Traveling with eighteen college students through ten days in Tactic, Guatemala, was one of those experiences that stays with you long after you return home. From the start, we were pulled into a culture that was both beautiful and unfamiliar. There was something deeply meaningful about the way people lived: similar and different in many ways. People welcomed us so openly, even when they had so little, and that kind of generosity humbles you in ways you do not expect.
So many of our best moments happened during shared meals, unplanned conversations, playing games, or times of prayer; language differences represented a challenge but not a barrier to fellowship or communion. Those moments felt honest and unfiltered. As we spent more time there, we began to see both the strength of the people and the depth of need around us.
Burdened by the brokenness we were sustained by the quiet hope that pointed us back to why we came. We witnessed a deep level of religious dedication and disciplinewoven into everyday life, but alongside it, we could see a longing for something more: a need for the freeing, personal love of Christ that goes beyond rituals and into true relationship.
Being able to serve the community alongside Another Child Foundation and Impact Ministries gave everything more meaning. During the three days of children’s ministry, the joy and energy of the children filled us up in ways we did not expect. Delivering food baskets brought us face to face with both need and incredible gratitude.
Even something as simple as painting an outside wall at the children’s home became meaningful; it felt like we were leaving behind a small piece of care and connection. But more than anything, this trip was not about what we accomplished, it was about how God was at work in us.
You could see it happening in real time as students wrestled with what they were seeing, as their perspectives shifted, and as their faith became more personal, more real. There was a clear sense that God was softening hearts, opening eyes, and inviting each of us into deeper trust and obedience.
Looking back, I keep coming back to Isaiah 6:8: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” That was the heartbeat of this trip. None of us had everything figured out. We were stretched physically and emotionally, often outside of what felt comfortable or familiar. But we were willing.
And in that willingness, God moved, both through us and within us. We came to serve and learn and returned more aware of His work in the world, and more ready to say “yes” wherever He calls next.
Lee University Mission Team
