During our first week of ministry in Guatemala, my team had the honor and privilege of working at the prison here in Santa Cruz del Quiche. We spent most of the week painting and using what little spanish we know trying to communicate with the inmates and the guards. It went over relatively well :). Our last day at the prison, however, has been my favorite day of ministry on the Race so far. Hands down. That Friday, my team, along with two other teams on our squad, had a service for the inmates. We worshiped, Jacob preached, and the Holy Spirit moved. And it was one of the most incredible things I've ever been been a part of. I don't really know how to sum up my first week in Guatemala, but I honestly think it would sound a lot like what my team leader, Travis, wrote. This is what he had to say:
I dont understand why there is injustice.
I dont understand why the innocent suffer.
I dont understand how He works
I dont know why He heals some and doesn't others.
I dont know why He created me
I dont know why there is so much evil
I dont know why i cant cry
I dont understand how He created the World with such supreme intricacy and consistency
I dont know why i let insecurities get the best of me
I dont understand why Satan rebelled and why God created Him
I dont know why I am in Guatemala
but…
I do know that He has perfect love
and that love casts out all fear
I do know that i am right where i need to be
I do know He is a healer
I do know that I have freedom in Him
I do know that He exists with every ounce of my being
I do know that He wins
I do know that He is truth and life
I do know that earthly knowledge has no comparison to godly wisdom
I do know that the Holy Spirit lives inside and through us
I do know that i am more than a conqueror
I do know that my life before Jesus was merely scraps compared to now
I do know that God cannot reveal all truth because it wouldnt be called believing
Finally, I know that today when my team walked into prison and Jake preached the gospel, that men's hearts were healed. That grown men with all their exterior toughness and anger fell to their kness to praise the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That the world would tell them to be tough and angry in jail in order to gain status among men, but they didnt. They let down their guard and covered the prison floor with tears. Not because of a brief emotion or need to perform, but because, behind those bars they are desperate for something, and the world would tell them to fill it with drugs, alcohol or violence, but instead they humbled themselves in front of their brothers and allowed Jesus to shine through.
I dont speak Quiche
i dont know what its like to be behind bars
i dont understand their culture
but..
I do know that Jesus healed hearts
i do know that those men will never be the same
I do know that God transforms
I do know that the same God that dug me out of my pit gave those men freedom today.
God exists. He never called us to be luke warm. That is passivity and its useless. So i choose to dive in. To surrender all that is me so that He increases and I decrease.
