The Countdown Begins

Hello friends! Guess what! I am going to be home for Christmas in exactly a month! I am so excited and cannot believe I am at this milestone in my time in Guatemala. I cannot believe I have been here 5 months already. It’s amazing to look back and see all God has done in my time here and to look forward to what He will do in the future.

I thought I would do a little catch up on what my time has consisted of recently. Let’s bring you up to speed over the last month…

New places // And by places I mean sites… I was able to go to 3 different Students International sites to work there and see how each worked. First, I went to women’s social work, led by the amazing Sheny, where a group of women learns to sew and make other goods they can sell to support their family. Each women is extremely talented, sewing amazing bags, scrunchies, aprons, and so much more, sometimes even with a baby on her back. The next site I went to was tutoring. I was only there for a day (which was enough to show me that teaching, especially in another language, is not one of my spiritual gifts) but it was such a good time to see how Raquel works with the kids through math problems to even helping the one girl make a costume for her school play. The final site I got to visit was definitely a favorite as well. I worked with Shelly and Brenda at the Special Education site. Each day they have the morning or afternoon class or they have a day of their other students. Shelly always talks about her students being kings and queens of the kingdom. I truly believe that after meeting each and every one of their joyful faces, laughing with them, and getting so many hugs. It was so nice to see their face light up when they read something or finished a puzzle. I just loved visiting each site to see how SI works besides just what I see in the clinic.

New faces // The first new face from this past month was a new doctor. Dr. Erick came specifically for while our new team was here. It has been interesting seeing how he works differently than other doctors have. The other new faces of the month were the new team, LIFT! I had such high expectations for this team because 2 interns I worked with in the summer had previously done the program and nonstop talked about it. I will have to say this team definitely met those expectations. I had three students with me in the clinic and it was fun to get back in the rhythm of leading them through the site. They were such a blessing to have and I loved having them be my transition back into the clinic.

Vacations // Now I know what you’re thinking, “Morgan, missionaries don’t get vacations. You are literally the living version of that John Crist video.” I would say you are partially right but also it is an important part of being a missionary. You need time to relax and refill your tank before you pour yourself out again. So on that note, I got to go to the beach with Maggie, my fellow intern/roommate/bff here, as well as our director and his family to the beach at Puerto San Jose. We got an Airbnb which consisted of a pool and my own room. It is a black sand beach and I got to touch the pacific ocean for the first time! Our other “vacation” was back to my favorite place in Guatemala, Lake Atitlán. I put quotations because we went with the team so it was still work but also the most beautiful place so still vacay.

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Again, I am so excited to be home, to hug my family, and just take time to enjoy the holiday season. I’ve been loving my time here and am ready for the break for a hot minute.

As always, if you want to support my time here, I am still fundraising for my time here. If you feel led to help, you can support me by clicking here.  Please keep praying for God to teach me in my time here and to keep His hand of peace over our staff here. Love you lots!

xoxo Morgan