giving thanks and living selflessly.

With a lot of free time on my hands, I am able to sit and ponder a lot about life here in the beautiful city of Antigua, Guatemala. There have been a lot of things on my mind lately about life in general and I just want to share some thoughts.

Living in a foreign country for an extended period of time teaches us to appreciate what we have. If you've done any missions works, you understand this. I've come to appreciate many things while I've been living here in Antigua and I am realizing how much the good Lord has blessed me with. I look around me and everywhere I look there is brokenness and sadness. People outside of the United States dream about living there and for a better life. I have the life they want. No, I'm certainly not rich...but I am blessed beyond measure. I am learning faster and faster what it means to be thankful for what I have at my lovely home back in the States. Don't get me wrong, I love my house-mom here. I appreciate every meal she cooks for us and every time she puts clean sheets on our beds. And, every time she greets us with, "¡hola nenas!," I find myself smiling. But it's not home. God has given me so much at home and I realize it every day that I spend here. My goal for when I get home is to start to live more simply and selflessly and tell those I love how much I appreciate them.

I want to live selflessly...and I want you to join me. It's hard. Really hard. But it's completely worth it. Think of the way Jesus lived, the way he gave his life for our rottenness. It's hard living in close quarters with other people and it's hard working with those we don't agree with...but we have been called to love those people even if we would rather leave them alone in their bitter lives. I need to be reminded that I am always a servant of the Lord, and that means that I am always called to be a selfless missionary. It's going to be hard and I know that, but I need to remind myself that I HAVE to do it. And when I can't seem to do it, that's when I MUST rely on Jesus Christ because without Him, I can do nothing.

For now, I ask that you pray for patience. Patience to let God take care of my frustrations and patience to hear from the Almighty God about what is to come.

Waiting and striving,

-J