Were Here!
I am, now, sitting in my house in Guatemala and thinking about how we got here. Back in 2012 Bob was applying for Graduate school and we were talking about getting married. If he was not accepted into school, we were planning on moving to Korea to teach English for a year.
In November we began planning our wedding and found out he had been accepted into two graduate schools. Our wedding date was set for May 5, 2013 and we decided on a graduate school: Philadelphia instead of Indianapolis. In May I graduated with my Associates in Science, Bob graduated with his Bachelors in Fine Art, we got married, went on our honeymoon, we packed up our car and moved to Philadelphia. We arrived in Philadelphia just a few days before his classes started. It was a crazy month!
Our plan was that Bob would finish his graduate work in art, I would finish my bachelors in teaching, and we would go to Korea afterwards. We thought we had a pretty good plan.
Sometimes I think God is amused by our plans.
He had so much more in store for us.
The second week in Philadelphia we found a church that we loved. Bob was not saved at this time. He attended church with me as a way to love his wife and enjoyed listening to our pastors sermons as an intellectual exercise.
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Months later, there was a couple at church talking about their work in Guatemala. I felt God say "that is for you." I was like "OK God, how bad could a short term mission be?"
Bob was adamant that we wouldn't be able to afford it
while I was adamant we needed to go.
We did a lot of fundraising and worked extra hours in the few months but still could only pay for half of the trip.
I was convinced that I had been clearly told that we were supposed to go and continued to work at it.
Bob was ready to donate the money we had raised to someone else going.
Brooks and Stephanie asked the church for an offering for our trip and they used some of the money to cover the remainder of our expenses. We were completely surprised by that. We had found our way to Guatemala!
We traveled to Huehuetenango on a one week, short term mission trip.
I had expected to grow closer to Jesus,
Bob expected to see some beautiful scenery,
and we expected to love some kids that needed the individual attention.
What we actually got was so far beyond what we could have ever anticipated or imagined. We had discovered our purpose, our calling, we just didn't know it yet.
The week we got back from Guatemala we began a sinking fund labeled "Guatemala." I took two extra classes above full time so that I would graduate faster. We also began sponsoring two kids.
We decided that we would still go to Korea for one year but it would be to pay off student loans and save enough money to go teach in Guatemala afterwards.
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The next year we went to Guatemala for one month. We lived in the long-term volunteer house instead of the mission team house. We ate with the kids, we worked on painting the school, Bob painted a mural. We built relationships.
We were absolutely changed forever.
Back in Philadelphia my husband met Jesus for the first time.
As he put it:
"I spent a whole life building up walls and
only God knew that it would take a little girls love to break them down."
After a lifetime of work he decided that art was no longer his calling.
Bob quit his graduate program to peruse, instead, a course in teaching English to better prepare for teaching in Guatemala.
We felt desperate to return long-term but were so overwhelmed by our 150K in debt that we couldn't imagine making it any time soon. We were very confused why God would give us Guatemala in our hearts while we were not able to make it there.
We started sponsoring three additional kids and started our sinking fund for the next years month-long visit while praying for a miracle.
After praying we got more serious about paying off debt.
We decided that we wouldn't take out any more student loans, even if that meant taking time off of school. I achieved a 4.0 GPA and managed to get a few scholarships. I did my last two semesters at Chestnut Hill debt free while paying off debt.
That was possible by working (more than) full time and going to school (more than) full time. My college only charged for full time, additional classes are charged at the regular full-time rate.
While working our way to Guatemala we followed the Facebook pages and blogs of the staff working there. We read a blog post that changed how we viewed our future in Guatemala. We read about a new house parenting program. We felt deeply in our spirit that this job would be perfect for us. We never imagined it would be possible for us though. You see, we aren't qualified. You see, we had far to much debt.
Sometimes I think God is amused by our doubts.
A few short months later we received an email that would change our lives completely.
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God has reset what we believe we were capable of.
With His direction, we have made it.
We are here.
We are home.
We are where we are supposed to be.
We made it.
We made it.
We are here.
I am repeating it in my head over and over.
This is our new home We're here.
After 32 hours on a bus with our cat...
We made it. Praise God
I have learned to be happy with whatever I have. I know how to get along with little and how to live when I have much. I have learned the secret of being happy at all times. If I am full of food and have all I need, I am happy. If I am hungry and need more, I am happy. I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.
Phillipans 4:11-13
