I'm Abby and I’m an expat living in Guatemala for nearly a decade. My new home was decided by my marriage, but God had been calling me long before to go and expand my worldview. Although I had hoped that setting would have been Paris, I'm trying not to hold it too much against the Almighty. I've been living here for as long as I've been married, and my husband is a local to this country and city.​  

 

Living as an expat has blown up what I thought my marriage, motherhood, faith, and personal life would look like. I have often felt alone, confused and frustrated as I have tried to navigate different cultural and language barriers on a daily basis and reconcile them to my own preconceived ideas of what being a woman and mother is supposed to look like and do in today's world. But God has constantly showed me that I can do very hard things, things I never imagined I could (for one, learn a new language) and through His strength and perseverence I have found a sweetness to living a bi-cultural way of life with my husband and two children. Along the way I have grown to know my Lord to be my closest friend and confidant.

 

Before moving to Guatemala I was pretty certain of my life calling as a worship leader, and God continued to provide volunteer worship opportunities when I arrived. However, as time went on what I thought was my vocation in life began to blur and even disappear. I felt God calling me away from worship and instead into children's ministry, but what I had originally thought would be a temporary ministry quickly became a very much long-term ministry that I continue to be passionate about. The opportunity to jump fresh into this area of my church has given my life a lot of meaning and purpose, especially in a country where I cannot simply just work any job. I share here some of my insights and learnings from my 15 and counting years of experience, as I know many of you are involved in some sort of ministry, and I'm assuming that you may likely find yourself in kids and/or worship ministries as these are heavily female led. These can be thankless positions and I long to show you, one that I see you, and two, ways to ease the burden that ministry can sometimes place on us.

 

Once again though, in early 2024 I could sense God raising up in me a long time dream to share my story. The past decade has been one full of hardship, frustration, joy, gratitude, learning, and going from wanting to give it all up to going all in, and back again with this life we've made in Guatemala. He's graciously led me to the other side and I've settled into a life I could have never imagined. I've known what it's like to feel invisible, isolated, and unknown, but through the years I've come to realize that God has always seen me. Through the past decade I've come to know His profound love like I had never known before, and I long to show you truly how deep His love runs for you, too.​​