All glory to God, my squad and I finally made it to Guatemala on January 14th, 2021! After a week of quarantine in Georgia, we all tested negative (my squadmate and teammate, Lydia, didn't get her negative test result until the morning of the flight, but that's a long and miraculous story that she should tell herself - you can ask her about it by contacting her on her blog!) We weren't even sure when we would fly out: we found out the night before our flight. After some vigorous packing, we all flew out of the Atlanta airport at 9:45am on January 14th! We had to leave the Adventures in Missions campus at 5 something in the morning, and, fast-forwarding a bit, we were in Guatemala by 12:30pm central! 

On our arrival day we had a brief orientation to our missions base, and yesterday we had more orientation training. It was all so good, and wonderful preparation for all that is to come! One thing that really stood out to me was shared by a staff member named Sabrina. She shared an analogy with us that was placed on her heart by the Holy Spirit. 

She envisioned our squad as an arrow. When an archer prepares to fire an arrow, they "prime" it by pulling it back and aiming it - she said we have been being primed up to this point. God, the archer, has been carefully aiming us at His target, taking His time to line us up. He didn't rush this shot! Our time up to this point has been a waiting and preparation period. We have to trust the archer, God! His aim is trustworthy. An archer with a far target aims a little bit ahead of the mark, and it's going to be fast ride to the target. He's been pulling us back so we can go further!

This is such a beautiful image to me! It's brought additional clarity as to the reason why things on our gap year haven't worked out as originally intended, and it's given me even more excitement for all this time will hold. Our time in Georgia, our extra quarantine time - God has been using all of that for His good! He has been preparing and equipping us for this time, and we are all so ready to dive in!

Stay tuned for weekly updates from Guatemala!! I will also be sharing more photos soon - seeing the incredible beauty all around me is such a lovely reminder of God's love!

Fundraising update! I am still in need of $2,570 in order to be fully-funded. I must raise this amount by Monday, January 18th at the latest - so I am able to participate in ministry! That's the last deadline. I am so thankful for everyone's support that has gotten me so far, and I would ask you to prayerfully consider supporting me one last time (or for the first time!) to help me reach my final deadline! Please keep me in your prayers as my squad and I step into our roles here in Guatemala. Love you all, and I'm sending hugs from the land of eternal spring!