MISSIONARY MINUTE
When I was 13 years old my dad let my younger sister, Ana, and I know we would not be spending our entire summer in Guatemala with our grand-parents and cousins like we had in years past. He let us know we were traveling with him to Lake Atitlan and would help him translate for the teams Impacto was hosting that year. I remember Ana and I cried and told our mom that’s not what we wanted to do. We lived in the US at that time and a few weeks out of the summer was our only time to see our family for the year.
I remember riding to the lake that first time, the view was gorgeous, but I was not happy. I did not want to be there. We spent a total of 4 weeks at the lake that summer, working closely with the locals, translating for the teams, and making lots of new friends. When those 4 weeks came to an end and Ana and I had to get on the bus one last time we cried. We didn’t want to leave the beautiful people we had met and that gorgeous place that stole our hearts. After that summer Ana and I went back every single summer for almost the entirety of our vacation to volunteer with Impacto Ministry.
Years later when I got to college my heart rebelled against God and my parents. I still spent a great amount of time each summer at the Lake. Ana would tell me how she wanted to marry a pastor and work in ministry, which she did. I would tell her I would bring my family to Guatemala as often as I could but I did not want to be a part of any ministry. Well, as you can tell God has a sense of humor. After going through some difficult times in college my parents brought me home. I remember those first few days being home I couldn’t stop crying. I’m not sure if I was mad, sad, regretful or a little bit of everything. Yet, what I remember the most is the love, patience, mercy, and wide-open arms that my parents received me with. I didn’t deserve it but they held on to me and walked me through an extremely difficult time.
A few months after this is when Tony, whom I had known for a few years but never really took the time to get to know, and I became friends. From there our relationship blossomed, to everyone’s surprise, including us, again, God has a sense of humor. Tony always knew he had been called to ministry and I had been ignoring this call for many years. Tony helped me accept that and helped me when I felt unworthy of being in the ministry full time. After we were married we came on full time with Impacto Ministry. I am so thankful to God for the family He has given me, Tony, our 3 kids, my parents, my sister, her husband and their kids, and of course my Impacto Family. They all inspire me to be a better version of myself and to always fix my eyes on Jesus. There have been hard days and hard seasons, however when I look back I see God with me every step of the way. I praise God for Impacto and though I never thought I would be here full time, I am so grateful He brought me back to work for Him full time.
