I made it back!  I’m home I’m home!

Guatemala was a life-changing event.  UNBELIEVABLE.

But now I’ve got 6 chances to share it with you (maybe more!) as I fulfill my response to the six ways Seth Barnes says that a short-term mission trip can change your life.  (Read my 6 previous blog posts beginning with the July 7^th post if you are new to my blog – that was the first of the 6 blogs I wrote about this mission trip.)

According to Seth Barnes, the fifth way a short-term mission trip can change your life is by connecting you to God.

You almost have no choice!

I mean – I flew thousands of miles away from my home in Michigan to be in a totally different place where I had nothing from my Michigan life to distract me.  Our team of 5 was on a mission.  We weren’t totally sure of who we were going to meet or what we were going to be doing.  But we knew we were there to be God’s instruments.  We had prayer and devotions at every meal with another evening devotion.  Each day we woke up to face the day and find out what God wanted us to do.  Of course, we fixed teeth, but we were also trying to make friends and build relationships … sorta like building on slanted streets – it was not easy to make friends with a language barrier and the topography was different and the building materials and methods a little foreign.

Making new friends was challenging but not impossible.

You just have to look for the similarities … like Coke!

And these young men showed up every day at 5:30pm to practice and learn English.  Bless them!

And how can you not feel connected to God when the scenery is so beautiful!

And some of the plants!  So lush and rich in color!

Overlooking the town of Antigua, Guatemala there is a cross up on the hill.  What a great reminder for the people of this town to have the symbol of Christianity – of Christ – up on the hillside. 

What if we had the shadow of a cross on our path each day as a reminder of God’s presence and purpose?  Would we focus more on God’s desires and not our own petty priorities?  Would we act and react differently in situations?

Would we stay connected with God?

What a blessing it was to spend a week without the distractions of my usual life and to connect with God through the other wonderful Christian people of Guatemala that we met and the beauty of another part of God’s creation – our world.

Just Laurel

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you