Translate

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Introduction

 
For the past 9 years I have been working for a small Early Intervention company who services children with special needs. Most of the children are all under the age of 3. I currently have several positions; run speech therapy in a group setting in the mornings, individual speech therapy in the afternoon and I also do home visits to help children develop new skills in all areas of development. I love my job. It has been such a great learning experience working a long side great staff and most importantly I have learned so much about life and love through the families I have worked with. God has shown me that love comes in so many different forms. I see it in the eyes of a child who has Down Syndrome and I see his passion to want to learn. I see the eagerness of a girl learning how to communicate to be able to tell me that she wants to move on to the next activity. When society is telling the world that love is this fantasy of flowers, chocolates and sweet nothings whispered in our ear, I am here to tell you that true love is loving those who are the “least” (If you have a child with special needs you now that they are not the least). Don't get me wrong, I love all that gu-gu-ga-ga stuff, but there is no greater joy than seeing growth in a child who was destined, per medical diagnosis, not to live or accomplish many things. Later I will share with you stories of triumph. So stay tune.
 

For the past year and a half I have been attending medical missions in Guatemala. I have built great friendships in the church we attend for the mission and I have been introduced to a wonderful woman whom directs an orphanage in San Lucas, Guatemala. A year ago, through fundraising (I started making jewelry and friend host jewelry parties to have funds to also buy vitamins to take with me), I was able to have the children come to the medical mission to be seen by the doctor and receive free care and medication. I have been praying about doing more for God and His mission. I read a book earlier in the year called "Kisses From Katie" by Katie Davis, and I was moved to do more (Click HERE for more info about her ministry). There's this one section of the book that describes all of the dilemmas that she had been facing and at the end of her list she states that one thing she is certain is that she is living in the center of God's will, the life that she was born to live. That part of the book has me praying more, thinking more and dreaming more for God to help me live in the center of His will for my life. The past couple of months have been surreal. I first started with the prayer of being able to spend a full month in Guatemala and live in an orphanage. How was this going to happen? Well I first needed money to pay my bills while I am away. I made a decision to believe that God would provide. I tried not to worry so much about it and kept telling myself that God will open the floodgates to exactly what is needed for me to be there fore that month. Well, God heard and I received my tax return and it's exactly what I would need to be gone for the month. Prayerfully, I will be in Guatemala for the month of August. Should I stop there? Well, I guess not. I continued to pray for God to guide me to what He is trying to accomplish through the month that I will be living in Guatemala. And guess what? He heard me. Soon after all of this came about, a friend met someone who is in the process of opening an orphanage in Guatemala. Coincidence? I want to believe that God has perfectly planned this journey.
There's so much to do, so many more people to meet, many more prayers to send out to God. I hope that you will follow my journey in planning my month adventure in Guatemala, paying off my school debt and car loan to be free to move and venture out and I pray that you feel inspired by not what I am doing, but what God is doing through my obedience to follow His dream, His purpose, for my life.