Final Thoughts From the Summer Trip

I would like to begin this post by offering up my apologies. I apologize because I should have published this update and message upon our return to Citronelle, Alabama back in August. However, I must be completely honest, it was hard to face the fact that we were leaving Guatemala. It was so hard coming to grip with reality that I didn’t want to reflect on our time there. The following post is a summary of the summer we spent in the country, and the current state of the village and church when we left in August.

The past 12 weeks have been the most memorable in my entire life. I have had amazing moments before then such as memories of my family, the day I accepted Christ, the day of my wedding, the day our first child was born and other moments. However, it has been overwhelming to experience a sustained period of time that has been so memorable.

First Meeting With Roof and Last Service Before We Left

I remember the Sunday morning in April of 2010 that we had a defining moment and felt a call to go to Guatemala and minister longer than a week. We didn’t know when, why, or how. This past January we moved back home to Citronelle and realized that the when would be a few months later in May. We focused that period of time to grow in our relationship with each other, our family, and most importantly with the Lord.

During that period of time, we saved and raised financial support for our trip. I remember one day telling Jennifer that we need to have ‘x’ amount of money in our bank account and ‘x’ amount of money in our Guatemala fund. When we left at the end of May, both accounts contained double the amount that I set. I am thankful that God honored our desire to serve him and blessed us more than we could imagine.

When we arrived in Guatemala, the reality hit us hard. What now? We knew that we were going to focus on a village that we visited the prior summer. We knew that the goal for this past summer was to start a church plant. We knew that the goal for the summer was to build a church for that plant. However, we were unsure how or where to start.

Upon reflection of our summer, I realize that many of our decisions are counterintuitive to the mindset and patterns of most Americans. We left our jobs, benefits and insurance in order to live in another country for almost three months. We had no future plan after the summer to ensure us a salary or insurance. We took a baby barely 9 months to a foreign place. We went to a place without being proficient in the language or another viable option to communicate with people. All of these decisions would be considered crazy. At times, I even thought we were crazy, but God provided for us in tremendous ways.

I am excited to see how God is working in this one remote location in a third world country. It makes you fall in love in a greater sense and strengthens your faith in God. It helps me understand that God cares for every person no matter how insignificant that they may seem.

Baptisms in the River

We left the children and families in Santa Rosa el Rodeo in Guatemala with so many mixed emotions. We are excited because today there is a church that meets every Sunday. We loved teaching the children of that village about Jesus Christ. We were overwhelmed to see how God ordained a church to be built in a specific location, and built a certain way. Finally, we feel sad! The previous emotion is the heaviest of all the other emotions that we feel.

Our sadness is a combination of various things heightened in this one moment. We are sad because we know there is so much more that needs to be done in this village. We want to go meet each family and begin to build relationships with them. We want to continue to see the children taught and brought up knowing the Lord and binding his commands to their hearts. We desire to see the church become more organized and taught how to disciple the people. In the midst of all these thoughts is the reality that we are traveling home.

I want to be honest. It has been an honor and privilege to live amongst and minister to the people of Guatemala. We want to thank so many people who have supported us and prayed for us. We want to thank the congregations of Bethel Baptist, Cornerstone Baptist, Toxey Baptist, and Calvart Baptist. We also want to thank our friends, family, prayer partners, and the people that have followed this blog. Finally, I want to thank Pastor Max of Guatemala. There is not enough words in our English language (nor Spanish) to ever describe the character, love, support, faith, and work ethic of this man. Without him, there would not have been a vision to plant a church among the people in this village. We are thankful for him and I pray that God will use his example to mold me and direct my life to serve God wholeheartedly.

I want to conclude by requesting you to continue remembering the people in Guatemala and pray for them continuously. I hope to continue updating this blog with updates on the church plant, the community of Santa Rosa el Rodeo, and Pastor Max’s family. Again, I apologize that it took so long to post these thoughts and emotions. Thank you once again for your prayers and support for our family. God Bless.