This is my thank you letter that I am sending out to all of those that supported my trip to Guatemala. I wanted to put it on the blog just so that anyone can read a little more about our experience there, if they wanted to. Thank you again, everyone!
Jesus
replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But
those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a
fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”- John 4:10-14
Dearest friends and family,
Right
now, I’m sitting at my desk in my room at Baylor University. I am surrounded by
a mountain of homework and laundry, yet all I want to do is reflect on my trip
through this letter. I want to show you just how life-giving this voyage has
been for me.
I wanted to write you
to say THANK YOU for your support for my trip to Guatemala. The fact that I
sent out letters a mere 3 weeks before the departure and received many
donations really shows me God’s hand over this trip. However, I am still fund raising
this trip, so that’s a bit stressful. But I believe that God will provide. I
could not have gone without your help, and I am so thankful for you! My
gratitude towards you propels me to share with you the details of my trip.
As I mentioned in my original letter, I
decided to go to Guatemala only a few weeks before the departure date. It was a
very difficult decision for me, but I felt God pressing this opportunity on my
heart. Despite my lack of preparation, I decided to say “yes” to Him. The other
catch was that I would be a driller for the water well. I am not skilled at any
sort of manual labor and don’t know a lick of Spanish, yet there I found myself
in Guatemala City last Saturday, staring at my surroundings and wondering how
God was going to use us.
We
drove from Guatemala City to Antigua. Antigua is one of the most beautiful
places I’ve ever been. It is rustic and authentic, the perfect temperature, and
so welcoming. I loved getting the chance to walk around the city and get a feel
for the attitude of the people. My team was able to bond more in these initial
days in the beautiful Antigua. We retreated to the Living Water house for the
first night. The next day, we drove to Nueva Conception, the village where we
would be drilling. This village was far different from Antigua. Very run down
and dirty, it just screamed poverty. Now we knew where we needed to be.
Then
came the drill. We began by mixing cement, digging out a filtration system, and
setting up the rig. Each member on the drill team got the chance to man the
rig, replace the pipes, clean out the trenches, and log the samples of sediment
derived from each dig. This was a tedious and very specific process, but after
the first few feet, everyone was able to get the hang of it. I watched the
children of the school play off in the distance. I wanted so badly to go and
love on them, but as I held pipes and grease in my hands, I knew that what I
must be doing was right there at the rig. They needed water more than they
needed my hugs.
Already,
I was seeing how different this trip was from Haiti. In Guatemala, my task was
much more specific and difficult. I couldn’t always play with the children. I
was exhausted from the work I was doing. But, as challenging as the task was
for me, God pulled me through it- the work eventually became easier and even
secondhand. The Lord showed me how even though my heart was with the children,
He would use me in this task to bring glory to His name.
And
oh, how glorious is His name! We hit water at 125 feet, giving way to a
powerful aquifer. The next three days gave us time to set the piping and get
the clean water running through. Immediately, children began stripping down and
showering in the blasts of the clean water! The team was incredulous, at a loss
for words. We couldn’t believe we actually built a well.
Eventually
we had time to play with the children and talk with the villagers. These people
were kind and giving, always cooking for us and begging for our hands to hold.
One of my greatest memories of the trip was when four adolescent girls braided
my hair and asked me how many children I had. (In most small villages in
Guatemala, girls are married around the age of 16). Getting to experience these
cultural differences opens my eyes to how God works for multiple people groups.
Even though these people had so little, they loved the Lord with all their
heart, soul, and strength (Luke 10:27).
The
entire goal for the week was to hit clean water. Without this water, the cycle
of poverty would only continue. Clean water would be the potential catalyst to
bring these people out of that devastation. During this week, my ultimate task
was to get that well finished so these people could live healthy lives. I
couldn’t imagine anything more important, more sustaining and satisfying, than
the clean water that would come from that well. As life-giving, pure,
refreshing, miraculous, and as satisfying as it was to see that water come out,
the living water of the Lord is more. This well will last them for
generations, and even after that, will only need minor repairs. Who knows,
maybe by then, all of Guatemala will have clean water. Even still, this thing
that will give them life in a way they never knew before pales in comparison to
living a life through Christ and receiving the grace of the Father. That, my
friends, is the truth that this trip engrained in my mind and changes my life
every time I think on it. Not only does God save us from ourselves, but He
wishes to give us everything. Everything. And I am so thankful that I could be
a part of what He wanted to give to these people in Nueva Conception,
Guatemala.
“Real
life starts tomorrow”, said one of the team members yesterday at the airport.
Yes indeed, our responsibilities and school work must be attended to now as we
are abruptly thrown back into American culture. But real life is what we
were doing out in Guatemala. Real life is completing the tasks the Lord gives
us and testifying to the good news of God’s grace! (Acts 20:24). We are agents;
we are given the privilege of spreading that news. We get to take part in the
true living water.
Thank
you again for your support: you all are my miracles J
