We
have been in Guatemala for nearly three weeks, and the concept of going back to
my “normal” life in the States seems so foreign—more foreign, even, than the
magnificent colors I wake up to every day, and understanding that hardly anyone
around me speaks English. In September of last year, the Lord told me that my
first mission trip was going to last an entire summer, and as I think about the
fact that my time in Guatemala is nearly halfway lived out, I’m so thankful
that I still have another month to breathe in life where I am.
I’m not sure if it’s the peaceful
beauty of my surroundings, or being in (literal) constant community with a team
of girls who are set on speaking truth and encouragement, but this month has
brought out of me passions and gifts and a fullness of life that I didn’t even
know were there. The exquisite realness of God is everywhere and in everything.
He is covering the mountains. He swirls with the sparkling sand in the lake. He
inhabits our praises during worship. He is the vibrancy of my watercolors. He
is in the echo of every strum of my guitar, and he pours out through every
afternoon thunderstorm. And this all comes with a heaviness of heart that I’ve
never experienced before now, but a heaviness which has lifted every burden off
my shoulders and allowed me to dance freely and lightly on the rooftops of our
home.
Before coming to Guatemala, before sitting in
homes where the floor is the dirt of the land, before washing the feet of a man
who hasn’t walked in three years, I had to strain to feel the presence of
Jesus. I would sit in my bedroom floor with worship music on, and I would wait
for that moment where my heart would leap, and a tear would occasionally fall
from experiencing maybe a fleeting second of his glory. Not so here. From the
time I wake up to the time I fall asleep, there is tangible evidence of God,
flashing in colors before my eyes during worship, resounding in the music of my
team as we sing to the sick and the broken. He is heavy in these villages, but
the yoke that he carries is so unbelievably light.
As most of you know, my original
call for the summer was to Nepal, and finding out that I was no longer able to
go there shattered my heart. One of the most beautiful sights on our team is
the love one woman of God can have for one specific nation. We have a member
whose heart breaks for Africa, and another who sits in awe of the adoration she
has for Guatemala. There are many with a moving passion for the Hispanic
culture, and one whose heart and blood and toil lies in Bolivia. There are many
who long for the field of those targeted by human trafficking, and nearly all
of us are broken and wrecked by the idea of the refugee crisis in Greece and
Syria. And as I sit in wonder at the magnificent blessing it is to spend THIS
summer with THIS team in THIS country, I know that my nation is Nepal. I don’t
know when the Lord will send me there, I don’t know how long it will be for,
and I don’t know who I will go with, but I do know that there will be a hole in
my heart until I eventually get there.
The cool thing about Jesus, though,
is that he knew that my heart wouldn’t be ready for what I am to experience
there until I came to THIS nation with THESE people for THIS season. And I
often laugh at myself for thinking I know better than my creator, for even
fathoming the idea that I could figure this all out on my own. In only three
weeks, my mindset of God has taken a complete shift that will be absolutely
necessary for whatever will happen when I return home next month.
Please continue to pray for the
people of San Pedro, San Pablo, Tzununa, and the surrounding villages of Lake
Atitlan. There is a darkness that has settled here through time, with false
idols and demonic practices on every corner. My team has experienced this
darkness in a very real way since arriving here, but we have also seen the
power of prayer protect a man’s home and job from a destructive mudslide.
Please feel free to email me with any questions you have
about my team and what we are doing at savannahbuttram@icloud.com!
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