Skip to main content

Reflections from Grace



When I was 15 I went on my first mission’s trip to Colombia, South America with my church. I had never really thought about doing missions work until this opportunity came about. On this trip I kept praying for God to do something crazy, but my definition of crazy is different from God’s. One night in service I was off to the side watching people worship, pray, and seek after the Lord. I was just watching and all of the sudden I heard God say to me, “This is what you will be doing with the rest of your life and I am going to start preparing you for your future.” In that moment I wasn’t too sure of what that meant but over the years God has slowly but surely been revealing his Plan for my life.

After this first trip, I began looking for other missions opportunities. A spot opened up on a Caroline's Promise Guatemala team a few months before the week long trip. I went on this trip and was absolutely in love with the people, the culture, the scenery, everything. This trip really began to bring me out of my shell and gave me an idea of what type of mission work I wanted to do in the future. The next year I went back for two and a half weeks and experienced such amazing growth in God and in my faith.

After getting home from that trip I was so eager to go again but for longer than a week or two. I was taking a gap year and needed to figure out what was next. I began talking to my mom about things I could do and she said, “Why not talk to Lisa and see if you can go for a few months?” So I started talking to Lisa about the internship and everything just fell into place and before I knew it, it was January 17th and we were in the airport ready to leave!

 While here we taught English, music, computer, and drama classes to about 150 students each day. We built strong relationships with the teachers at Casita and with the young adults at Iglesia Adonai. I was reassured that this is what I am supposed to do with my life. What the kids and others in Guatemala don’t understand is the way they blessed me and changed me. I think about this trip every day and of all of the amazing things they taught me and showed me. How to love in a new way, how to care in a new way, and dream in a new way. How truly inspiring each of them are to me.

Readjusting has been pretty difficult the past month. I love seeing my family and loved ones but ache for my family in Guatemala. I also miss speaking in Spanish every day! But I know that home is where God wants me right now. In the fall I will be attending UNC-Greensboro and majoring in Nursing and minoring in foreign language. I can’t wait to start the next chapter of my life and see where he takes me over the next four years.

Although a (rather) short blog post cannot do justice to the things I have learned I hope you all understand just a little of what God revealed to us on this trip. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us, supported us, and thought of us throughout our time in Guatemala and even now as we are adjusting to life back in the States. Rebecca and I are so grateful for the opportunity we had and it is something we will never forget. Dios te bendiga! 

If you are interested in applying for an internship with Caroline's Promise please contact us at Lisaholbrook@carolinespromise.net
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Medical need for Rodrigo's Family

  Give  Here
Read more

Where are they now? Sthefany

Hello, my name is Sthefany.   I am 16 years old and am currently in the 4th year of high school in Biological Sciences.  First of all I want to thank the Groves Family who sponsored me during my primary school period because thanks to them I was able to complete primary school.  I am also very grateful because although I did not meet my sponsors, I appreciated them very much for the support and help they contributed in my life.   It was a great blessing that Caroline's Promise can contribute great things in the life of a person.  The experience I had was totally great. I got to know places thanks to them and they also showed me their love through letters (letters that I still have), gifts and financial aid. I would really like to meet and know how my sponsors are and meet them in person and thank them personally.   And well, I think that these kinds of experiences make you grow as a person in all aspects and how wonderful that those kinds of people exist, s...
Read more

Where are they now? Cesy Samayoa

  Cesy, translating for Kaitlyn Our friend Cesy was too old to be in our child sponsorship program when we met her, but she definitely benefited from the program because two of her siblings were sponsored consistently.  And we benefited from knowing Cesy!  For years she would translate for our special programs.  I remember speaking to a group of moms years ago and Cesy translated for me.  She stayed for hours after the talk to help me minister to women.  One of those women had concerns about her son who clearly showed signs of ADHD.  Cesy helped me find natural ways to address his inattention and lack of focus and a year later that same Mom shared how Cesy's suggestions had helped! Cesy, we know how hard you have worked and we are incredibly proud of you!  Thank you for being a beautiful example to young women everywhere!
Read more