A Repost of Sorts

Reflections from the Mission Field: Guatemala 2005

There are those special people in your life whose friendship endures throughout the years, even though the calls grow few and the letters less numerous. With these people you can pick up with right where you left off, as if no time had passed, and you wonder why you lost contact with them in the first place. While in Guatemala, I became reacquainted with such a friend. His name is Jesus.
At one point or another in our life we met Jesus for the first time. We were awed by the mercy and love he showed us. We wanted to give our lives totally to him and his cause and tell the entire world about what he has done for us. Yet, as the years pass we lose our desire to share the “good news” because we’ve forgotten exactly what the “good news” is that we wanted to share. Our relationship with our Savior gets replaced by our doctrines, rituals, traditions, and cultural beliefs. Sometimes the very things we do in his name, our service and projects, become the face of Christ instead of Christ himself. We serve but we forget exactly who it is for which we are serving. In my many years of living for my Savior, my image of him had dimmed to a poor reflection like that in a cloudy mirror. Little did I know that three weeks in Guatemala would be spent not only being reacquainted with my dear brothers and sisters in Christ there, but with my Savior as well.
Once in Honduras on a mission trip, as part of our nightly devotional we were asked to share where we saw Jesus that day. I saw Jesus at work everyday in Guatemala as he reminded me of what a wonderful Savior he is to me:

I saw Jesus touched with compassion when two men led their lame friend in to be seen by Jesus and how He lovingly told him to get up and walk. (Luke 5:18,20,24)

I saw Him reach out to the man who was drowning in his alcoholism and submerse him in something to drink that would never leave him thirsty. (John 4:14)



Even though we could do nothing but pray for her, I saw Jesus gently take the disfigured hand of an elderly Quiche woman broken from the hardships of life. I saw him heal her hand, replace sight to her cataract-blinded eyes, and give strength to her weary body. (Luke 13:12)

I saw Jesus gently explain to the lady with terminal liver cancer that though her life here on earth was about to end, that He had a much better one prepared for her in the life to come. (John 14:1-2)



I saw Jesus take up the burdens of those heavy laden with the struggles of life and walk beside them on the way. (Matthew 11:28-30)

I saw Jesus sitting on a mountain top looking at all the wonderful things His Father had made on this Earth and preaching the good news to all who would listen. (Matthew 5:1-2)

I saw Jesus walk to the forgotten corners of the world, to the villages of Quiché, and I saw him have compassion on those “precious and pure” people, sheep who were looking for their Shepherd. (Mark 6:34)

I may have had to say goodbye to some dearly-missed friends in Guatemala, but I came home with my best friend, Jesus.