MONTH 2: Team Mashach and Team Hebron
San Pedro, Guatemala: August 2-August 26
Language: Spanish/ Dialect exclusive to this area in Guatemala
Money: Quetzales: 1USD=7.82 Q
Hosts: Pastor Antonio and Cata (stayed in their home)
Ministry Specifics- This is month was all about having my definition of ministry re-defined. Ministry this month was not set in stone or structured. I learned a lot through this and I’m happy I got to learn this lesson so early on in the race. We really wanted to go to the people and just do life with them. An average day would usually be our team going into town and just praying for direction from the Lord. We would pray over people if we felt led. On Mondays and Wednesdays we sang on the radio. A few afternoons a week we would hang out with the kids. We would tell them bible stories, sing songs, and then play games. We also went to neighboring towns on prayer walks.
What did I eat- This month we ate so good. We had cereal for breakfast. Lunch alternated between sandwiches and chips, and eating in town where we would have things like pizza, hamburgers, tacos, or market food. Eating in town was always a treat that we looked forward to. This month our hosts provided our dinners and they we’re absolutely delicious. Spoiled is an understatement. Pastor Cata is an amazing cook. Those meals could easily go down as the best dinners we will have on the race.
Where did I sleep- This month us four Mashach girls shared a room. We had beds, no tents for us. My bed may have been the least comfortable of all the beds in the house (voted by everyone, not just my opinion) but I was super blessed to not be sleeping on the floor.
Highs-This month had so many highs it is ridiculous. The food, our hosts and just feeling like part of their family, the kids in the community (stole my heart), freedom to go into town whenever we wanted, the scenery (on beautiful Lake Atitlan). Hot showers, getting to know team Hebron on a deeper level, Team Mashach really unifying and loving each other on a deeper level.
(My team with our Hosts)
Lows- waking up with a sore back quite often, the hills (we had to climb the steepest hill minimum once a day to get back to the Pastors house), hiking the Indians Nose when I was very sick, the first week of ministry feeling uncertain and confused at what we we’re supposed to do, people always trying to sell us stuff, realizing how much I really missed Guatemala after I left.
Firsts- washing laundry in a lake, riding to church in the bed of a truck, doing the insanity workout on a soccer field with a whole bunch of kids watching us, playing bucketball ( a game the boys invented which entails sitting on stairs and throwing a hacky sack in a bucket approx 20 feet away)
What did God teach me in Guatemala- Wow it felt like everyday God was rocking my world and breaking old mindsets. The first thing I really learned which I wrote in a previous blog was how God was showing me what ministry really is. Learning its not always those big bang moments, but little acts of love that go so far. God was showing me continually to look to Him for approval and not to man. This is still something I am working through. I realized that I am hearing the Lord’s voice clearer, and has given me words to speak to others that will bring life and truth. I realized that I have been missing intimacy with my heavenly father. I have been a Christian my whole life and in turn didn’t even realize my faith had flat lined. The way I prayed and read the word needed to change. I wasn’t desperate enough, or hungry enough for the Lord. Learning what it looks like to let him be my Dad, and just to sit and rest in him. Soaking in His presence on a daily basis. I am also continuing to see who I am in Christ. Trying to find the balance between crazy/fun Kiera and serious Kiera. Learning not to over compensate with being funny when I need to be vulnerable.
What will I remember most- Our hosts and their beautiful hearts and home, their grandkids Chayo and Antonio, the rooftop of their home (beautiful view) and having quiet times up there, the beauty of San Pedro, singing on the radio, the kids calling me Kiki, the bread ladies always trying to sell us bread, visiting Lydia on her death bed and hearing the news she had gone to heaven after we had prayed and sang over her, my teammate Betty naming a baby, staying up til 3am having a heart to heart with one of my teammates, writing and performing a birthday song for one of my squad leaders, praying for a blind man named Lorenzo and seeing his spiritual eyes open.
