Where do I begin?? First off, let me apologize for not blogging more. For some reason, I have made it into something that is overwhelming to me. I have enjoyed posting pictures on facebook, because that is something that is quick and easy. I have always struggled with journaling/writing. I know that is the best way for me to tell others about what is going on. I will also enjoy it one day in the future. This ride has been so exciting so far, that I do not want to forget anything!!
Since I have been MIA on the blog front, I decided just to "summarize" my month here. I want to remember so many things, but I want to focus on the times or the people who impacted me the most this month. So, here it goes…
1. Being surrounded by 25 kids by myself for 10 minutes.
We had the opportunity to go to a school for the day and share our testimonies. In one of the classes, I walked outside to get air after I had shared. About 8 kids came running up and wanted to be as close to me as possible. I tried to communicate with my broken spanish. They all laugh at me because I use lots of hand motions. I also do the fist bump and "pow" with the kids which they love! I told them I had to go back to class once they got louder. When we were done, we walked down to the principals office. I had to use the bathroom. Well, the 8 kids that had talked with me ran and followed me to the bathroom. I told them "una momento" and they waited at the door. Once I walked out, all of the kids swarmed around me again. This time, more and more kids came. I started taking pictures and they loved seeing their faces in the screen. I once again tried to talk to them and ask them questions. Once I ran out of my repetroire of questions, I knew I had to do something more. I tried to get them to play a game. I had them all hold hands and somehow we formed a circle. A little boy ran in the middle and started break dancing. We all cheered and then we all just ran around. Finally, a teacher came and rescued me. I said good bye to the kids and went to another class. I will never forget the feeling of being such a phenonmen to those kids. I just hope I made their day and I was so glad they could smile and laugh and play!
2. Allowing a spanish woman to talk and believe I knew what she was saying.
So, apparently I have the gift of listening to others. I was with a group of 4 that went around a community to evangelize and then to invite the people to a service we were having that afternoon. Rayna, Alex and Alissa and myself started walking through the neighborhood. We had some great conversations with some ladies. Then we stumbled on this old woman. She greeted us with hugs and we could just tell that she wanted to talk. We moved into the shade (it was HOT in the sun) and let her began to talk. Alissa was there to help us translate. The woman began to make eye contact with me and I didn't understand the words that she was saying, but I could feel or sense her emotion behind the words. Alissa looked over me as I was nodding my head, and she asked me if I knew what she was saying. I quickly said no. She was shocked. She was convinced I had followed what she was saying. I learned that I really like to connect to people and I enjoy it when they can feel heard by me. I am a firm believer that actions speak louder than words and I saw how true this really is. I cannot speak this language, but I can feel for others and love on them regardless. Alissa was so sweet to affirm me in this during group feedback that night. She encouraged me to use that gift as much as I can. That is what I intend to do for sure!
3. Gustavo
We stayed out a house with Juan Carlos, Yansi and Gustavo. It was so much fun hanging out with these three…even though we had a language barrier. Gustavo (he is 22) really made an impact on me. I have never and probably will never meet a person like him. He has so much energy. We called him the energizer bunny! He is super animated and when he sings…watch out! He will make you smile from ear to ear and make you want to jump around. His desire to learn English and how he “hears” what we say is out of control. He would leave his English book everywhere and have to run frantically to get it. He made everything we did fun. Even walking down the street he told us he was taking us on a route that was “fast and furious” and continued to walk down the street like an airplane.
He shared his testimony with us. He comes from a background of drugs darkness, but the transformation that God made in his life is unreal. He can’t contain his love and happiness. God just pours out of him. Watching him worship is something I will never forget. He is truly abandoned in his worship and does it with all of his being. He is such an amazing guy that is funny and so caring. I pray God continues to bless his life. I will truly miss him!
4. 7 people getting saved in one day
We went to another community to evangelize. Pam, Rayna, Amanda, our translator Vicki and myself went around the community. This community was much poorer than the first one we had gone to. The houses were basically made of tin, mud, sticks and wood. We went to a house and a dad allowed us to talk with him. He was very receptive and he ended up praying the salvation prayer. He hugged us and thanked us and assured us he would be at the service we were having. We then went to a home with 3 sisters who were our age. We talked with them and then prayed with them. They were so sweet. They wanted us to meet their dad. We then went to his house and sat and talked with him on his “porch.” His daughters sat and listened again. He ended up praying as well! Our final house was a family with 4 kids and the mom was pregnant again. Vicki spent a lot of time sharing with them and reading from the bible. They knew about God, but didn’t understand him. They listened and participated with her and the parents prayed the prayer. We were amazed at how receptive everyone was. It was amazing to see the amount of faith they had even though they had basically nothing. But with having nothing, they had everything. They had peace and faith that everything was going to be ok. They had such sweet smiles and willing hearts. Our day ended on such a high note when we stood outside of the “church” and watched all of the people we had met earlier walk up to the service. They had different outfits and had their hair all clean. We hugged them all as they came and then had an opportunity to hug and pray for them again. Another great thing was that we were able to go back to the community a week later and they all remembered us and were so excited to see us return. I pray that God will continue to work in their lives.
5. Valentine’s day
I have always dreaded this day. I have never really had a valentine (excluding my family.) It was so nice not to think about my singleness for once! We left that day to go to a school to play with kids and perform a little show for them. It was so much to dance and play with them. Apparently, Christians are not normally allowed in. It was so cool that we were able to be there. Our next stop was a poor neighborhood. We walked around and invited kids to come. They all came and danced and played with us. We broke for lunch and were able to take a nap on a bed! Then we went to yet another neighborhood and did the same thing. The kids loved the music and singing. Finally we went to a circle in the town and performed our main drama and danced and played with the kids. We did a lot of ministering during the day, but I was so full of joy. Seeing the kids being so happy and seeing our teams be so free to be happy and joyful, was such a blessing. I didn’t have one valentine that day… I had more than I could count. I was full of love and I know that those who we ministered to were feeling the same way! God is so Good.
I could go on and on. I am realizing this as I am writing. God has done so much this month. Thank you for everyone’s prayers and support! I would not be here without you. I have to pinch myself quite often to make sure this is for real! Even though ministry can be tough sometimes, it is all worth it! God has blessed me more than I could ever imagine.
As I move on to Guatemala, I pray that God would begin to prepare my heart and the hearts of the people that I will meet. I thank God for this month and every memory that I am taking away with me. I can’t wait to see what this next month will bring!
