Paso a Paso - Day 6 Blog
/by Brook Fonceca
I did not want to come to Guatemala. As Shawn Smith says, "There is never a good time to go." For many reasons this statement was very true for me this year. I had to come to terms with the fact that this trip is not about me or the things at home that could trump my decision to go. The reason I came was for the children.
This is my second year coming to Guatemala with Now Is The Time. Both years my primary motivation in coming was to bring my two oldest children here so that they can have a cross cultural experience and see first hand how the other two-thirds of the world lives. Both years I've seen them fully engage in the project, whether it is building stoves or playing with kids at the mission center or at vacation Bible school. It is a dream come true to see them reaching beyond themselves and embracing someone who is not like them, yet finding the commonality of simply being children. For me this is one of the most important lessons I can give them, outside of knowing and loving Jesus.
My second motivation flows from the first. Seeing my children love on other children is priceless. Seeing them help install a high-efficiency wood burning stove in a home so that the health of the children can be improved gives me hope. Seeing connections made between my children and the Guatemalan children, so that the chance to come again next year is more of a reality than a possibility, strengthens my faith.
I know that the future of this mission, and even the faith as a whole, rests in the hands of our children, both American and Guatemalan. We get the chance to hand them the faith of a mustard seed and a few small loaves of bread and pieces of fish. The small things we do now do change lives, but they also leave a legacy for God to do even greater things through their faithfulness in their generation. This is why I have come to Guatemala.
