We leave Guatemala this upcoming Thursday at the wee hour of 2:30 am… and if anyone that has traveled with me overseas(*cough cough* MZ & Kirk) you know I don’t do too well leaving countries, especially those like the ones in Central America where I feel called. Flash back to leaving Honduras this past summer. To end my time here in Guatemala and to round out my last blog from here I thought I’d share what the Lords been teaching me behind the scenes. You’ve heard all the cool testimonies; Jose from the coffee shop,  Brandon and Jose from the streets of Parramos, and Oscar from a house visit. But I haven’t let you in on what the Lord has been teaching me on a more personal level.

I experience the Lord in a different way while in Central America. I can’t pin point why, but it’s so special! The minute we touched down in Guatemala I felt His presence 10 fold and throughout the past 6 weeks He’s put the word ABUNDANCE on my heart.

Abundance: a very large quantity of something.

The opening verses of both 1 & 2 Peter and Jude are verses the Lord put on my heart upon first arriving here.

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” 1 Peter 1:2

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

2 Peter 1:2

“Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.” Jude 1:2

It wasn’t long after reading those within the first couple weeks of our time in Guatemala that the Lord so abundantly gave me His:

Love- both that He has for me and in overflow of how I can show it to the people of Guatemala

Peace- when I’m in situations where I don’t have the confidence or it feels like I’m falling away from the truth. Especially with only 3 full days left here He has given me an abundance of His peace about leaving. While I’m sad to leave this beautiful country, our ministry, the kids, and the people who have become family (as our squad is getting split up in Vietnam) the Lord has been preparing my heart and reassuring me this isn’t the last time I will be here (I will dig deeper into this in a second!)

Joy- simply put, He’s instilled a fire in my heart  However, He didn’t just give enough to fill my cup, but completely overflow it! The Lord isn’t stingy with His gift giving, He gives us enough to fill us up and extra, He gives in abundance.

He has also been blessing me in abundant ways. Fundraising has been coming in allowing me to meet my fundraising goals. This next part is crazy, I honestly found myself asking God “are you sure??” He’s placed a call on my heart to come back to Central America and minister to those who struggle with addictions. He even has placed the idea of partnering with Him to start a ministry down here that ministers to not only addicts but their families! Something that I never would have imagined myself doing… ever!!

The Lord has taught me many things in the past but never something that stuck out like the word ABUNDANCE. Because of this I asked one of my teammates, Hannah, a secret artist, if she could draw what she imagined when she heard the word. She came up with 4 designs, one of which stuck out to me more than the others. Just yesterday, during my last adventure day I went to Antigua with a couple friends and got that design tattooed on my arm as a constant reminder of His abundance in my life both now and forever! 

So… that’s what the Lord has been doing in my heart while being here! I’ve been growing so deep in my relationship and intimacy with Him and falling more and more in love with Him each day! Yesterday marked 6 months left of the race, and with 4 more counties to still go serve in I can’t wait to see how God works and continues to blow my mind with His abundant workings!

Also, thought I’d include a picture of my tattoo!

The hands symbolizes coming to the Lord with everything we have to give to him, ourself which is all He needs, and letting Him pour into us his love, grace, mercy, peace, joy, because that’s where we find intimacy with the Lord and that’s all we need.