Guatemala!

So some of the best news ever happened today! :) If you didn't know, my parents have kind of been against the idea of me going on missions out of the country. This has been a big deal to me ever since I entered college because there are so many opportunities available to me. I never felt called to any specific country, but the idea was always in the back of my mind. Well, this year, at UMHB's annual Missions Emphasis Week, two missionaries came that had done 10 years on the mission field in Guatemala, and they still go back. It was a cute little couple, probably in their fifties, and I loved them. Well, they spoke in Spanish the whole time because they were presenting in my Spanish class. Before they came, I was expecting to be bored out of my mind because despite my 7 years of some form of Spanish class, I still don't know that much. I understood everything they said. I even talked back. This made me so happy. My heart broke for the Guatemalan community because they live a very poor lifestyle, and their water system is full of bacteria. They are in constant need of donations for things that we so often take for granted- clothes, purified water systems, food, education, even a church to fellowship and worship in.

Ever since that class, Guatemala had been on my mind, and slowly began growing on my heart. I had mentioned it to my mom in small talk, just trying to gain her insight on it sometime last semester. She had said that I could go if my dad approved. Well, it took me forever to work up the courage to ask my dad, and I finally did today. I was going to wait until he came home to ask him, but I felt the time was today on his phone call. I had mentioned a shirt that I had bought in support of the Omega Kids mission team from Baylor that is going to Guatemala this Spring Break. I told him what it was raising money for and what there trip was about. He said he thought it was a great idea and then I mentioned that I wanted to go next year. He said "You should! It sounds neat, and it's your last Spring Break."

I was speechless.

I couldn't believe that he had just said what I never thought he would say. Ever since we hung up the phone, I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know if I will be going through Omega Kids, but I'm pretty sure I will. If not, I am thinking of going through Buckner, who also owns the camp I worked at 2 summers ago. This is SUCH exciting news! :) I will continue to update you with news on a future trip that I am so excited about!

Isaiah 61
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.

5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6 And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 "For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.