I want to share some of the memorable moments that I experienced while being in Guatemala from Jan. 13 to Feb. 10. The World Race is truly a gift and privilege from God. I continually remind myself that only a few get to experience what we will over the course of this year, and I cannot take anything for granted.
Since our Dodge Ram panel van broke down last week, our only option to get to a night church service was to walk. The walk was way longer than any of us expected, and the church was actually someone’s small home (which was more like a wooden shack) hidden in some woods.
Anytime we are meeting neighbors, attending church, doing ministry, etc., you are guaranteed some cheek-to-cheek kisses from some locals!
Park ministry was probably my favorite ministry. We either played soccer or basketball with the locals or hung out with the break dancing group on the park stage. I love sports and competition, and Katie W., Jill, Katie H., and I had a blast playing basketball every week with some Guatemalan guys.
I probably won’t forget the time after church when a little girl, probably around 5 years, immediately came up to me and motioned for me to pick her up and hug her. What I thought was going to be a brief moment of loving on her turned into an hour of dancing around the church grounds with her. So much fun.
After an evening church service, some upbeat Latin Christian music was turned on while we were chatting with the congregation before leaving to go home. All of a sudden, a woman in her 50s started dancing in the middle of the worship room. We decided to turn it into a small dance party. It was awesome.
On Friday nights, we have “Family Night” with the family and locals who run Ministerios Casa Verde (Green House Ministries). One night we did karaoke to Christian music. It was a blast, and we hadn’t laughed that hard in a while!
This is short and sweet … being tackled by a couple girls at the orphanage attempting to give me big bear hugs. Good stuff.
One night we went to Tío Roni’s house to pray over his 40-day-old baby girl. As we were surrounding this child, I felt the Holy Spirit move inside me, and the words I prayed over this child were not my own.
There is no way to perfectly articulate the crazy/beautiful of the city dump. The stench is horrible … there is trash everywhere … stray chickens and dogs roam the area … there are small homes constructed on top of trash piles … and poor Guatemalans are constantly digging through the waste. Yet, there is something ironic about it all. The dump is nestled in absolutely gorgeous rainforest. I was always in awe every week we went there because absolute beauty is right behind absolute aversion.
On one of our free days, we drove to a beach on the Gulf of Mexico to barbecue and hang out. It was a great time of fellowship and rest. I am so blessed to have these memories.
In America, would you be able to have a private meeting with the city mayor, sing worship songs to him, and pray for him. Probably not, but that is exactly what we did one day. How cool is that?
In America, would a Christian radio station allow a random group of missionaries to sing a couple worship songs and teach a small Bible lesson live on-air? Probably not, but that is exactly what we did one day for a radio station called Radio Impacto. Check it out online!
