The Beginning of the Journey

My husband and I have tossed around the idea living abroad for many years. We've talked about Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and our favorite place to talk about, retirement in Belize. However recently our hearts began tugging us towards Guatemala.

Antigua, Guatemala....the land of eternal spring.

The decision to move to Guatemala was born out of a desire to simplify our lives, immerse ourselves in a culture that did not speak English, and thanks to a recent mission trip to Antigua, a longing to help a community deep in poverty.

Our dream of living abroad transitioned from a mere fantasy to a firm decision nearly overnight, but implementing that decision would take a bit longer.

One thing we knew for sure though, is that merely talking about such a grand adventure would never get us there. If we were serious, it was time to come up with a game plan.

Over the course of a week, we mapped a working game plan which included everything from learning Spanish to brainstorming ways to finance an expat life. We included ways to simplify our current lifestyle here in America by limiting some of our current options, since certain goods and luxuries would not be available in Guatemala (at least not without spending a great deal of money). 

Since part of our passion to move to Guatemala included serving the poverty stricken families, we decided to begin serving the poor in our current community in America, and we knew there was no good reason to wait until we move to Guatemala to help the less fortunate. (It's always easy to write a check for charity, but we wanted to work directly with the people...see the faces and get to know them on a personal level). 

The game plan is a work in progress, and I know it will evolve over time. Our hope is to move to Guatemala within two years. In the meantime, we will do what we can to prepare, research and learn everything we can about the culture and language, and spend much time in prayer to God. 

Galatians 2:10 “Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”