gracia, a woman I met last March while I spent my Spring Break in Guatemala. Speaking in front of hundreds of people made the fact that I am leaving in less than two months more real. I have been actively fundraising, filling out paperwork, and practicing Spanish for the past two months, but it has still been a distant adventure in the future. I am excited to leave, but I am also nervous and scared. After the second service, a lady came up and I knew instantly that she was Guatemalan. Her name is Isabella and she thanked me for going to her country. She told me that she grew up in the mountains hunting for berries, never having enough to eat. When she got really hungry, she said God would put her to sleep to make the hunger go away. When she was 12 she ran away from home and came to the United States. While I am still nervous, apprehensive, and scared to spend a year in a foreign country (where I don't fully speak the language), I am more excited. I know I will meet so many wonderful people who will touch my life, and hopefully I will touch theirs.

Where to begin?

As many of you probably know, on August 31, 2009, I will be leaving for Guatemala for a year. I will be working as a Young Adult Volunteer through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). While I am in Guatemala I will be focusing on a life of simple living and becoming part of a Guatemalan community. I will be living with a Guatemalan host family and will become an active member of the community. I could be placed in an urban or rural setting, but either way my focus will be on accompaniment while studying and addressing social and economic injustices.

Currently, I have been working on getting my paperwork completed, physical and vaccines updated, working on my Spanish, and fundraising. In order to spend a year volunteering in Guatemala, I have to raise the funds to support me for the year. I find fundraising the most difficult and frustrating part of any mission preparation. Despite my personal phobias about fundraising, it really is an important part of the process. Fundraising forces us to trust that God will provide, and it provides the volunteer with a support group while they are away. I am finding that asking people for their prayers and support is more important than their financial support. Fundraising is also a humbling experience. It forces us to depend and trust others, which will be a big part of my year. So, I humbly begin my journey seeking emotional, spiritual and financial support.