As we wind down month 1 in Guatemala, one lesson in particular stands out for me: the many means of worship.
Our ministry this month has been demolition. We are working for a pastor in San Pedro to clear his land in preparation for their church to build a retreat center. Every day for the past few weeks we’ve shown up in Charbal where our contact Hosea awaited us with sledge hammers, pic-axes, machetes, chisels, hammers, hoes, and shovels and each day we would continue the demolition at hand.
It was pretty grueling work. The concrete was stubborn and the days were long and hot. However, I found digging a trench and moving concrete blocks up a hill can be a form of worship. As we kept our minds fixed on the eternal impact we could make by clearing the land for a retreat center, chipping away rock was no longer so bad. Thinking of Nehemiah, an entire book of the Bible devoted to the Israelites rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem kept the difficulty of the work at bay.
Through the hammer, I worshiped Jesus.
(Before and After at our demolition site. Photo cred: Paola Antenucci)
Another surprising form of worship I found was behind a camera. As you precious reader probably know by now, our squad has been entrusted with the task of documenting our Race in hopes of creating a documentary/reality TV show. (http://updates.theworldrace.org/?filename=is-there-a-place-for-god-on-network-tv)
Last night, a couple teams came together and prepared a meal for some of the families that are always lingering outside of the public hospital right next to our compound. We brought out a table and served chicken noodle soup, bread, and soda for free and went around and prayed for people. I was entrusted with the task of documenting the event. Camera in hand, I captured my squadmates selflessly serving the people of Quiche by providing food and praying for healing (and Jesus providing healing, by the way).
Being relational to my core, I couldn’t JUST hide behind the camera, so I decided to find stories for myself. I walked around and started talking to people. What I found was that the camera itself was a means of worship and serving. People loved being on camera and answering my broken-Spanish questions. In a few minutes, I could restore someone’s dignity; I could speak through the language of a recording device that this person had value, that their story mattered, and that I wanted to capture it for the world to see.
Through the camera, I worshiped Jesus.
(#docsquad. Photo cred: Hannah Adkinson)
It’s been an incredible month here in Guatemala and God has been stirring in all of us. We head out for Nicaragua on Thursday and we’re all super excited for the over-24-hour bus ride that awaits us! Hooray!
Forever His,
Grace
