Brad's Story

When I first signed up to go to Guatemala in 2013 I had no idea the life changing impact it was going to have on me. It was my first ever mission trip and I figured I would go down there for a week, make a little bit of a difference and come home. I did not expect to have my world completely rocked, but that is exactly what happened. Let me back up a little, the whole church thing was relatively new to me. Being baptized on 10/10/10 was really my first step in following Jesus. I always believed but being completely broken I did not believe God could use me, even more I sometimes felt that God abandoned me. My first trip to Guatemala completely changed my life; I fell in love with the people, culture, and mission of Hope for Guatemala. Going into a foreign land that you don’t speak the same language can be a bit scary but I went with an open mind and just wanted to show these kids love and hope. I did not expect them to also show me the same. I quickly became “Oso” which is Spanish for bear and could always be found with 1, 2, and sometimes 3 kids piled onto me. But the most important thing I saw was God!!!! To actually feel his presence and see his work today live and in color was truly a blessing. Here's an example of that: Our team started tiling the floor in the new City of Hope, and had been able to complete one room (a room that wasn’t even supposed to be the room that we worked on). One day a group of us went out, cutting down and picking some fruit. One of the security guards went and told the owner of the property that we were “stealing” the fruit. One of the owners of the property called the ministry's leader, Jose, and scheduled a meeting to discuss this. We felt guilty that we had did something wrong and Jose was going to have to pay and even possibly lose the City of Hope. Long story short Jose went and met with the woman and was able to show her what the City of Hope is doing and that room that we had “accidently” completed, that was this woman’s room when she was a little girl. Her heart was softened and Jose was able to tell her it was the security guard that steals from the property and in turn Jose was given more access to the property and was able to replace that security guard. The only way this could have happened was God working, and to see that was truly amazing. I left Guatemala after that trip feeling closer to God then I have ever felt. I came back home with a new sense of wanting to serve others better from the 5th grade boys that I lead on Sunday mornings, to my coworkers, and especially my family. I also knew that this was a place that I would always be attached to and felt called to return which I did the following year. I am now about to lead my first trip going with the medical team here in a couple of days and cannot wait to see how God amazes me this time. I definitely feel called to Guatemala and I think during this extended stay there God will show me exactly what capacity I am called to. It is also going to be an incredible time to actually serve with my wife. I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers! Brad