Wonder.

It takes a lot to surprise me.

A lot.

I am not easily shocked.

I have come to realize that this can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing.

I have come to realize that often poverty doesn't shock me.

At first I thought that it was because I had become accustomed to it over the years so it no longer shocked me, but I now realize that it never really shocked me.

I was exposed to poverty from a young age so it was never a new, surprising, or shocking thing for me.

The poverty in Guatemala rarely shocks me.

That is not good.

It really isn't.

God is so faithful though-I am realizing more and more that God knows exactly what I need.

That is why I am working with teams.

Every day I am working with people who are shocked by poverty.

Some of the people on these teams are seeing poverty for the first time in their lives.

The VERY first time.

They are shocked by what they are seeing.

They ask incredible questions.

They think of things I have never thought of.

They see things that I have looked at before but never actually SEEN.

Have you found that in your own life before? That you have looked at something every day, but never actually LOOKED at it.

You've never actually soaked it in.

Appreciated it.

Taken it in.

You've become immune to seeing it.

In some ways, I have become immune to poverty.

I do NOT want to be immune to poverty.

I want my heart to break for what breaks God's heart.

I want to ache when he aches.

I want to cry when he cries.

God: break me.

Please.

I do not want to lose wonder.

I want to be seeing things with fresh eyes every day.

Let me not lose wonder Lord Jesus.

I just want to share a "quick" update (but if you know me, nothing is ever quick with Michelle)...

Some of the details might not be exactly accurate (ie: the dates, etc.), but that's because everything sort of blurs at this point.

This team arrived Thursday night, we spent Friday morning in the capital city, and then drove to Tactic Friday afternoon.

Saturday was the first work day with this team and we continued our work at Chijacorral. It's really neat to see the progress there. There is still a lot of work to be done, but a great deal has been accomplished.

Saturday afternoon we went to the hospital to pray for the children and new mothers there. I have done hospital visits there quite a few times, but I was really affected this time.

We were praying for a little girl-she wasn't even a year old-and she was severely malnourished.

SEVERELY malnourished.

You could pull the skin away from her bones.

We were in the middle of praying for her and I just couldn't take it anymore-I had to leave.

It hurt too much.

She wasn't hooked up to an IV.

She wasn't getting the hydration she needed.

And she needed hydration NOW.

My heart ached.

I got a glimpse of what the Father feels for his children.

Sunday morning I got the morning off (ahh-blessed rest), and then we went to church in the afternoon.

Church is always enjoyable and I feel so blessed to be able to worship with the brothers and sisters here. Man- we are going to have an amazing party up in heaven one day!

Seriously. It will be incredible.

On Monday we worked at the work site again and then did this team's first day of children's ministry at a Nazarene church in a small community called Pas Molon. We did 4 days of children's ministry there and I was absolutely blessed by the people who came out.

SUCH a blessing.

Beautiful, beautiful children.

I will share some photos later.

We have worked 2 more days since then and finished our last day of children's ministry (with this team) today.

Tonight I had the pleasure of going to a prayer and worship evening at the Impact church in Tactic. We spent an hour praising the Lord through song and prayer-it was a blessing.

That's a bit of a rough overview of everything, but I just wanted to update you while I had a bit of time.

I also wanted to share some prayer requests with you.

Please pray:

-For the team that is here right now. They are working really hard and a number of them have been ill in some form. Please pray that they can stay healthy so they can fully experience what God has for them here.

-For the people who came to children's ministry this past week-that the seeds that were planted would bear much fruit.

-For me to have energy and love for everyone I interact with. I know that I need to grow in patience and grace for everyone I interact with.

-For safety as we travel to Antigua this Saturday.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support.

You are all such an encouragement to me.

Blessings on all of you.

Much love,

Michelle

xoxo