Home is Where Your Heart Is… (guest post)

Kylie McCracken is from Land o’Lakes, Florida, where she serves as Student Ministry Director at The North Pointe Church. We were honored to have her on our GuateTeam – her quiet spirit and tender smile were like good medicine as the days grew long. You can read more of her thoughts at LiveLoveServe. 

I’ve been on many mission trips before, even international. And I’ve done quite a bit of travelling. I’ve spent time meeting new people, seeing different cultures and seeing God at work in different parts of the country and the world. I think all of that is why I haven’t yet figured out why my week in Guatemala has had such an impact on me.

Family.

Our journey to Guatemala was made complete by the team of beautiful people who joined us. Jean Clark is a pediatric nurse in Florida, and this is our second time to serve together in Guatemala. We’re thankful to share her words today as our guest blogger.

Jean with one of the sweet orphans at Cerecaif outside Xela, Guatemala.

Life is fragile.

iPhone.

It’s 5:30 in the morning. The seemingly ever-present Guatemalan traffic is napping now, which was a blessing as we took our team to the airport to catch their flights home.  Courtney and I now sit in silence, caught in that strange place between longing-to-stay and longing-to-be-home.

This country feels so familiar – if I was a brave girl, I believe I could even drive from one place to another and not get lost (bravery being the key word, since driving here requires a lot of skill and an ability to shape-shift to accommodate the traffic and crazy switchbacks, mudslides, ravines, and occasional body of water that may or may not be between you and your destination).  Yet every visit is full of brand-new. Every day is full of broken, poured out, and filled up. Every room is full of stories.

The language of the stories varies. Sometimes it’s a language of words and phrases. Sometimes it’s a language of song. It could be a language of touch, or tears, or laughter. But I have found one universal language that translates instantly to “let’s be friends.”

The language of iPhone.