Prayer

Hey family and friends!

Just wanted to send out a prayer request to all of you....I can't share the details right now, but I just need some prayer. Please pray for God to provide and provide a miracle. I had a hard day and I have to do some hard things, but I know that God is HUGE and bigger than anything going on right now.

I will share more details when I can, but if you could just lift me up in prayer right now I would really appreciate it. Thanks for all of your love and support!

Prayer of Detachment

Last week in our weekly meeting as a team Kyle shared this prayer with us. Just like the other one I posted, this one really made me think. I hope you find this as an encouragement and something that you will pray as well!

Prayer of Detachment

Deliver me, O Jesus
from the desire of being loved,
from the desire of being extolled,
from the desire of being praised,
from the desire of being preferred,
from the desire of being consulted,
from the desire of being approved,
from the desire of being popular.

Deliver me, O Jesus
from the fear of being humiliated,
from the fear of being despised,
from the fear of suffering rebukes,
from the fear of being forgotten,
from the fear of being wronged,
from the fear of being ridiculed,
from the fear that others may be loved more than I.

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire
that others may be esteemed more than I,
that in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease,
that others may be chosen and set aside,
that others may be praised and I unnoticed,
that others may become holier than I,
provided that I may become as holy as I should.

-John of the Cross (1542-1591)

Peace Prayer

Two weeks ago I was with a team from Wooddale Church from Minnesota and during the devotional time they passed out The Peace Prayer (attributed to St. Francis of Assisi). It was something that just spoke to me and touched my heart and I wanted to share it with all of you!

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

A year and a half....

So exactly today I have been in Guatemala for 1 & 1/2 years. I have been thinking about it a lot today. Just reflecting on my time here and thinking about how this culture has become so much of who I am now. I love it here in Guatemala. I love the people, I love the culture, I love Spanish, I love my church here, I love my friends here, and I love my teammates that I work with at SEPAL.

I have been thinking about how I have about 6 more months on this adventure in Guatemala before God leads me on a new adventure. I know 6 months is a lot of time, but this year and a half have gone by so fast, so I know these 6 months will fly by!

I am excited for the rest of my time here, but sad too when I think about how little amount of time it is. I am just trying to take it one day at time and enjoy each day with my friends and my time in this wonderful country.

One thing I am looking forward to most is this summer! I have the opportunity to lead the summer team (STEP). It is a group of college aged and older who come to Guatemala for 7 weeks to be exposed to missions and to Guatemala. I am going to have a great team of leaders helping me this summer!

Would you pray with me during my last few months here? Pray that even though my time is short it won't seem like it and the relationships I have will continue to grow. Would you also pray for the summer team? That we will seek God in all of the planning of the summer, and that God would be forming the right team to come this summer.

Thank you so much!