There is always something that fuels your fire and shows you the path in life that you are supposed to take. I love to think back on what bloomed my love for travel, and it always amazes me how things played out in order for me to have the passion to travel, serve, and create. This is a blog post about my story so far. It may be long, but I want to give you some insight into my noble path😉.
In 2005, I was 5 years old, and my parents decided to adopt a little boy from Guatemala. As a five year old, the thought of gaining a little brother from Guatemala was exciting and scary, but I had no idea that this baby boy would change my life forever. As years went on, my parents would take us to Guatemala frequently because it was important to us to keep the Guatemalan culture a part of his life.
There was a single trip in my mind that really changed my views on the world. When I was around 12, my family was invited to a quinceanera (15th birthday party for girls in Latin America) in Guatemala. They treat quenceneras like weddings. So, we went for a week and lived with a local Guatemalan family. We slept in a three bedroom house with approximately 20 people, had no hot water, our dinner was the chicken tied to the tree, and were about the only foreigners in sight in this rural Guatemalan town. At the time, I didn’t like this trip. I didn’t look at it as an opportunity or have any sense of how fortunate my life had been. I was just ready to go home and probably complained way too much. After this trip, I was kind of turned off by international travel. I didn’t care to go back to Guatemala for a while and was content with staying in the United States.
About three years later at the age of 15, my mom wanted me to join a mission trip she had been going on for a few years. After some initial hesitancy and thought, I said I would go. We traveled to Lake Atitlan, a lake surrounded by 12 indigenous pueblos. Since we stayed in a hotel, this trip was a bit more comfortable, but I still learned a lot on my first mission trip. We visited several local families in their homes to provide them with ONIL stoves, water filters, food baskets, basic necessities, etc. During our visits, we got to listen to the struggles of each family and how the majority of indigenous Guatemalans live. Being able to hear and see poverty first hand was completely eye opening. I was at a more mature age this time around and really began to think about how fortunate I am to live in the United States. When I got home, I started to get very intrigued with and curious about other cultures. I wanted to go see and learn more, but I also wanted to help. Giving has always been a value of mine, and the feeling I get from serving others is like no other feeling I ever get. It’s when my heart is most full. I also began to think about that trip when I was 12. After I thought about it, I realized I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to live with a Guatemalan family for a week. It taught me so much and is something I would choose to do again in a heartbeat.
As you can tell, following my passion is extremely important to me. I encourage anyone to really think hard about their core values and true passions. Are you pursuing your passion? Does it align with your core values? So, what have I done since I realized how much I loved to travel and serve? Since I was 15, I have been back to Guatemala every year to serve the indigenous Guatemalans. In 2017, my mom and I started our own organization Atitlan Ángels. Atitlan Ángels is an organization that raises money to build homes, put in ONIL stoves, water filters, and provide basic necessities to the poor in Guatemala. We take a group of 15-20 people every year to provide these and other donations to families in need. It has also been a dream of mine to serve in Africa, and my mom and I were able to travel to Uganda in July of 2021. I have so many more plans to travel for fun and to serve. and I can’t wait to share all my experiences on A Noble Path!!😀
