There are many paths one must choose throughout their life. Sometimes the paths we choose are not the ones we end up taking. As one young Iola woman recently learned, sometimes God chooses a completely different path and it can be more adventurous and fulfilling than can be imagined.
Cheyanna Colborn grew up in Iola and graduated from Humboldt in 2012. She then went on to Kansas State University to study public relations and dreamed of studying abroad.
“I had been planning on studying abroad in Germany because I am taking German and wanted to improve my speaking by being emerged in the country for six weeks,” she said.
But one day, at Vintage Faith Church in Manhattan, she realized God had other plans for her.
“I was sitting in church one day and the pastor announced that there would be a group of people going to Guatemala City to help a church there. I remember automatically thinking ‘I should do that.’”
Her gut reaction surprised her. She didn’t know where Guatemala was on a map and had never thought about going there before. Colborn also did not know any Spanish.
“The other reason I was shocked was because I had never wanted to be a missionary,” Colborn said. “And frankly I kind of thought missionaries were a bit crazy.”
Before she knew it, she was meeting with the group to discuss plans for vaccinations, safety and financial support for the trip. They also made plans to teach English at a school in Guatemala City and had to come up with a lesson plan.
“I would not have gone had God not guided me to go there to serve,” Colborn said. “I felt really under-qualified.”
One of her friends encouraged her by telling her “God doesn’t call the equipped, God equips the called.”
Colborn went with a group of 18 people — 13 men and women from her church, three translators from Honduras and Pastor Raul T. Williams in Guatemala.
COLBORN gained a lifetime of experiences during her week-long stay in Central America. She went for a hike to the top of Pacaya, an active volcano. She prayed on a mountain top. She visited a college campus and witnessed individuals giving their life to Jesus Christ. Colborn said she found these experiences incredible and humbling.
But there were other things that surprised her, not all of which were good. Guatemala has an incredibly high crime rate and it was not uncommon to see law enforcement officers standing on street corners with automatic weapons in hand. There was also a sharp contrast between the rich and poor. Guatemala City was so modern that, in many ways, it felt like she was back in the states, but in the neighborhood where she taught English the people lived in shacks and most of her students had parents in prison.
“I pray that we were able to show them a fraction of what God’s love is and they will lean on The Lord for their joy not on gang affiliations or other worldly things,” Colborn said.
Yet despite the crime and gang violence, Colborn said she felt safe and no harm came to her or the group.
“The pastor took protecting us incredibly seriously and did not put us in situations where he did not feel he could keep us safe,” she said. “I wasn’t scared because I knew The Lord was protecting us and that if this is what the kids in that school lived with every day, they definitely needed love.”
