Just a few of the things I've learned on this journey in Guatemala.

It took me 9 months to wrestle through, and say yes to the thing I felt God put on my heart to do... and I'm glad I'm doing it...

Things I've learned in only 3 months of living in Guatemala:

#1. ITS HARD.

-It's hard when you don't speak the language. Just doing the little things in life that we don't even think twice about in the States. I need to communicate to go grocery shopping, to put Internet on my phone, to go and get my laundry done and tell them that "I need these things washed separately" to even going to get coffee. You end up in a lot of awkward situations, and your head hurts a lot! I feel somewhat disconnected when going about my day. But... I'm learning. 

#2. THE PEOPLE ARE AMAZINGLY WELCOMING.

-The people are great. They are friendly, they welcome you, they are glad you're in their country and they want you to experience it!

I've been invited to lunch at people's homes more times than I can count. People want to cook for you, they want you to know them, their culture, to eat their food, and to love their country. It's also a family ordeal... the whole extended family usually shows up... and YOU are the center of attention. (That part I don't love so much- As an introvert, I just want to blend in. Doesn't happen when you're 5'8" and as white as a piece of paper in a country where everyone is an average of 5ft and dark skinned.) 

It is fun "trying" to speak Spanish and understand the conversation! But be ready for your brain to be shot by the end of it! I'm usually in bed by 8pm on days like that! 

#3.  ITS DIFFICULT

-Life is difficult. (In so many more ways for the locals than I am about to mention here.) When you are used to the pace of life in the US and then go live in a 3rd world country, it's a bit of a shock to the system. Things run VERY differently. In the States I can bust out 10 errands in one day. In Guatemala I'm lucky if I get ONE thing accomplished in one day! It's an adjustment for someone who thrives off of feeling productive by accomplishing a lot, fast!

I am LEARNING to welcome the pace and have the patience and expectation that this could possibly take all day. I could be sitting in this office all day, and may have to come back tomorrow, all day, and quite possibly all day the next before whatever it is I'm doing gets completed! Patience...

#4. ITS BEAUTIFUL.

-The country has beautiful views of volcanos, lakes, and ruins! Guatemala has a Mayan heritage and there are ruins scattered throughout the quaint town of Antigua and other parts of the country. One of my favorite things on a Sunday when walking to Church, is to take in the views around me, (without tripping on the cobblestone streets) the blue sky, the trees, the many volcanos puffing away, the colorful buildings, the people, and to just breathe in the fresh air. It's good for my soul. Enjoy the little things!

#5. DONT LET PEOPLE TALK YOU OUT OF THINGS DUE TO FEAR.

-One of the biggest things I learned BEFORE I left for Guatemala was that people will project their fears onto you. I had to learn how to battle against that and remind myself what God had put on MY heart to do (not theirs.) When God puts something on your heart to do, it won't come without a fight. But He will ALWAYS equip you and He will always protect you when walking in your calling. Don't miss out, it's so worth it!

#6. GOD GOES BEFORE YOU.

-Before I left I was so worried about this and that, how this was going to work, how that was going to happen. What about? What if? How? How am I going to? How can I? ... But what I experienced makes me smile. God goes before and prepares the way.

He has things in place in ways you never imagined.

I didn't know where I'd live, how I'd get around, where I'd go to Church, where I'd volunteer, how I'd find people to teach, how I'd have the money to do what He put on my heart to do. 

HE PROVIDED... He made a way where there was no way! He put people around me to support me and help me. It was beautiful to experience His plans, they were WAY better than mine.

And since I can't stop on 6...

#7. EAT THE FOOD!!!!

People in my past had always put so much fear in my mind of eating street food in Guatemala. To be honest, it's some of the best food you will ever eat! Eat the food!!! On the street, in the hole in the wall restaurant that costs $1 a plate, in people's homes, and in the beautiful restaurants too. 

My encouragement to you if God has put something on your heart (& it scares you)... start stepping, pray through it, remember His promises, then watch Him move mightily on your behalf!!! 

He always invites us...

Jesus always invites us... He gives us invitations to join Him in His work. But It's up to us to respond.  I'm so thankful He invited me to come to Guatemala. I may have taken 8 or 9 months to accept and 14 months to do it... but sometimes it takes some of us longer to know what's best for us ;)  It wasn't that I didn't trust Him. It was that I was afraid and I didn't want to leave my life in Charlotte. But I couldn't shake the feeling that He was asking me to lay down WHAT I love, to follow WHO I love (Him) into the unknown.  Sometimes we get so comfortable with the life we have that when an opportunity arises we turn it down because it's of the unknown & we are comfortable where we are.  But when we choose to step out and trust Gods plan instead of our own... we stumble upon things we never imagined would fulfill us!  Don't get me wrong, some days are difficult here, but some days are absolutely incredible. I feel so blessed and sometimes just stand at my window, with an amazing view of the volcano, and thank God for not giving up on me to do this.  Thank you to those of you who support me in this journey, we are looking forward to what's ahead together!! SOUL 139 PO Box 470252 Charlotte, NC 28247 USA  Unsubscribe

I've been here a month... I've been in Guatemala a month now, time flies!!! It's been a whirlwind and I still don't feel like I have much of a routine, maybe never will here! Every week is different, every DAY is so different!! I never know what I'll be doing or when... and for all who know how much of a planner I am, know that's a real struggle for me!! Haha...But, I welcome the change! I finally got to see Dani, Gustavo, Elias and Benjamin yesterday! I have been to Casa to cut hair 4-5 times, but the boys and girls are separated and I hadn't gotten to see any of the boys until I went to church there yesterday. Casa has their graduation soon so I'll be heading over there to cut hair for the boys before they graduate & possibly do some updos for the girls again! Last year I was here for graduation and did some of the girls hair. I had to get started at 3am... I'm hoping this year won't be the same, who knows!! Thursday I am going to go to cut hair at Life Ministries Church for some of the women there. We have started a sub-fund under SOUL 139 to raise money for this local church here in Guatemala too. They operate out of an unfinished church building so they are in desperate need of funds to finish. They don't have toilets and some of the walls are even unfinished. They don't let that stop them and they still have Church every week! But Cissy and Rick Parker wanted to be able to help them, so we will be raising funds to help them get the Church finished! Here is the link to their page if you are interested in giving to that: www.crowdrise.com/ministerios-vida-life-ministries Thanks for reading and I will continue to keep you all involved in the adventures of living in Guatemala!!!

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Be still and know... Lately I have felt overwhelmed, as I have shared in previous emails. The cool thing about being a Christian is listening to God. In fact 3 different times today, from 3 different sources, I have read the words "Be still and know that I am God, cease striving, I will give you rest." To me that's a pretty clear message. God knows our thoughts, He knows our hearts and He knows our spirits. It's times like these when I realize that. Because His message to me today was exactly the perfect answer to bring peace to my soul in the midst of all the jumbled up thoughts I'd been having about how to do... and what to do... and how it will work out... and what if it doesn't work out... and how I can... or when I can... All these things are good to think about, until they bring restlessness to your soul. Then it's time to put those thoughts down for a while. I was in need of being reminded of that and wanted to share incase you were too!! Some people don't believe God speaks to them, I am one who fully believes He does. God speaks to His people, always has and always will. We were His creation, created for Him! If you read the Old Testament, God spoke to His people and commanded them to do certain things. Adam to name the animals, Noah to build a boat, He spoke to Moses in a burning bush, and He promised Abraham a son. In the New Testament, God also spoke to people, through Jesus. And in life today, God still speaks to us, through the Holy Spirit. It may not be in a loud audible voice, but it can be through Gods word, which then makes a connection in your spirit. It can be an impression on our hearts, a thought in our mind, some words spoken by a person and then confirmed by another. It can be some words read in a book or devotion that spark an idea or a thought. It can even be through music or nature; a sunset, a view, mountains, or in seeing the intricacy of His work. God has many ways in communicating with His creation. So when you feel an impression on your heart or spirit, listen, walk it out, and see what comes of it! And sometimes... the impression is telling us to just be still...and know. I went to “Openbible.com” and looked for verses on Hearing God. There are sooooo many so I will share just 10! John 10:27 ESV My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Romans 10:17 ESV So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Jeremiah 33:3 ESV Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. John 8:47 ESV Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” Isaiah 30:21 ESV And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. John 16:13 ESV When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. Hebrews 4:12 ESV For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. John 14:16-17 ESV And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 6:63 ESV It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. Psalm 32:8-9 ESV I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

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Spanish

Guatemala

Lately I have been having a lady come to my apartment to teach me Spanish for 2 hours, twice a week. My head hurts. I really struggled the first two weeks I was here and felt so overwhelmed because I couldn't communicate with people. I had been practicing but I just wasn't understanding why and when to use certain phrases. So she has been helping me, and FINALLY the Grammer part is starting to click!!!!! After she leaves I spend another couple of hours doing the homework and reading over the papers she gave me too. Right now it's tough, but eventually it will be helpful to me, so that I can understand people and respond back to them. You don't realize how daunting it is being in a place and not being able to handle a situation, until you're there and can't get your point across. One day... I'll be fluent in Spanish...with a British accent ;)

Almost 3 weeks in Guate

I have been here close to 3 weeks now... it feels way longer than that in some ways and in others I feel like I just arrived. I think so far I've done about 57 haircuts in that time for two different Children's homes. And I HOPE to cut the hair of this man named Nelson at some point. We met him on the street walking to work one day and I thought, "wow, his eyes are beautiful and I bet he could be so handsome with a haircut!" In the following days our paths crossed a few times, we nodded and said hello each time. One evening Julio saw him on the way home from work and bought him dinner. I asked Julio to ask Nelson if he would let me cut his hair. He of course said yes and sent me a video saying he would like that a lot as he can't afford to get one! (If you click on the blue tab below his photo, it will take you to it.) I can't wait to send you the before and after photo of this man!! He is going to look incredible! I don't have a scheduled time to do it yet, but God will make a way! VIDEO OF NELSON One of my biggest struggles of being here is not being able to communicate with people like I want to. It is really difficult to get information you need or even have a pleasant conversation with someone. So I've been taking a few days to study Spanish. It is SO hard!! People say Spanish is one of the easiest languages, but I'm finding it super confusing. The verbs and past, present and future tense stuff is what gets me. It makes my head spin. Now I'm even struggling with the simple stuff I thought I knew before, because I'm questioning whether or not I'm saying it correctly. As I sit here, I think the volcano just popped off. It sounds like a cannon, but louder. This morning I woke up and there was tons more ash than normal, I hear it's a normal occurrence for Fuego. (The one out of 4 volcanos surrounding this town). Here he is: I'm going to close this out with a laugh... I'm sitting in the garden of a coffee shop and there is a British guy facetiming his friends, talking SO loud. He was telling them how he had been learning salsa and proceeded to get up and show them a little bit. Needless to say, he still needs to take those salsa classes!!! Copyright © 2016 SOUL 139, All rights reserved. www.SOUL139.org Providing free haircuts to those less fortunate than us. Our mailing address is: PO Box 470252, Charlotte, NC 28247 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Psalm 139:14 I am fearfully, wonderfully made, I know that full well.

Day 12 in Guatemala...

Day 12... The last few days I have seen some things and felt some things that I didn't even know what to do with. I have felt disgusted with myself, my attitude and my complaints. Living here only 12 days, God has already started to dig up some things in me that are ugly. As they are coming to the surface I know they will get pruned, which is also a painful process because they are things I hold on to for comfort. And to let go of them means I lose that comfort. I was reading this morning in Isaiah 35… and there was a line that brought up a memory from the other day. It said: Isaiah 35:5 ~ "And when He comes, He will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf." The other day I was sitting on a chicken bus going somewhere and I was in a mood because I was hot from walking so much, I was hungry from not eating or drinking much that day, I was hurting because my knees were crunched against the back of the seat in front of me… and then a man got on the bus with a bowl to ask for money… he had no eyes, none what so ever. Now I have a REALLY hard time getting on and off those buses and I HAVE eyes… I couldn't imagine being blind and having to get on and off those buses asking for money so that I can eat, so that I can live. I get nervous walking down the street and crossing the road… and I have eyes. This man must have an incredible amount of faith to get up and get from place to place each day. That's only the start of it… I have felt so discouraged because I have to rely on others to get me places when I need to go further than the town I live in. I don't feel comfortable going on the buses by myself, so I ask someone to come with me. Or if I need to go grocery shopping for bigger items than I can carry by myself down the street, then I have to ask my friend to drive me. I've felt so limited in what I can do. Not to mention the language barrier. At home I can do what I need to do by myself, when I need to do it. I was walking in the market the other day and saw a man in a wheelchair with a colostomy bag sitting on his lap, with blood, and urine so dark that he must have been extremely dehydrated. He also had a mask over his face, obviously so sick and couldn't move by himself.  There was a man standing behind his chair asking for money, and although part of me thought the guy standing was using this disabled guy as a prop to make money (which might be the case), I couldn't help but think how much the disabled man had to rely on this other man to live. I have legs…I have a body that functions… I need to check my attitude when it comes to things I'm experiencing lately. There are children wondering the streets with little toes, hands and faces so dirty as though they haven't bathed in months, that even when you wash their feet, the dirt remains. And I'm complaining when I don't have a clean towel to wipe my feet dry after having a HOT shower…everyday. I understand that these people grew up this way, and I didn't, so being put in this lifestyle is like being a fish out of water. But there is a purpose for me here. And it's not only for me to share the Gospel, but for God to pull to the surface the things that He wants to change in me too, so that when people look at me, they see Jesus, and not me. There is such a huge need here that sometimes I feel like I can't even make a difference. But with God, I hope to make a difference in even one persons life while I am here.

Copyright © 2016 SOUL 139, All rights reserved. www.SOUL139.org  Psalm 139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully, wonderfully made." Our mailing address is: PO Box 470252, Charlotte, NC 28247 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list