Hi everyone!

Thank you for your donations and prayers that got me to and from Guatemala safely. It was a life-changing trip that I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of.

Saturday- We arrived at the beautiful ministry center, and was immediately greeted by the host family: the Albs. Over dinner, the lead pastor/doctor (Dr. Herman Alb) shared how God spoke to him to make this ministry. Awhile later, we had our first devotional about Evangelism. He spoke about how love and patience was going to lead us into them trusting us. After that, the team play games, and was able to bond to really get to know each other.

Sunday- We drove to Antigua to go to church. Although it was spoken in Spanish, we had earbuds that could translate it. Afterwards, we were treated to a wonderful buffet right next to a volcano! 

The clinic days (Mon. through Thurs.)- Every morning of the clinic days, Dr. Herman Alb gave us a devotional before we drove to the villages. We began our clinic days in the village\'s church. We came with a medical team of doctors and a dentist. These were the jobs the team split up to do: Play with the kids, work in the pharmacy, be in a sharing station (the most important one), dental assistant, and a runner. We ended around 1:30 where the village provided delicious chicken, rice, tortillas, and vegetables.

On Monday and Thursday, I worked with the kids. We had brought chalk, coloring books, markers, bubbles. play-doh, soccer balls, bracelet, and balloons. They were so sweet and grateful for what we had provided. Despite not being able to communicate well with them, we could still get our message across. I remember a 10 year old boy who kept sking for supplies for his baby brother. I was suprised because even just at 10 years old he was thinking for people other than himself. 

On Tuesday, I was in a sharing station with my mom. Before, I was worried I wouldn\'t know the write things to say and pray about. But after the discussion with my team, I realized that I\'m not supposed to. God will provide me with the words to say and He will put the right patients to talk to at my station. We listendc to the patient about their spitirual life, what medical pain brought them there, and if they are not a believer already, then try to share the gospel with them. Most of the patients were already christian, and single women with husbands who left them after having a child or were still there but wanted them not to go to church. One pattern I realized was that they didn\'t ask us to pary much about themselves. They asked us to pray for their family, that they would know God, even though some of their family members treated them with lots of disrespect. I think thats amazing because even though their lives are hard enough, they choose to be selfless. There were many more devestating stories, which most of them started crying at the end. We would then pray for them, they would get their vitamins, and leave for the next patient. This was the only day I got to be in a sharig station but overall, it taught me so much. I learned that God is present in the worst of times. I learned that people have it much harder than me and to be grateful for the things I have. 

On Wednesday, I was a dental assistant. I want to be a dentist when I\'m older so it was cool to watch. I helped the dentist get, clean, and set up tools. I watched her do fillings and extractions because unfortunately there isn\'t enough time for everyone to have a full dental cleaning.

Friday- We woke up early to go hike a volcano. It was tiring as we kept hiking straight up, but the view of the volcanoes at the top made it worth it. Subsequently, we visited the amazing market where everything is pretty much handmade. We bought bracelets, bandanas, a cup, etc.

Saturday- We concluded the extraordinary trip and left to go back home to Georgia. Now that I am home, I hope to do things differently and apply what I have seen and heard during this trip.

Hi everyone, thanks to your generosity in prayers and donations, I have raised around 80% of my goal!  It\'s been so humbling and inspiring to see your generosity and I am so encouraged by your willingness to join me on this missions trip. There is a little under a month until I go on my trip and I am already amazed seeing God work.  Thank you once again for all your support and prayer so far.  I am thrilled to be able to provide the Word of Christ soon!

Wishing you the best,

Maddie.