The Place I fell in Love...

Guatemala 2013

I fell in love on the Mission Field. It stuck. Matt and I started dating on a Youth Group mission trip to Mexico while we where in high school.  I was young and impulsive, and a tad bit thinner. I didn't always think things through. My mouth sometimes got the better of me. Matt was able to see beyond my faults to the woman I could become ~ and he still does. I cannot imagine any other life. It's not perfect. It's real and sometimes it's messy. Love and grace go a long way tho, and I know I am blessed to be married to my best friend. Praise God for His blessings that are greater that we could ever imagine.

Much of our time in Guatemala was spent together.  But that's how we do life. Whether it's Kid's Camp or the Wild Game Dinner, hiking the trail or searching for treasures in the antique shop, we like doing life together. We have discovered a few central truths: We are better together, We are stronger together, We are happier together.

We spent time in the school, worked the Church's Vacation Bible School program, ate, sang and worshiped hand in hand. We are a team. I always felt safe. I always knew he was near by. There were a few bad hair moments I am sure. We got tired, there was stress. We are human. Love and grace, forgiveness and hugs ~ it's all good.

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17

When Matt says he'll do anything you need he means it. Mission trips (like life in general) are fluid experiences. It's always a good thing to have a plan, but then life happens and flexibility and adaption are necessary. Matt helped set the tone. Never a complaint, just a smile and a warm helping hand. "Hey we are gonna tell a Bible Story, in three languages, and act it out for the children, right now. We need you to play the part of .... Go!" Day one was David and Goliath. Day two was the Good Samaritan. "Hey we need someone to dress up as a clown and word is you're the only guy that can juggle, Go!" Well we had the clown stuff, and had thrown in some hacky sacks for 'just in case' so no worries, we gotcha covered. "Hey there is some down time, how do you feel about pushing large wheel barrels of sand from here to there? Go."  "We are gonna do a spur of the moment craft with 300 people. Watcha got? Some notebooks full of paper. Cool. It's origami. Everybody take a piece of paper and demonstrate how to do this, Go!"  "Hey we need to show the locals how to set up and use all of the equipment. Go!" And who could forget, "Hey, we need to evacuate, can you tape some of this money onto your body and help us get out safely. Go" (More on that later).

God is working in Matt, God is working in me. 

God is working in us.

Do we do it perfect? No

Do we make mistakes, stumble, struggle and sometimes fall? Yep.
But God is Good. He is patient and loving.
And I am happy, lucky and blessed.