Having lived in Guatemala for almost 2 weeks now, I have found that communication comes in many forms: speech, signs, hand motions, songs, weird dancing- really anything to get the point across. Although it’s a little tough, speaking the same language is not the only way you can talk to someone. Me not knowing a lick of spanish has been a challenge, but hasn’t been impossible. Plus it’s actually a blessing getting to learn and be exposed to something so new. I have been blown away by the language difference we have here in Guatemala. On Sunday we went to a church about 20 minutes away from where we stay. It was incredible. The church itself was great, but the fact that we were all worshipping and learning in different languages, BUT TO THE SAME GOD, was awesome. I sometimes during worship just had to stop singing so that I could listen to the two completely different sounding lyrics being sung. Although it sounds like jibberish, our God understands it entirely, and that to me is just amazing.
For our ministry, my team and I started work building a second story for a widow with 9 children. Honestly, I wasn’t super excited when I heard that’s what my team was doing. I was a little jealous of the teams who were working in schools and playing with and teaching children. But! My team is so incredible and positive that we started coming up with ways to further our ministry. We decided that building that house for the woman and her children is not the only ministry we will be doing. There are 4 other men working on the construction site (one of which is only 18 and has been working from 4:30am-6:00pm since he was 10), that we want to pour into and love on. I am so excited to get to know them and the family living there better! The hard part is… communication. None of the girls I am with know Spanish well and none of the people working on the house know English. But as I said, it’s not impossible. And with some weird dancing/hand motions and a little help from Google Translate, we make it work. The 18 year old boy, Francis, is helping us learn Spanish while we give him some words to work on in English. It’s a fun system. Although I come home every day smelling SO awful and covered in cement, I could not be more happy or thankful for where I have been placed.
Considering I have had only 0 years of Spanish ever, I am constantly butchering the language. Forgetting how to say “what is your name” (no matter how many times people tell me) and misusing the word “pollo” are daily struggles for me. But the reality is that this language barrier is really no barrier at all. My God is way bigger than the confusion between English and Spanish. As I continue to learn Spanish and soak up all of Antigua over these next 3 months, I know the Lord will show up in incredible ways.
Now for some logistical things I am sure that you are all wondering about: 21 of us are staying in a beautiful home in San Pedro el Alto, Antigua, Guatemala sharing 3 bathrooms and one small kitchen. I absolutely adore these people and living in community with them. They are so encouraging, interesting, and point me more towards Christ every day. Oh, and they are also a ton of fun. The city we are living in is incredibly beautiful and I find something new I love about it every day. With chicken buses filled with (at least) 150 people, chocobananos (for 1 Quetzal) on every street corner, constant clogging of toilets because the pipes do not appreciate our toilet paper, a house filled with lice and now 5 bald World Racers, clothes that just can’t seem to dry (rain doesn’t mix well with clothes lines), talks that last until 5am, and groceries that have random items taped to them (yesterday we bought chocolate milk that had a bag of ketchup attached to it), I am having a fantastic time living in Antigua, Guatemala.
