We are so blessed - Guatemala trip

Last week we were blessed to be able to leave the kids at home and travel to Guatemala. We had the intention of blessing others with medical and dental care, but I think we were the ones ultimately blessed. I have listened to people return from mission trips and say how blessed we are here in America. I now understand what they mean. It is hard to describe the poverty that we saw in Guatemala. Yet despite their lack of wealth, the people (especially the children) seemed so happy.
We had planned a VBS for 70 kids (which we thought was overplanning) and we had 225 kids come. Needless to say, we had to improvise. Each kid was given only one crayon and some type of paper to color as there was not enough of anything for each child, yet they were excited to have their one crayon and paper.

The children there didn't complain about not having the color they wanted or the same thing as another kid; they were just happy to have something. It's hard not to keep saying to Ketchup and Benjamin when they start to whine or complain about something since we've been back, "You know the kids in Guatemala had nothing and they didn't complain."
I also experienced the joy of serving. Selfishly, I didn't want to spend our money (we also had a lot of generous friends and family give their money to help us pay for the trip - thank you!) to go and work in a clinic and sleep in a bunk bed all week. I would've rather used the money for new furniture or a "real" vacation to Disneyland. But it was more fulfilling and enjoyable than I can describe to you to allow God to use Ozzie and I.

It really was the best vacation I have ever experienced. I totally understand now how God has created us to serve others and when we do that, He blesses us with true joy that is indescribable. When I take my focus off myself, I am able to be truly happy.

Now the transition back to the overindulgent North Dallas area begins. It is hard to go from what we experienced in Guatemala to looking for a new house and making plans for that. Selfishly I want to make plans for new furniture and decorating rooms, but I remember the dirt floors, sheet metal walls, and homes with no furniture at all.

As we go back and forth this week on negotiations for the home we want to buy, it all seems so small. I have seen that joy is not in what we think we have or own, but it is in serving and giving to others.