Things Just Got a Little More Concrete

 

In January of 2013, I set foot for the first time in San Pablo La Laguna. My dad had been there just weeks before and had asked me to join them on his next trip. As I sat in one of the families’ homes on that first trip, I listened to a father, who was making about 25 quetzales (a little over $3) a day to provide for ten, say that all he wanted was for someone to help his teenage son learn. I sat there on that little plastic stool with an urgency in my heart at those words. I thought for a moment, “I could get up and move here right now!” But I quickly realized that I still had to finish my degree and there were many obstacles to overcome before something like this could happen. But from that day on, San Pablo never really left my mind and heart.

It is not that this is my favorite town in Guatemala. It is not that I love it so much that I just cannot stay away. It is simply the fact that God has put this little town on my heart, shown me that there is work to be done and children to be loved, and paved the way for me to move in that direction.

Which brings me to the present! The past twenty months have brought me through my final online courses, student teaching, graduation, and a lot of heart change; however, this was all still a sort of distant dream that was always a little bit out in the future. But things just got a little more concrete because beginning in October….I have a house!

Earlier this month, my dad took me to San Pablo and, with the help of some friends there, we were able to look at a few houses for rent. There were two that I considered a possibility but the one that I finally chose seems to be completely ideal for the work I am hoping to do. It’s bigger and nicer than I was counting on…and honestly bigger and nicer than I wanted…but I realized that I am praying that God will do big things in His big ways, so I should probably plan as if that is going to happen!

So now I have a house with a little kitchen/dining area at the entrance, a bedroom behind that, a little bathroom (that can be handicapped accessible), and a garage that can be turned into a classroom/play area for all kinds of work with kiddos. It also has a roof where I can hang my laundry, do work with kids who are a little more mobile, and spend quiet time with a pretty good view of part of the lake and the mountains surrounding. Really, it has everything I could have hoped for. And because of the size of the house, I will be able to easily store extra things for Hope for Home Ministries that are used in the work with the families in this area.

Forgive me for the photos below; these were taken in a rush (and some are screenshots from a video walk-through of the house that I am too busy and lazy to crop) for my decision making at the time, but they will help you to get the idea.

   
     

Now, even though things are more concrete, there are still many unknowns. I have access to the house in October, but we may have to make a couple of trips there to make all of the necessary changes before I move in (locks, security precautions, and finding the essential items for daily needs). Hopefully, that will go quickly, but really it depends on my dad’s schedule and everything else going on around here. I’m also trying to establish a more specific vision for what exactly I will be doing here in the beginning so that I can make that clear to those in the area and move forward with clear purpose. (I need to find out what all I can do without being an official school--at least for now--and the best way to go about it.) I also am going to be working very intentionally on language learning, as Tz’utujil is the language spoken by the majority of the people in the town. So I would appreciate your prayers for wisdom as I seek out answers and make decisions as well as wait on the Lord.

I would also appreciate prayers that tie into my last post—spiritual warfare. Praise God, I have a house and am on the way to my big move! But I am weak, foolish, cowardly, and timid on my own, and if I am not intentional about leaning on and trusting God for the victory, I will most certainly fail. And that would be absurd because..

          My God is big and my God is good.
                  There is a battle warring, and this is God’s work, not mine.
                            So the victory will be His and not mine.

There’s no room for me to make this about me.


Thank you to those who have been praying alongside of me! That is the absolute best way that you can support me, and I mean that in complete sincerity. I will continue to keep you all updated!