A lot of things came together to make this trip possible. Looking back on the past few months, I can see God's hand clearly guiding me to this point and I wanted to share His guidance and goodness in my life with you.
Many people have been asking me about my Spanish speaking ability. I am by no means fluent but I speak at an intermediate level. I took three years of Spanish classes in high school and tested out of my language requirement at the University of Michigan by showing a fourth year proficiency on my placement exam. This is no small thing.
When I came to summer orientation at the University of Michigan to schedule classes, I fully expected to be taking Spanish classes to fill my language requirement. UofM requires that all students in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts must be able to show a fourth year profiency in a second language by testing out of the placement exam given at orientation or through passing the fourth level class. I had only taken three years of Spanish while I had friends who had taken five years of Spanish classes before college and they only placed out of the first level of Spanish. Yet somehow my results from the placement exam came back saying that I would have passed the fourth level class of Spanish and therefore had fulfilled my language requirement. I then had to find a different class to put into my schedule to replace the credits I would have received for Spanish. I heard about a class called The Art of Film and thought it sounded interesting- I would get to watch and study movies- so I put it in my schedule. There was one spot left in the class when I had the opportunity to register and somehow I got it. Looking back now, I realize how remarkable it was that I was able to get into that film class as one of the last registering first year students since it's one the most popular classes that the University offers.
I didn't think that studying film was something that I would ever pursue, I had planned on being a pre-law student coming into college. However, as the semester began I realized that I had a passion for film production and as I began to seriously consider pursuing a career in film and television production, I realized that I have had a passion for capturing life through the lens for a long time. I always have my camera with me to document my experiences and have been making short movies with friends since I was in second grade. Since coming to UofM, I had become involved with Michigan's television station WOLV-TV and a student film making group M-agination films as well. I didn't realize that this passion for film could actually be a part of God's calling for me until I took my Art of Film class.
During an Anthropology lecture one day this past December, we were watching a documentary about a few Guatemalan children trying to find a better life in America. Seeing these children's faces brought back memories from my experience in Guatemala of Summer 2010 with Immanuel's vision trip team. Guatemala was on my heart and mind so I decided to contact Joel VanDyke about any possible opportunities to return to Guatemala this summer. The last time I had been there with the vision trip team, I had taken hundreds of photos and videos and he had mentioned the idea of me coming back one day to Guatemala for a longer period of time to take more pictures. As we began to plan out the possibility of me spending the summer in Guatemala as an intern with EdT, the idea of me working behind a camera resurfaced and everything started to come full circle for me. I had just discovered my passion for film production when plans started to form for returning to Guatemala to work on photography and video projects. My Spanish proficiency and testing out of my language requirement prompted me to take the film class that made me realize that film production could be a part of God's calling for me. It is by no random chance that all of this has come together.
God has been so good to me. I am so blessed to be part of such a generous and supportive community. I am so thankful the prayers on behalf and the encouragement and financial support I have received. I have been overwhelmed by the support and by God providing much more for this journey than I dared to initially dream. I know He has great things in store and that His goodness and love know no boundaries.
I want to share this quote with you that a friend of mine posted on facebook recently
"Pray for the impossible, not what seems reasonable."
Please pray for the impossible with me on this journey and remember that our God is a God who knows no boundaries.
In Christ,
Lexie
