Let me introduce you to one of our van drivers. Her name is Betty. She was our van driver that transported our small team from Guatemala City to Monjas the second week of our two week trip. After picking us up from our hostel near the airport in the city, we started the slow journey out of town due to the heavy traffic, as is the norm in Guatemala City. Not long after our travels began, Betty had to stop for traffic and we noticed she was talking to a gentleman outside of the van by her window. Upon further observation, we noticed that her new friend was a double amputee that was sitting by the roadside begging for anything given to him. I also noticed that Betty had her cell phone out and she was entering his number from his phone for some reason. That seemed a little odd to me until we heard more of the story as we started to drive off into the mainstream of traffic. Betty explained that she was a local Guatemalan missionary and she taught in a school that specifically worked with children that were infected with HIV from their mothers. She went on to say that she bought this van (or was still making payments) and she transported people like us as a way to raise funds to support herself and her ministry. She said in a few weeks she was driving for a team that was coming from Wisconsin. She said they had contacted her and said they were bringing a wheel chair with them that had hand cranks on it to be used by someone without the use of their legs. They didn’t have anyone specific in mind of course, but they were relying on Betty to find a worthy recipient for such a great gift. Betty was faithful and found the recipient by the roadside!
Little did that man know that he might receive a gift of such grandeur that his life would change forever in that he might be mobile again. He was just hoping for a few coins and not a whole new way of life. Since we have no way of communicating with Betty to see how the story ended, one can only speculate that the best has happened. Picture with me now that this gentleman has mobility and his life has changed in ways that he could not have imagined or dreamed. Isn’t that just the way God works? Thus this is just one short story from our trip, but this capsulizes a wonderful two weeks in Guatemala. We are thankful for His grace and provisions and we are thankful that we could serve His people in this wonderful country.