Well, we’re here safe and sound in Guatemala for Month 2, but I feel like I have let y’all down in not writing more. My apologies. I’ll take this blog to finish up Month 1 in El Salvador and then hopefully this week cover Debrief in Antigua and get us up to date!
A little more on the history of our local church in Las Arboledas: our pastor and his wife are pharmacists by trade and he went through the seminary program the Tabernaculo offers. One day after graduating, he passed by the coffee plantation and felt God calling him to preach the Sermon on the Mount to the workers. The first time he went to preach, 80 people showed up! Initially, the church tried to minister to just the plantation and the impoverished village nearby that supplied its workers. However, the pastor and his wife received a new vision from the Lord, a vision to open up the gates of the church to the surrounding community. Now, 350 people regularly call this plantation their church home.
Our main ministry this month has been to transform a ruined farmhouse in to a children’s facility for the church. On first observation, we were overwhelmed by the rusted roof supported by tree limbs and vines, the layers and layers of dust and dirt, and the mold growing on the walls. However, after demo work, scrubbing, cleaning, painting, and burning (see previous post!), we got to see the beautiful transformation. Check out the video summary of our work, put together by Kathryn and Karissa:
I also am thrilled that I got to be the creative painter for the murals. I painted the World Race Tree and was commissioned to paint the Tabernaculo children’s program logo on the outside of the building. I spent a few days staring intently at the walls and using limited paint colors, but am happy with how it turned out in the end!
On days when work was at a standstill at the children’s casita, we spent time attending services at the main Tabernaculo and at the Santa Ana location, where our hosts were members for a long time before they moved. On two separate weekends we served with the church’s ministry to terminally ill children and their families in the main hospital in San Salvador. I was a little anxious as I have never participated in such ministry. However, I quickly learned that what hurting people need most is love, shown through hugs, kind words and encouraging prayers. There’s no way for me to fully empathize with a mother caring for her dying child; I have not shared the same experience. But I can be the hands and feet of God by encouraging her that she is not alone, to hold her for a minute – give her a chance to be cared for as she has spent countless days and weeks caring for her baby.
Another ministry we were involved with late in the evening was Pan y Chocolate, a ministry to provide physical and spiritual sustenance to the most hard-hit homeless in San Salvador. While the ministry looked a little different than I had anticipated, the consistent dedication and heart of the volunteers has allowed them to safely reach some of the toughest pockets of homeless – areas normally too dangerous for other assistance programs. During the ministry I got to sit with Daniel, a 15 year-old boy who has been living with a couple families under a tree for the past several months. I had no idea what to say or why I was drawn to a boy that initially looked disinterested in Pan y Chocolate. But the Lord led me to him and we just had a conversation. We only met that one time, and I didn’t have all the answers or solutions to his situation without a home, but I continue to pray that the Lord will give peace to this young man, a boy scared of what the future holds, scared of his role in a family and a city.
Lastly, I was invited to lead worship for services at Ciudad de Dios and Santa Ana! My teammates Katrina and Karissa are very talented musicians, and while I am constantly singing songs to myself, I was honored (and a little anxious) when they asked me to join them in leading worship. I was pretty nervous the first time, but once I heard our voices together, uplifted, I simply enjoyed the moment between myself and the Lord, singing praise and helping others lift their voices as well.
This weekend I will post from Antigua, Guatemala, the beautiful, restored colonial Spanish capital, where we spent our Debrief week and our days off once a week!
And a new addition to my blog that I will add at the end of each posting, “Things becoming normal!” I am taking the idea from my squadmates Mollie and Meg…
This week’s “Things becoming normal”: riding in the back of pickups, washing dishes in cold water, waking up with mosquito bites (was normal in El Sav, but thankfully not in Guate!), odd noises/bumps in the night (cats, motorcycles, dogs, snoring, roosters, more roosters, trucks), Jalisco hot sauce, and my dirty feet.
