Getting there.

Friends and family,


I have decided to start my blog for my trip to Guatemala coming up in June! As our trip leader, I will be responsible for keeping our team up to date on blogging. I should warn you now... this is my very first blog EVER. So, bare with me. In this blog, I hope to share with you my heart. I will do my best to share with you all of my adventures serving in Guatemala this summer. This is certainly a once in a lifetime experience for me and I want you all to be a part of it too. 


For the month of June, I will be serving as an intern in Guatemala with Buckner International, an organization that sponsors and assists family and orphan ministries around the world. We will be spending most of our time in Guatemala City serving in different orphanages and Community Transformation Centers. While in Guatemala, I will be teaching Vacation Bible School to orphans, working in the orphanages, serving in the Community Transformation Centers, and leading the mission teams that come down to serve with Buckner. While I have been preparing for this trip since January, our director has shared the greatest piece of advice with us through all of this. She says, ultimately, it does not matter how much planning we do in regards to VBS.. what matters is that we will be there to love on these orphans and show them Christ's love for all of us. 


This whole trip has been a whirlwind of a process for me, never expecting it to really happen. I know that without my supportive parents, especially my Dad for putting up with my countless phone calls from Birmingham, I would not have this opportunity. This year, I have made so many realizations about myself and my passions. Being my sophomore year of college, it is about that time. I have learned that I have two HUGE passions in my life... Serving Internationally and the youth of today. I have always loved traveling and serving internationally but it wasn't until I traveled to Ciudad de Angeles in Cozumel, Mexico that I found a place that trumps all. My relationships with the Angels are what calls me back for more every year. There is never a day that goes by that I do not think or pray about my Angels. I have always loved working with kids too. Whether it be working with younger kids as a YMCA camp counselor every summer or impacting the lives of teenagers at WyldLife each week. You may be thinking, why is she sharing all of this? Well, to share with you a little bit about my heart and why this trip means so much to me already. My upcoming trip to Guatemala is a dream of mine because I am bringing my two passions together and living it out for an entire month. God really does answer our prayers.


With a trip like this, comes many obstacles. But, I know these will be overcome in time. In order to serve in Guatemala for the month of June, I am still in need of $1750 for the internship. This is all of the financial requirements I have left for the trip. The $1750 includes my lodging, transportation while in Guatemala, and food. Already, my prayers have been answered piece by piece through airfare and being given scholarship money as the Trip Leader. I ask that you keep this requirement in your prayers as I am getting ready for this internship. Most importantly for this opportunity, I ask that I have you as my prayer team. However, if you feel that the best way for you to support this trip is financially, then please let me know or you can enclose a check to the address below with Olivia Artusa, Session 1: Guatemala, Project Go. 

Buckner Missions 

5200 S. Buckner Blvd. 

Dallas, TX 75227-2099

I am also collecting a large amount of humanitarian aide before I go down. Things like markers, beach balls, big bags of candy, jump ropes, basically anything that a child can play with or use... we are collecting. So, if you have any of those things just taking up space in your home, feel free to contact me and send them my way! 


Again, I cannot stress to you how important and powerful prayer is to me and this trip. I know that God has had his hand on me the past few months in preparing and getting me to this point, blessing me with this opportunity to serve. It means the world to me to have a powerful group behind me in prayer. If you do not know a lot about Guatemala, it can be a very dangerous place and I would be lying if I said I was not scared. But, I know, in faith, that I have been chosen to go for a reason and that gives me peace. I want to say thank you to you all for supporting me and investing yourselves in me. Without all of your support through prayer and friendship the last few months, I would not be going. I can't wait to keep you posted on all of my adventures in Guatemala!