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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

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