Guatemalan Revelation

Breathing in the crisp air, I stared out into the mountains surrounding me. Wind whipped through my hair as I stood confidently in a small, wobbly tree, clutching its branches to keep me from plummeting downwards hundreds of feet. I was at the top of a mountain in Guatemala, leaning out of a tree protruding away from the face of the rock, staring out towards the mountains in the distance and wondering what was out there for me. My mission team was resting in the plain, one-room church behind me, eating a simple dinner of ramen and tortillas, but I was too in love with the land and the people to be trapped inside. The land of Guatemala revealed to me my desire to live a life of service, adventure, and protection.

My team, a group of twelve high school students and two adults from the Dallas area, had spent the morning hiking up a rocky, treacherous mountain trail until we reached a tiny Guatemalan village at the top. The poor, rural conditions we encountered shocked and humbled us. With no source of clean water in the village, many inhabitants were sickly and disease-ridden. Gnats swarmed around the eyes and open cuts of children who had long ago learned the uselessness of swatting at the ever present pests and now let their arms hang idly at their sides. What shocked us most, however,was the joy of the people. It hurt to observe their joy despite their horrifying living conditions, recognizing the fact that I have so much more than them and am selfish and ungrateful in comparison. We spent the day painting the village's concrete church as children, and even some adults, peered at us from behind trees and through windows, giggling with glee whenever we looked their way. By evening, having shared a day of experiences, we were able to open up to the people of the village by telling our life stories, hearing theirs and worshiping God as a family. It was during that evening that I realized that protecting others and fighting injustice was what I planned to do for the rest of my life.

 Deepak Chopra stated that, "Passivity is the same as defending injustice." The reason I go on mission trips, the reason I desire to study investigative journalism, the reason I desire to live at all, is to make a difference in the life of others by fighting against injustice and bringing about change. By living any other way, I would be allowing injustice to fester and grow. I have experienced firsthand the painful existence of those in countries less fortunate than our own, and my desire is to play a part in protecting the United States from ever becoming like those countries, and to find a way to help those countries become whole again. I desire to study investigative journalism to begin preparation for a life dedicated to service, justice and change.