This is my second mission trip to Guatemala. Last year was an eye-opening and humbling experience for me. Last year I was very nervous about coming and had an overall negative attitude. This year I felt I was being called to come and went in with a more positive attitude. I chose this week to come, because this year I was coming without my mom and brother and I knew both of the leaders, Ruth and Jacey. It turned out the week I chose to come, we were going to be doing a girls retreat.
We arrived Friday around lunchtime and headed from the airport to Delmi’s so we could get settled in and get lunch and rest before we headed to Shama, a camp in Gerona. We prepared for the girls arrival, some of us helped with decorations and some of us decided to get to sleep early.
Waking up Saturday morning, I was anxious for the girls to get there. I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to make an impact on the girls or that the language barrier would keep me from helping out.
Then, one of our team leaders, Jacey, gave an amazing talk to the girls about lies we tell ourselves instead of listening to what God says. One of the things she said that truly resonated with me was “Who told you that?”. I believe there are so many times when we are told something by someone or hear someone say something about us and it sticks. More times than not, for me, I let the negative outweigh the positive. I didn’t even realize I needed to hear this message until I heard it. As I looked around the room and saw the 20 girls, I realized that I had no reason to worry whether or not I was making an impact because I needed to trust God’s plan. I had much more in common with these girls than I thought and not only was I there to help them, but they were helping me too.
This is one of the many bracelets made during Ruth’s bracelet making activity. The girls made 2, one for themselves and one to give to be sold through Florecer.
At the end of the retreat, so many of the girls came up to our team and hugged us and thanked us, even if I or a team member hadn’t gotten a chance to talk with them. I realized I had been telling myself lies before the retreat and God always shows you what you need, it may not always be on your time or the way you want, but God will always answer.
Written by Molly Scott, currently on the ground in Guatemala.