When I stepped off the plane in Guatemala City on July 3rd 2016 I was instantly welcomed by a culture of hustle and bustle. The people were running every which way speaking in a tongue that felt foreign but yet oddly familiar. This was my second time in country and unlike last time it was just me and my dear friend taking on this month long adventure alone. To be honest I was quite nervous in those moments because I wasn't really sure what to expect or how I could possibly learn more than how to say hello in this language, but yet at the same time I was excited, I couldn't wait to meet our host home and be fully immersed in this new culture.
My month spent in Guatemala was an amazing life changing month. I made deep connections with the people that I lived with and I actually learned quite a bit of Spanish! I taught English in the local school, I worked in an orphanage, in a hospital, and did many church and home visits. That month was filled with amazing opportunities and eye opening moments. But I think one of the biggest things I learned was actually when I was sick during week three.
I woke up on a Monday morning feeling like I got hit but a bus. Actually, let's change that to a train. I felt like I got hit by a train over and over again. I was so sick that I actually couldn't get out of bed, and I had a countless list of scary symptoms. I remember I called my parents crying that night because I just felt like there was no way I was going to ever get better and make it home safe. I ended up going to the doctors that Tuesday and the Guatemalan doctor diagnosed me in Spanish which was later translated into the words "you have a parasite and need to be put on some meds in order to be okay." So let's just say those first few days of being sick were terrifying and exhausting and quite honestly there were moments when I wanted to quit, get in a plane, and return home to my healthcare, home, bed, and family.
But through that sickness God taught me an amazing lesson which made it completely worth it all. Because I was so sick I spent a lot of time either alone in my room or on the roof of our house (because duh, roofs are rad) And God really spoke to me during those moments about the idea of "what do you depend on?" which I really spent some time unpacking, because if I was at home I would depend on people or hospitals, or things to get me through these terrifying days. But since I was in a foreign place where I didn't understand the language, I was all alone, and the hospital wasn't more than a man sitting behind a desk in a small room, I really learned how to run to God before I ran to the world. He really reiterated the fact that if it wasn't Him that I ran to first than there was a much bigger problem at hand.
God is the healer and the comforter in all situations and if I spend my time and my efforts running to the world than my problems will only suffice for a little while but then they will return in full force and crush me. But if I run to the God who created me and sustains me than I will be equipped and ready to face any situation this world will throw at me.
I returned home from Guatemala with no symptoms and completely healed of my parasite, but I still couldn't believe the amazing lesson that God taught me through that trial and through that pain. Guatemala 2016 was filled with countless stories and this was just a glimpse into that, but I'm excited to unpack more of those and share the things that I learned and the things that I saw.
