By Beth Guzman
Last year my husband and I were supposed to go on a mission trip to Spain. I forced the trip because it was what I wanted, not necessarily what God wanted. I didn't pray for direction from God, but I wanted to go, so I continued to force the issue. Roadblock after roadblock, the trip fizzled out. I wondered if I should go on mission trips at all with the friction that we went through. Although I didn't directly pray or ask the Lord this question, he answered my wrongful assumption through prophetic speaking at the Remnant Conference. Coincidentally, this landed on the week of our fizzled-out mission trip to Spain.
During the conference, a woman described me on stage: "The woman in a black dress, with a medical device on her left foot." That was me. I stood up and she spoke about "mission work and ESL…English as a second language." She further explained that this is what "God has for me and he blesses this direction."
Fast forward six months or so and I saw the Women's Build short-term trip; however, the $2,300 price tag discouraged me from signing up. Not only because it was $500 more than the Men's Build trip, but also because my husband and son were already signed up to go to Honduras the prior month. I had faith that if this was the direction that the Lord wanted me to go, that he would make a way for this to happen.
Not even a week later, Connie, our Associate Director of Welcome and Hospitality, came to me and told me I should go with her. Still a little skeptical on what God could do, I looked in the charity account, and was comforted in that if we got zero donations, we could afford all three trips. Boy, do I have a long way with praying on the forefront and trusting God to his fullest versus relying on my own works. God had already paved the way for the blessing of provisions before we even thought of going.
With the exception of Connie, I didn't know any of the fifteen women prior to going on the trip as I had to miss the pre-trip meetings due to work. You can imagine how this would feel for an introvert. But, over the years, I've learned how to trust God in uncomfortable social situations like this.
Leading up to the trip, the forecast called for thunderstorms and rain every day. We all asked our communities to pray for good weather as it would be a challenge to pour concrete in the rain. We arrived in Guatemala and went to the jobsite the next day. Sunshine. Hallelujah! After we met the family and the men that would help us build, we all selected different tasks for the project.
I felt blessed by being on the cutting team. During the days I felt the Lord's presence, and we were led by the best carpenter of all time: Jesus. Every cut was precise and we had no rejects or returns— our Father was in our favor. Most importantly, the Lord kept the rain off the job site for the entire project. The days were sunny and warm, but the Lord would kiss us various times throughout the day with a cool breeze.
When we took breaks, our souls were restored with the most amazing, loving, grateful hugs of a little girl named Gracie. Her smiles, love, hugs, laughter and jokes warmed all our hearts. The children from the neighbors came by to play with balls, bubbles and other toys. This family was blessed by God through their prayers of a new home, but often I selfishly felt more blessed than them due to humility, love and everything that this family gave us.
We all started as strangers but left as lifelong friends and family. I will miss these dear sisters as we go back to our lives. I will miss the warm loving hugs that little Gracie blessed us with. The way she embraced her new Bible is sure to melt anyone's heart. I will miss the nightly devotionals that "coincidentally" aligned with the days work and what our spirits thirst for that day. I thank the Lord for the time we had in Guatemala and will pray for direction from God on which short-term trip to serve on in the future. I am excited about whichever trip He chooses for our family as I know it will be His perfect will.