Megan Hill What God taught me in Guatemala When I decided to go to Guatemala with my grandparents, I thought it was going to be another vacation; another chance to get away from it all. But, while I was down there God decided to grab a hold of me and teach me a few things. That is why I gave this paper the title, “What God Taught Me in Guatemala.” The first lesson he taught me is that he can use anyone to accomplish his tasks in spite of their weaknesses and limitations. When I learned from my Poppy that we four young people were going to be in charge of a bible school for six through fourteen year olds, a million different things ran through my mind. The first thing I thought was, “I’m too young to be teaching these kids!” The second thing that crossed my mind was, “My Spanish isn’t that great, these kids won’t even understand what I’m saying!” Needless to say I was a little fearful, but God used me anyways! The first day we had 20 kids show up and by the last day we almost had 80! They loved coming to escuela biblica. A few of the girls even asked me if we were going to do it again soon. I even learned a bible verse in Spanish! “Y Jesus les dijo: “Yo soy el pan de vida; el que a mi viene, nunca tendra hambre; y el que en mi cree, no tendra sed jamas.” Juan 6:35. Here it is in English: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:35. The second lesson I learned was that prayer and a little bit of faith can accomplish anything. Prayer calmed my fears before I stood in front of the class of young girls in bible school. Prayer also gave me confidence to give my testimony in Spanish, with a little help from my Poppy, to a group of kids my age. God showed me through these cases as well as numerous others, that he hears my prayers and sees my faith. He truly is a God of his word. God also taught me that sin is very real, no matter what country you are in. People in Guatemala aren’t any different than the people here in America. They lie, cheat, steal, and commit many other sins, just like us. They need Christ and Godly examples just as much as we do. They also think like many people here in America. They believe you have to work for your salvation and it’s hard for them to believe that, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph 2:8-9).” Fourthly, throughout my weeks in Guatemala, God taught me that patience truly is a virtue. As you can imagine with six totally different people living in one house, the last nerve was “gotten on” many different times. Whether it was that someone was in the wrong bathroom or there wasn’t enough seats on the couch, to someone ate all the good cereal or that the picking and joking went a little too far; we all learned that a little bit of patience kept big disasters away. Sometimes, I had to learn that lesson the hard way! God also taught me to have patience with the people around me because there’s always someone watching what I do. Something a little more personal that God taught me was that people don’t define who I am as a Christian. Often times we hear from other people how Christians should talk and act and people in Guatemala are just the same. But in reality God’s opinions and standards are the only ones that matter, and you find those out by studying your bible and praying. I’m continually learning new things everyday! Last but certainly not least, God taught me that the road may be rocky, muddy, and full of potholes and puddles in certain spots, but as long as you stay on the road it always leads home! I hope I gave you a little insight into what my time in Guatemala was like and all the many different things I learned. Thank you for your prayers and the time you gave me now. Please continue to pray for my Poppy and Nanny and all the people in Guatemala as there is still much work yet to be done. Thank you so much! |
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