Here I am in my fourth week in Antigua, Guatemala, with four more weeks to go! My time here has had its ups and downs, all beautiful in their own way.  I’ve taken salsa classes, gotten completely soaked in the afternoon rain (which has become pretty much a daily thing now), met people from all over the world, shared my faith with people of all different backgrounds, learned a TON of Spanish, sprained my ankle, laughed until I cried, and so much more.

    It hasn’t all been easy.  Spanish is hard, but I’m getting there, poco a poco.  Sometimes I just get so frustrated with myself for not knowing everything I wish I knew, but then I have to remember that I’m just a person and it’s going to take time. I just have to trust in the Lord.

    Now that the other new missionaries have arrived (except one who will meet up with us in Honduras), I am getting to know each one of them as a friend over the past week.  They are all such kind and caring examples of what it means to follow Christ.  Not to mention, they are all so hilarious and such a joy to be around.  I feel so lucky to be able to serve with them for the next year.  I’m especially excited after we had our missionary retreat this past weekend where we learned more about Finca del Niño, its history, its missionaries and its children.  I am so eager to be there and start serving!  Keep everyone at the Finca in your prayers, the Holy Spirit is doing great things there.

In my transition into living here, I have felt some of the sacrifices of dropping everything and moving to Central America for this mission.  I see friends from school setting up their classrooms, getting into the swing of things as the school year kicks off in the States, and it is a bit hard because that was my dream for so long.  But, one day, that will happen for me, too, and what I am doing now is so good.  I was reading a reflection the other day on this verse:

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls: and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

-Matthew 13:45-46

    The reflection that went along with it talked about missionaries who left their homes and went to foreign lands to preach the Kingdom of God.  While part of me feels the sting of the sacrifice of not being able to set up my very own classroom, meet all my future students and their families, and start being a “real adult” (yeah right),  I am so lucky to be called to this mission.  No matter what I might selfishly be missing, the Kingdom of God is the most precious pearl and it is totally and completely worth it.  

    After reflecting on this, I prayed a rosary and the closing prayer I was reading started, “Oh God, whose only begotten son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation.”  And then I realized, WE are Jesus’s precious pearl.  He made the ultimate sacrifice for us, and that is so mind-blowingly beautiful to me. It all came together so seamlessly, God was speaking to me in that moment, giving me comfort.

Keep praying for us missionaries as we prepare to serve, the current missionaries as they continue serving in this very special place, and of course the children, that they grow into followers of Christ.