Aug 9, 2018 I Didn’t Plan This, God Did!

When I arrived in Guatemala, I was very excited. The first morning was amazing! I got to meet almost all the hotel staff and try to talk to them in my broken Spanish. It was so fun! And the more I saw of the country the more I liked it.

During the day, we started on a construction project. Daniel, another team member, and I were put to work up on some scaffolding, using a grinder to grind the rust off of metal bars that had been installed. We soon developed a rhythm and it wasn’t long before we noticed some onlookers in the street, so we waved and continued to work.

In the evenings, I went to work with the kids, helping lead out during the children’s program. I have rarely interacted with kids, so this was quite the new experience for me. I discovered that little kids love to run up and hug you.

It became a nightly ritual when I would walk through the door that 50 or 60 children would rush to hug me. Even during the day, when I was working outside, kids would see me and want hugs!

Some nights of the evangelism meetings, it was pouring rain. I thought for sure that the rain would cause a drop in attendance but it didn’t. Buses would drop people off at the meetings, but people were also walking there in the rain!

Back at our construction project, even though I was enjoying working on the outside of the church, God had other plans for me. One day, when we got to the church to work, our team leader and one of our drivers asked me to look at a computer that belonged to the principal of the Adventist school.

They had discovered that, at home, I work as a network engineer and have knowledge of computers. To their delight, I was able to fix the principal’s computer within a few minutes because it was a problem I have seen many times.

Then they asked me if I could look at some other computers they had that were not working correctly. Soon, I was able to repair seven computers at the school and get them in proper working order.

After that, we discovered that they had a big problem with their internet in the school. It took me two days and a lot of planning and shopping for the right equipment, but eventually I was able to set up a network for them to access the internet on all the computers.

It made me feel really good to use my skills for people who desperately needed it. There are a lot of people in the USA who can do what I did, but in Guatemala, I was the only one available to them.

Being flexible is huge! Even though I did not get the break from my networking job that I thought I was going to get, I was amazed and excited that God gave me the opportunity to use my abilities to help the children and church in Guatemala.

If you go into your mission with a good attitude and a flexible mindset, it can completely change your experience. And doing missions in Guatemala was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had!

Jon Bessler
Guatemala Team Member