First Internship ( chapter 5)

    On April 29, 2023, I traveled back to Guatemala, only this time, to intern on a mission for a month. To be able to go back, I needed money. I started doing some fundraisers, selling accessories, worked as a caregiver; I even got to sing in some places to get the money. I was trying to do everything independently and not depend on anybody, but the Lord reminded me constantly that I must rely entirely on him.

  

     When I got to the airport in Guatemala, I got a ride with a group that was also coming to do a short-term mission trip for a week. Only God could know the connection I was going to have with them. As soon as we got on the bus, we started talking, laughing, and making jokes like we had known each other for a long time. God always puts people in our path to bless our lives and vice versa. Also, sometimes we meet people who can be a little hard to deal with, but the Lord helps us to trust more and more in him. 

    

    That week, I shared with this same group from Maryland, USA. They sang, played games, and brought different activities to the elderly and kids from Happy Tummies; we also did home visits. Friday came, and it was time to say goodbye to the group, and of course, I cried! Saying goodbye is always challenging since we don’t know the future and if we will see each other again. 

  

     After the first week as an intern, I started working with the ministry, with the elderly and the Happy Tummies kids. In the mornings, I would check the elderly, and in the afternoon, the kids. I started creating records for them. Without even noticing, I was already getting attached to them. There was this day when they told me that one of the kids from Happy Tummies was sick and if I could visit. Immediately, I went to the pharmacy to prepare my bag with medications and other things to do the home visit and be ready to intervene. 

    

    Once I prepared my bag, I started walking on the dusty road. Suddenly, I stopped walking, lifted my head, and looked at the mountain before me. It was there, when I felt something very special in my heart. Got that feeling, that even when writing this, it comes back. I sighed, and lowered my head and looked at the bag of medication I was carrying and said in my head, “Father!!! I just found what makes me happy!!! I am happy!!!”. That is where I understood that the money and the amenities that I was looking for, weren’t going to replace the happiness that I was searching for! And this is to serve others in the name of Jesus!! That is what makes me happy :D 

    

    Friend, there is nothing wrong to have dreams and goals in life, but never forget to include God in your plans. The key is to feel peace doing it. For me, it took me a trip to Guatemala to come back to Jesus feet. If you haven’t take that leap of faith or maybe you stray  away from God for different reasons, it is time to come back to him. Don’t wait anymore, nothing in this life is perfect. Don’t wait until things get better to come back. Stop right now, look up to the sky and tell him “here I am, I need your peace and love, forgive me”