The air here is complete opposite of Wyoming. The humidity captures all the pollutions in the air. It seems the rain is on a schedule… every afternoon it never fails to pour. I feel very much like I am in Mexico again… bars on all the doors and windows, rundown buildings all in rows. I love the cobblestone roads… bikes and cars consume it in equal numbers. Because of the rain, inside courtyards, vines that cover cracked buildings, and the amazing wild parks; greens flourish, flowers bloom, and Guatemala comes to color. Something incredibly real about walking ten minutes to the market place… seeing the ladies with baskets of food on their heads, and the young children selling bracelets with glowing eyes.
It is real.
There is no middle class here like you and me. The people here sell on the streets, walk, ride bikes, or drive in BMW’s and go to expensive restaurants in their all get-out ball gowns and ties.
It takes no faith to see poverty.
I have been here a week and my heart and minds are just starting to slow down. For a long while everything was jumbled. Nothing made a sense of logic. The Lord was bringing to knowledge everything I need to work on.
We’ve been blessed more than we know with a man here called to great things. His name is Luis. He has lived in Guatemala his whole life, until he wanted to be a missionary. So to Istanbul he went, living there for only a month until he heard from the Lord that he was not called there, he was called to Guatemala. Now he is ahead of a school that teaches Christian values, that pays families for their children to come. It also teaches parents how to provide and give proper nutrition to their children. Many times they give tortillas and coffee to newborns because that is all they have, and then the children get deformities and problems.
We are privileged to work alongside Luis, for him to teach and challenge us to what we can bring for the Lord and the purpose of a short-term mission. He reminded us last night that it’s not about us; it’s about God’s glory. But while it is about God’s glory, the most work we will see is what happens in us.
He is growing me so much still, and instilling me at the same time more love for the people around me. And… love for Him. The passion and desire to be in communication with Him constantly is overflowing. It is really good for me, to be here and have an outlaid schedule of prayer and worship… the fellowship with my team-mates is so sweet because it is constantly circled around the Lord, speaking truth into each other, and praying.
Pray for me, as the Lord challenges and grows me into the woman that He desires me to be. It is not an easy task in any respect… during this process I figure out more how in inadeguate I am to be a daughter of the King. But He desires me in His kingdom and in fellowship with Him, as He does you. =)
