2026: Growing, Learning, and Creating Opportunities

Sometimes I look at the different things God allows me to do and wonder how they all fit together.

Youth leadership. Education. Finding scholarships. Helping young people access resources. Developing programs and communication strategies. Learning new skills. Teaching. Training others. Interpreting. Even crocheting and embroidery.

At first glance, these things might seem completely unrelated. But the more I think about them, the more I see the same thread running through all of them: helping people discover what they can do, giving them tools and opportunities, and walking alongside them as they use those tools to build something meaningful.`That has been a big part of my 2026.

Walking alongside young leaders

This year, I have continued partnering with a nonprofit that works with young leaders who are committed to making a difference in their own communities. One of my main roles is walking alongside these young people as they develop their ideas and their leadership. Sometimes that means training. Sometimes it means helping them look for scholarships or educational opportunities. Sometimes it means searching for seed funding so they can begin a community project. Other times it means helping them think through how to communicate their ideas, develop a program, or find the resources they need to take the next step.

I love this kind of work because it is not about doing something for someone that they could eventually learn to do themselves. It is about walking alongside them until they have the knowledge, confidence, connections, and resources to do it. There is something incredibly rewarding about watching a young person go from, “I have an idea, but I don't know how to do this,” to, “I think I can actually make this happen.” And then watching them do it.

I am still learning, too

One thing I have learned over the years is that if I want to continue serving others well, I need to continue learning myself.

So this year I have also intentionally participated in different trainings, summits, conferences, and learning opportunities. Some have been directly related to my work with youth and communities, while others have introduced me to new tools, approaches, and ideas that I can bring into the work I do. I never want to stop being a learner.

There is always someone doing something differently, a new tool that can make our work more effective, a new perspective that can help us understand people better, or a new idea that can make a program stronger. Sometimes continuing to serve well means admitting that I still have a lot to learn, and I am grateful for that.

Learning to create with my hands

There has also been another kind of learning this year, one that has nothing to do with conferences or professional development. I started crocheting.

One of my daughters is really good at it, my parents are too, and eventually I decided to try it with my kids. I did not expect it to become such a meaningful part of my life. Crocheting has helped me disconnect from work, from screens, from the constant need to solve problems, and from the feeling that I always need to be accomplishing something. But it has also helped me reconnect with my family, with creativity, and with the simple joy of learning something new. And, of course, once I learned, I immediately started thinking about how I could teach someone else.

That seems to be a recurring theme in my life. Learn something. Practice it. And then ask, “Who else could benefit from knowing how to do this?”

This year I also had the opportunity to receive training from Guatemalan artisans in embroidery. I loved the experience, not only because I learned a new skill, but because it gave me an even deeper respect for the work, knowledge, patience, and cultural heritage behind this craft. And once again, I found myself thinking about how these skills can become opportunities for other people.

Skills can create income, skills can create confidence, skills can create connection, and sometimes, learning how to make something with your own hands can remind you that you are capable of creating something beautiful.

Teaching brought me back to something I love

During the first semester of 2026, I also had the opportunity to partner with a school where I taught art to secondary students and advanced Spanish to some elementary students.

I was invited to serve in those classes for the semester, and it was such a beautiful experience. Teaching has been part of my life for many years, but this season reminded me how much I genuinely enjoy working with younger students as well. There is something special about watching a student discover that they can do something they didn't think they could do.

Sometimes it is a new word in another language, a piece of artwork; sometimes it is simply the confidence to try. And perhaps that is another thread connecting teaching with everything else I do: I love helping people discover possibilities.

Sometimes ministry looks like traveling somewhere unexpected

This year has also reminded me that God can use skills in ways we never expected.

For many years, I have worked as an interpreter. I have interpreted in conferences, trainings, churches, humanitarian settings, and many other contexts. For a long time, I thought interpreting was simply one of the skills I had developed along the way. But God keeps reminding me that sometimes the things we consider “just another skill” are actually tools He can use to open doors.

Interpreting has taken me to places I never expected, and connected me with people and ministries I would not have otherwise encountered. Whether it is the highlands here in Guatemala, or North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, or even Asia. A long time ago, I surrendered my talents to God to use them to serve others, and being an interpreter was the first way I served others and, in many ways, the reason I decided to serve full time. It opened my eyes to the need and keeps on teaching me so much.   

One of those opportunities took me to Puerto Rico; that story deserves its own post. But as I look at the first part of this year, I am reminded that ministry does not always fit neatly into categories.

Sometimes it looks like sitting with a young leader and helping them find a scholarship; or searching for seed funding for a community project. Sometimes it looks like teaching a teenager how to create something; or learning a new skill yourself; sometimes it looks like sitting in a classroom; or translating someone else's words so people from different cultures can learn from one another. And sometimes, it looks like saying yes to an unexpected invitation because you happen to be available.

I am grateful for every one of these opportunities. More than anything, I am grateful that God continues to remind me that the skills, experiences, relationships, and opportunities He has given me are not meant to stay with me. They are tools. And when we place what we have in His hands, He can use even the things that seem unrelated to us to serve people, strengthen communities, and open doors we could never have planned ourselves.

I am excited to see where those doors lead next.

Julia A.