Humbly and patiently, she introduced herself. She was from Xela and would be our translator. I had never used a translator before, so this would be a first. She seemed genuine and compassionate. Her name...Patty.
We weren’t expecting a translator, but God arranged our schedule in such a way that we arrived at the orphanage at the same time as a team from our home church. We adopted our Jett there. She quickly became our friend. Family, in fact.
Trip after trip to Guatemala, she has been by our side. Patty has walked with us through the dump, into rat infested homes, along winding paths in Sacjavilla, in the mountains of Solola, and through the sewage of life. She has stood by my side listening with compassion to stories of abuse, neglect, brokenness, and shattered lives. We have seen the enemy at work. We have journeyed today in watching God’s glory made known. There have been many tears shed, hugs given, and lives changed.
It has been good. Very good. And we are sisters in Christ. Family forever.
She has always been the translator, as if that title defines her. It does not. She is more. She is a woman of God.
The church asked for two women from our group to give their testimonies at a women’s conference. Wow, I could use so and so, or I bet that lady will do it...those were my first thoughts. Then, God spoke sweetly to my soul. Ask Nellie...and Patty. Lord, I don’t think Patty wants to do this. Don’t make her. Yes, Lord, I will.
I called to her and she came to sit on the end of my bed. I had her name written on a sheet of paper. I slid it to her and said that God gave me these names. I was hoping she would just agree without seeing her name written there....she got wide-eyed and asked me to verify. I did. She quietly said yes. I could see the hesitation, and I worried.
Then, I sat in the room and heard her begin. Trembling and nervous, she began relating her journey. Her mom was 16 when she had her....no place to go...no where to belong. Tears streamed down her face like a waterfall, and I found myself thinking of the day I walked into the orphanage to see my son’s face for the first time....WANTED, PURSUED, LOVED....Patty is all those things though she never thought it.
Stuck between two worlds...American and Guatemalan...never fully fitting in with either one. Always desiring to belong but not finding a place. Then, God brought her to translating where the two worlds are NECESSARY for her to interpret well. It was all God’s plan...all along, it was His design.
As I wept for my friend and sister, I heard God’s goodness and graciousness in her life. He had woven her story in such a way that only He could get the praise. Today, I sit in awe knowing that Patty Ajanel is a gift from God to the world. And I just get to unwrap it every now and then.
