“Painfully and Mysteriously Beautiful”

“When the plane took off, it felt like my heart was being pulled thin, because change has a weird way of being painfully hard and mysteriously beautiful” -Leaving Guatemala, 2019.

I sat on the plane, sitting next to my teammate as I looked out the window over the country of Guatemala. I loved experiencing the culture and learning the reality that God was way bigger than the box I had always put Him in. One thing was certain, I had to return.

As I watched the villages, roads, and hills become like tiny dots on a large field of green, I began to ask God, beg God even… “Please, please let me come back, I want to come here again.” Tears streamed down my face as I watch a perspective changing and heart altering country become smaller with each moment as the plane pushed through the clouds and headed towards the States.

It’s been 520 days and counting since that moment on the plane and the memories and joys of the trip occasionally pop into my mind as I go throughout my life. I’ll encounter a sound, smell, or interaction similar to the many experiences that occurred on the trip that bring me back to specific events or actions. During these 520 days post Guatemala, I concluded that God would allow me to return, but it must be some time in the far future.

God (thankfully) had different plans. This year, as I read information about the World Race organization, an organization of individuals devoted to equipping and engaging young adults in cross cultural missions, I turned to my best friend and said, “I want to go on a trip like this so bad” to which she responded, “Do it.” 

With great excitement (and some nervousness), I would love to say that I am going to both Costa Rica and Guatemala during the summer of 2021. I’ve applied and been accepted to a World Race Semesters short term trip. How crazy is it to think that 520 days since the moment on the plane, God would allow me to began my journey of returning to Guatemala and preparing for the place of Costa Rica?!?!

I could spend hours talking about all of the hidden moments between God and I and the conversations that led to this moment, and if you know me, personally, you know that this is something that I am overjoyed about and will talk about nonstop.

However, I’ll simply share that I am grateful for the opportunity, I am overly excited and filled with joy at even just the thought of going! I still have quite some time before I board the plane to Costa Rica and Guatemala…190 days to be exact, so until I board the plane, I invite you to join me on my journey and the process that leads up to it. 

Come and See who God is throughout this whole experience as I prepare, learn, and encounter many new things.

Change has a weird way of being painfully hard and mysteriously beautiful, but I would love for you to join alongside me as I experience the changes of life and the consistency of God.

So let the countdown begin…