(This is a blog I wrote for the Loving Arms website.)
We arrived at Loving Arms at midnight, September 2, after a 24 hour bus ride from Nicaragua. As we opened the front door exclamations of joy were heard when we saw our new home. Cozy bedrooms with beds, a large communal space with a full kitchen and dining table to fit the whole team, and 2 showers, 2 toilets, and 2 sinks, plus a traditional laundry sink. Luxury! We crashed hard, excited to learn what this month ministering with Loving Arms would hold.
We are Team Banditos from World Race Fusion. The World Race is an eleven month, eleven country mission trip for Christians aged 21-35. World Race Fusion is the first intentionally international Race squad and brought together 23 Racers from three countries. Our squad is divided into three teams working with three different ministries in Guatemala, our ninth country. The Banditos are Mercy, Maggie, Callie, Beth, Tori, Simeon, Rebecca, and Stephanie.
Our first morning, Alicia and Alejandra came to the house to welcome us. They arranged for us to get groceries that morning and asked if we would be willing to start work that afternoon. A local school needed to be painted before the weekend and the teachers were painting it on their own. Of course we said yes, so that afternoon seven girls, three ladders, some paint buckets, as well as paint trays, brushes, and rollers piled into the back of Angel’s pickup with Simeon riding shotgun. A bumpy country road led us to the three room primer school where we would be working for the next three days.
When we arrived only one portion of the exterior wall was complete. We finished the two exterior walls that are seen from the road along with the interior of two classrooms and the kitchen. With music, jokes, and stories the hours flew by in laughter. Some walls required extra care to paint around paintings or words the teachers wanted to keep. Some walls required climbing up on ladders that were, at times, higher than comfort, leading to more laughs as well as shrieks and skipped heart beats.
Two and a half days painting Paraxaj Primer was a good way to start our month of serving Guatemala alongside Loving Arms.
