Hola from Mark and Julie Nash! We are full time missionaries serving at Hope of Life International in Guatemala. Three years ago, we moved to Guatemala in September and we cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. We’ve been asked the question, “How in the world did you guys end up in Guatemala?”, many times. Well, here is our story… the condensed version.
In 2010, I came to Hope of Life with a group of women from our church. It would be my first mission trip of any kind. It was so overwhelming—the things I saw, the things I heard and the people I met. My heart was changed forever. The following year I brought Mark with me. After the trip, he told me he was more relaxed than on any vacation we had ever taken!
We went to the dump, which is also a large feeding center, and we could not get over how excited the children were when the garbage truck pulled in. They started squealing and chasing the truck, most of them in bare feet. It reminded us of our own children on Christmas morning when they’d come running down the steps and would see their gifts—only this was garbage and it was hot, smelly and dangerous. Our hearts were broken. I had no idea that on that trip, we would be moving here in 2014. God has a way of using the details of our lives to prepare us for future journeys. We had become very comfortable in our lifestyle and we really felt God was asking us to be willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of the Gospel. Mark worked for Georgia Pacific and I worked at the LCA Early Learning Center. We know that God used all of the details of our past to prepare us for this journey.
I am now the preschool director at the Village of Transformation at Hope of Life and also help in the HOL/Causelife Village. Mark works on many projects at the ministry, helping to maintain and improve the facilities. We are living out the Gospel by sharing the love of Jesus and transforming the lives of the people of Guatemala. Things aren’t perfect here. Things aren’t perfect anywhere. But we have perfect peace because this is where God called us to serve. Every person needs to experience a mission’s trip and Hope of Life is a great place to come and serve. Our lives have been changed forever and we are blessed to call this home.