A Couple more Reflections...

bubbles

“The last night at VOH was emotional. We had said our goodbyes to the children and watched them run up the zig-zagged hill up to their homes. Since our team had met for devotions and had sharing time every night of the week, it was now time for our last meeting. Before our meeting started, two of the girls who lived at VOH happened to stay behind in the staff kitchen. They expressed wanting to share some last words before they scurried back up to their homes. We had a special privilege to hear them share their last thoughts with us.They were timid at first, giggling as they attempted to communicate with us in English. After they had managed to thank us for coming and spending time with them, they asked us not to forget about them. Their eyes became glossy, and tears streamed down their faces. Not many more words were exchanged. The warm and cozy dining hall was filled with silence as our team lined up to give them our last goodbye hugs. When my turn came, it felt like time stood still; those long tight hugs spoke volumes and left an imprint on my heart that I can't ignore.

last night

I remember when we first arrived at VOH Amy, the director urged us to pray that we would be attentive to what God would have for us that week. I was definitely on my knees because even when preparing for the trip, I realized how unequipped I was. I didn't feel like I had much to offer God or the kids. I was doubting my ability to interact with the kids, and I was fearful of the unknown in the days ahead. This week reminded me that it isn't about me and what I can or can not do, but what GOD can do. I am grateful to have been part of such a prayerful team who shared the heart for special needs children and the orphan. It was a revival in my soul to witness God answering specific prayer requests. It felt liberating to feel the chains of self- doubt and anxiety begin to break as my mind slowly became occupied with how I could continue serving the orphan and support this amazing ministry at VOH- Guatemala. Through this trip, I believe God broke my heart so he could begin working on it. He pursued me through my doubt and replaced those doubts with new desires. He loved me through my anxiety and gave me a renewed hope. It is exciting to see what God is capable of doing in your heart when gain enough courage to step out in faith and trust Him with everything.

I left for this trip with minimal expectations, and I am now home; waiting, in expectation, for how God will work to accomplish His plans.

For I am confident in this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6”

games with Shelly 

egg relay

Hokey-Pokey

“Thanks for sharing this journey-by-blog.  We so appreciate your prayers and support.  Because I have now seen God's face and work in faces and places so different from how and where I have always lived, my heart is bigger, my prayers are bigger, the church is bigger, and most importantly the God I love and serve is bigger.  Each aspect of VOH exemplifies a picture of God's redemptive plan.  Enter at the gate; find grace, a family, and a purpose; share with others what you have found.  The work of redemption is complete on the cross, yet each smile, prayer and hug is a step of sanctification in which the new nature heals the pain and scars of these children's pasts so they have a hope and a future.  

Through God's amazing Spirit, we can continue to be a part of that through our consistent prayer for the Blocks, families, and staff at VOH.  We can minister in tangible ways by going to help on the upcoming trips. And we can support a child on an ongoing basis for about a dollar a day: http://www.villageofhopeguatemala.com/meet-our-kids  

I will do all three... what will you do?

-Suzanne”

Easter Egg Hunt

on your mark, get set...

GO!

Another Reflection...

Each of us continue to reminisce, pray and process all that transpired this past week. Here is another reflection…

"The car ride from Village of Hope to the airport was quiet. A few parting questions and a bit of laughter, but blank for the most part. A partial mix of still waking up and being at a loss for words, I suppose. I always thought car rides felt longer with the absence of conversation, so I was content in the silence. I felt like my words were minutes, so the more time I spent on speaking the less time I’d have left in Guatemala. At the airport we said goodbye to the brothers-in-Christ we had come to love in the same way we arrived, as a family ready for whatever God had in-store for us. Upon our arrival, our smaller team of nine (one member having taken an earlier flight home and three flying back to the east coast) exchanged hugs, kind words, and valedictions. And just like that, we were home…

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. once said, “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to it’s old dimensions.” After coming home from a week spent at Village of Hope, I’m learning just how precise of an assessment this is.

Full disclosure, I was scared to come home. I was scared of what I was going to feel, once I left what had quickly become my new comfort zone. I knew I was coming back to a place of abundance, prosperity, and personally speaking, belonging. But, as Holmes so accurately observed, I would be coming back with “a mind [stretched] by a new experience.” How should I interpret the world I grew up in through the lens of the world I just left? How could I pick up where I left off after having just put on a newfound burden? Most of all, how would I maintain a tight grip on what I now hold dear without letting the normality of life slowly pry my hands loose? I am frightened at the thought my heart having been broken for what breaks God’s, then having it be passively put back together by the hands of everyday spoils and common conversations. On the other hand, I want to humbly enjoy God’s blessings. I want to taste and see and take pleasure in the community around me. I want to live and laugh and love with those around me without it feeling like a guilty pleasure. I suppose the more common phrase of wanting to be “in the world, but not of it,” most accurately depicts where my mind is right now. I’m sure I’ll have a lot of wrestling to do over the next few days, probably weeks. But I’m thankful for the light of God’s Word to brighten this dimly lit world and the stories of His Body that testify to God’s faithfulness through the struggle.  

It’s been said that, “home is where the heart is,” and I’ve always adhered to that definition. But this assessment of where home is has now been blurred by the families at Village of Hope and every child who has yet to find their “heart.” My heart is with Christ and Christ’s heart is with the fatherless, so it only stands to reason that my heart be given over to the orphans of this world (James 1.27). I don’t quite know what that looks like, but I know it starts with understanding that we were all adopted by our Heavenly Father. 

There is still some processing I have to do - Where do we go from here? What do I do with the brokenness I’ve been introduced to? How do I use my voice for those whom “the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to?” (Matt. 19.14) As with most of the answers I’ve been given this past week, I don’t know. I am grateful, however, that God has now given me a heart and mind to ask these urgent, faithful questions. I’m even more grateful that God in His great majesty, will answer these questions as only a perfect, loving, heavenly Father can.”

I am grateful for each team member who has openly shared their hearts with you. More posts to come… ~C