Love Notes and Jesus and Guatemala

As most of you may have heard, there was an earthquake last Tuesday in Mexico. Over 300 people died, and 21 of those were children whose school collapsed on them. That hit really, really close to home. The next day I looked at my kids and held them tighter than usual. Lately I've been feeling overwhelmed with bad news. This world is full of tragedy, suffering, brokenness, and evil, and when you're living in a country that's very prone to all of those things, it can be easy to become disheartened. But then things like this happen and you're reminded that He is bigger and His love is greater: Yesterday morning during devotions, we were all singing praises to Him when suddenly His overwhelming presence fell over the room. Every single person went down onto their knees as the Lord lovingly touched the heart of each teacher and child, exactly how they needed to be touched. And through my tears, I realized that the sound of weeping had filled the entire room. I happened to look up and in front of me I see one of my dear boys, 10 years old, face down and his little body is shaking as he cries because he knows that Jesus loves him. And I looked around me and realized that every child around me was also crying. Friends, I'm telling you that there is nothing like it. There is nothing that compares to worshiping Jesus with these kids and watching their faces change as He speaks to them, comforts them in the middle of their situation, heals wounds, and holds them and speaks words of love into their ears. That is what God is doing here in Guatemala. He brings us to our knees and we weep for the knowledge of who He is. He is incomprehensible, yet personable. He is just, yet the giver of grace. He is Holy, Glorious and All-Powerful yet He delights in meeting us exactly as we are, and no matter how many times He has to remind us that He loves us, He still does. When we cry out to Him, He is right there and holds us tight, as any Good Father does. He has overcome the darkness, and His light is shining into this mess of a world that we've made. The children who attend this school on the top of a mountain are being formed into who He has made them to be, and are being taught about who He is, so that they can go out and change this world. 

When I came to Guatemala, I thought that God was fulfilling one of my dreams. But now I realize that He brought me here to scatter my heart throughout this country, and to show me all of this - that His heart breaks for the broken, the fatherless, the abandoned, the unwanted, but that He has a plan. He brought me here so He could take my little dream and show me His - of His precious children being loved, healed, held, and told about Himself. And the most amazing thing of all is that even amidst my inadequacy, my failures, doubt and sin, He tells me, "Daughter, I still choose you." How unworthy I am to be part of His dream, but I am. And there's nothing I'd rather do than give up my life for His children - that's exactly what He did for us. What a beautiful God we serve. Five weeks until I'm back in Canada, the first three spent wrapping up the school year, and the last two debriefing.Three short weeks until I have to say goodbye to my kids. The goodbye process and trying to figure out how I'm going to integrate back into Canadian culture has been the most difficult of all the processes so far, but every day I thank God that He gave them to me for a year. Each minute of homesickness, frustration, sadness, fear, etc. was so worth it. They were so, so worth it. And how blessed I am that it is this difficult to say goodbye. How incredibly blessed I have been to laugh with them, teach them some English, love them to pieces and be loved back, and worship God beside them. Yesterday I received several love notes(the best kind) from my Gr. 3's. This is what one of them says (please keep in mind that it's in Spanish, has several spelling mistakes, and is accompanied by a strange drawing of a bear/pig so it's even cuter): "Hi Miss, when you go back to Canada I will miss you so so so much because you have been my favourite teacher. I hope that a very mean teacher doesn't come. Read this card when you are sad. Goodbye, Miss. I love you, Miss Mikhaila. Bye. -David." 

I cried when I read that one. David, I will miss you so so so much, too. And every other one of my precious kiddos. Please continue to pray for me as I prepare myself mentally and emotionally for coming back to Canada. Pray for my heart, that God would smooth over this process, and that I would see His face through it all. Pray for my dear kids and their country. Please also pray for Global Shore. They are praying and still seeking for English teachers for 2018, and if that's something you might be interested in doing, please message me! Thank you all so much for your continued love and prayers.