Vanessa in Guate

Hello everyone! I hope you have all been having a great week. It's almost Friday, hang in there! :) I'm just super excited to let you guys know that I visited my old school. I visited Project Hope, which is now called Skyview, and I was able to let them know that they have helped me acheive some of my goals. I told them that once I started going to church my dreams really took off, but I am so grateful for their service. I was a student at Project Hope from 2003-2006. Of course, 10 years later not all of the same teachers are working there, but I was able to reunite with a teacher and another staff member. They were so excited that I went to visit them and let them know that I have graduated college, I'm moving to Guatemala, then going to get my Master's in Social Work. I am so so thankful for their work and the difference they made in my life! Please consider helping me make a difference in the lives of the girls in Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala by making a 

     My little brother messaged me in a panic, asking why I was going to a third world country. He told me I was crazy, then asked me “why two years!?”      My response to questioning the duration is that I believe I should be present in the community that I will be serving. I want to be fully present in the community during my time with Mission Impact, and I want to be there long enough to get to know the people as well as their needs. I think that living with them, creating relationships with them, and seeking to accomplish a goal together will do good and hopefully create room for progress. These are my intentions, and I am fully aware that the Santa Maria de Jesus natives have made progress; they're amazing :) There are now easily accessible roads going into the village that make some technology possible when it wasn't even on their radar while my pastor was there 20 years ago.      I have been poured into by people all throughout my life, and now it is my turn