Believe it or not...it's just 30 days until we leave for Guatemala!! The inspiration for this trip started with Valerie Edwards, a generous leader with Arbonne International who adopted her son from Guatemala. So the group of 13 of us are are either Arbonne Consultants or family members. Although we are not a church group or religious mission trip, we are all christian believers and see this trip as a deeply spiritual experience. The logistics of the trip are being coordinated by Terry Carr Bracey, Co-Founder of Across All Borders. In preparation for the trip, Terry is sending our team a daily devotional for the 30 days leading up to our trip!
I personally believe in the amazing power of prayer, and so I'm going to be sharing Terry's devotions on this Blog and asking others to join in prayer for our team. Terry has led many teams to Guatemala, so we'll also be getting a glimpse of what to expect and prepare for based on her experience.
May 3 - Expect the Unexpected
Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways, declares the
Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts."
It's amazing how the decision to answer God's call to a short term mission
seems to set in motion opportunities for divine appointments. Surprise
opportunities can arise for you individually and for the team as a group.
As you prepare or raise support for your trip expenses or projects we hope
to carry out while in Guatemala, a co-worker might begin asking questions in a
way that creates a chance for you to share your faith. While you are excited to
get to Guatemala or back home at the end of the trip, God may sit you on the
plane near the lonely or hurting one that needs to hear of His love. Or maybe in
the crowded airport you will get to tell someone where you are going and why. Be
alert for every opportunity, for just as you are now "moving", the Holy Spirit
can set up some exciting divine appointments.
As for the plans being made for your team on the mission field, we have to
give God space to direct those plans in unexpected ways as well. It is important
to work hard at preparing a ministry plan and having as much ready as possible;
that level of diligence and commitment to excellence honors the Lord. Yet God
may intervene in the plan and adjust the direction as we go. A surprise natural
disaster is just one example that can propel a team that prepared for one type
of ministry to give their efforts to another type of ministry, such as disaster
relief. This is why we say, even during the trip, that all plans are tentative
and flexibility is extremely important. One team I recently led to Guatemala
left home with plans to distribute water filters to many families, host several
large, village wide outreaches and hold soccer games for children. Unexpected
deadly floods began the day we arrived and continued for days after we left a
week later. Almost every plan we made before the trip had to be canceled. No
water filters were distributed because they could not be delivered due to road
conditions. No outdoor outreach was held and we had no indoor space large enough
to hold an indoor village wide outreach. No soccer games were held. Instead we
held more children's ministry activities indoors and served more meals than we
anticipated. We began new relationships with another village church that we had
been praying to form a partnership with as we were able to serve them in the
flood. We held the village's first women's preventative health classes and
taught women about breast cancer and how to do self exams. We welcomed
non-Christians into the church as they sought shelter and saw lives changed for
eternity. Team members saw a side of Guatemala that they did not expected and
they, themselves, were changed by it and have a greater love for the people of
Guatemala because of it. We may have been discouraged at first, but not one
of us left disappointed in the outcome of the trip. OUR plans were not HIS plans
for that trip.
We never know what may happen during our time in Guatemala. Be prepared,
even expect, the unexpected and consider it joy when He reveals His plan, even
when it does not match the ones we have made.
Father, we ask that you direct each of our steps now as we prepare for
this mission and while we are in Guatemala. Help us to be sensitive to divine
appointments here and there, to people whom You will bring across our paths. As
we are careful to plan, lead us down a path that lifts high Your name. Lord, we
ask You to multiply and extend our impact far beyond that which we could plan or
hope for.
With Gratitude,
Sondra
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