Well, I made it to Guatemala!  One week down, five more to go before we head to Honduras, not that I'm counting down or anything because I really do like it here.  I am living with a host family which is really just one woman and some other students that are visiting here, too.  She goes by the name of "Chiky" which is a kind of cookie I bought at the market the other day so I'm not really sure if there is a story behind that or if it's just a coincidence.  I'll try to find more out once I know enough Spanish to ask.

Every day, I get up, eat breakfast with my host family and go to school.  I sit with my teacher, Emilia, for four hours one on one and she teaches me Spanish mostly just by talking to me, asking me questions, and having me answer, or having me ask her questions.  I have already filled almost half my notebook with notes and I'm not exaggerating when I say I probably have at least 500 vocab words to study. The good news is I have plenty of time to practice and learn.  In the afternoons, we have been going to mass at the church near our school, studying in coffee shops, and just exploring the city.



Christopher, Ruthie, and Me at Cerro de La Cruz

Two other missionaries are here right now, with more to come.  The two here in Antigua are Christopher and Ruthie.  I have known them for exactly a week now, but it feels like more.  We do a lot of things as a group.  We've done some venturing out in Antigua.  On Sunday, we hiked up to Cerro de La Cruz (Hill of the Cross) where you have a great view of the city and of Volcano Agua, one of the three volcanoes in Antigua.



Beautiful view on our hike up Volcan Pacaya 

On Wednesday, we hiked a volcano about an hour and a half outside of  Antigua called Volcano Pacaya.  That was a much longer hike than I realized it would be, but it was worth it in the end.  We could see the volcano spitting up lava every once in a while from the peak where we were which was crazy! And then we roasted marshmallows over the heat from a vent in the volcano.  While we were at the top, it started raining really hard which made the hike down just more of an adventure.

Every day here gets better and better as I learn more, get to know my fellow missionaries (who I can't believe I have only known for a week), and take comfort in the knowledge that God has an incredible plan for me.  I am so full of joy and so thankful for the experiences and the people the Lord has put into my life, friends both old and new, family, and all the people who have made this possible.



"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.  My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7

Saying Yes

If you haven’t already heard the news, I have a big life update!  I just graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Elementary Education.  If you had asked me six or seven months ago what I was going to do after I graduated, I would have told you that I was going to go teach somewhere but I wasn’t sure where yet.  Maybe Texas since the pay is better, or maybe North Carolina because the pay is also better.  Or maybe just about anywhere because the pay would be better than Oklahoma.
But, I didn’t mean literally anywhere, I just meant another state.  I never thought I would be telling people as I approached graduation that I was going to be a missionary in Honduras.  Here’s a little backstory.  It all started with a decision to go on a mission trip to Peru last summer.  My friend told me months prior that she was going on this mission trip with FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) and wanted me to come with her.  I thought it sounded really great, but I honestly didn’t think I was good enough.  It wasn’t that I was really a bad person, but I did not think I had the kind of relationship with the Lord to be able to go out and be a missionary, teaching others about the faith.  But we are all worthy.

None of us are perfect, but we are all called to love one another.  Teaching others what it means to be a Christian is to simply love them.  My friend showed me that I was worthy by loving me and inviting me to go on this journey with her. She saw something in me that made her invite me to go on this mission with her.  This was no longer just an invitation from my missionary friend to go to Peru.  It was invitation from Christ to enter into a deeper relationship with him.  How could I say no to that?

So, that summer I went and met some of the most beautiful people I could imagine.  I saw Christ in every person I met, both the missionaries and the local people.  I formed friendships more centered around Christ than I ever have before.  They accepted me and loved me in all my brokenness and imperfection.  Although I was unsure before, it became so clear to me that it was God’s plan for me, and I am so incredibly glad I said yes.

Fast forward to January, about six months later.  I was at SEEK 2017, a conference that FOCUS puts on every other year.  At this point, I was still thinking that I wanted to find a state I liked and find a teaching job there, and I was excited for that adventure.  I had already been student teaching for a bit and I was excited to get my own classroom and be “Ms. Lewis.”  But I was also so on fire for Jesus, that I wanted to explore other opportunities for some long term missionary work.  It wouldn’t be right to not at least look into it, so I was looking around at all the different booths for service opportunities.

That’s when I came across Farm of the Child.  I met this guy named Kevin, and he was telling me how they’re an orphanage, a medical clinic, a community outreach program, and a school.  I gave him my email and thanked him and as we were walking away, my friend said, “That’s perfect for you!”  I talked to so many different people that day and went to so many different tables, but I could not get Farm of the Child out of my head.  I was told that when discerning something, you should ask people you are close to, who know you really well, what they think about it.  So I started doing that, and everyone’s response was so positive.  I took that as a sign.  I distinctly remember one day, telling my friend from my Peru mission trip about Farm of the Child and as I am telling her about it, my phone lights up.  I glance over and what do you know, it’s an email from Kevin, following up about our chat at SEEK.  At that point, this was no longer a cool idea I was considering.  I was seriously discerning this.

After prayer, chats with friends, and a few more emails from Kevin that came just at the right time, I submitted my application.  A girl named Tiffany started emailing me and did my interview and was really comforting throughout the process.  I got a call from her the day before my birthday to invite me to come to Honduras and be a missionary at Farm of the Child.  I hadn’t really gotten emotional about this process until then, but at that moment, I was holding back tears, because it was all really happening.  She told me to take some time and talk to my family about it before I gave her an answer, but I already knew what it would be.

I have always had an intense admiration for people who have the courage to go and do things they never imagined they would do because of a call from God; the Virgin Mary, just about every saint, my own parents.  I pray for that kind of courage.  But you always hear that when you pray for something like courage, God is not going to simply give you courage, He will give you an opportunity to be courageous.  This was my opportunity.  So the next day, on my birthday, I called Tiffany back. And I told her yes to Honduras.