This month we are serving here in Quiche, Guatemala as a squad– 43 people living and serving from one main location! Our tents are pitched on a hospital campus (convenient for the illness going around) and we are rotating ministry assignments each week. There is a wide variety of tasks between the local daycare ministry, hospital aid, taking care of home base, and building “bicycles” for individuals without legs- so awesome because you petal with your hands! (We may or may not be planning a squad race before they are taken into the city.)
Our team is partnering with team Wrecked Warriors and served this past week with Pastor Arnold from a nearby town who is building up a church and grounds for a youth camp. This ministry assignment required us to take local transportation about 10 minutes outside of the city.
Now, if you are picturing clearly marked taxis that seat the appropriate amount of people-to-seatbelt ratio, you are forgetting we are in Central America. Picture, instead, Ford Rangers with a cage mounted on the back to make “safety rails” so you can stand in the back with 20 of your newest Guatemalan friends as you bounce over speed bumps. It’s like an amusement park ride every day! Another option are “Micro Buses” that are basically mini church vans, that also cram 4-5 people per seat.
Monday through Wednesday we took the trucks to and from our labor site. We merely found a truck that gave us the correct price (2 quetzals = 26 cents per person), hopped on, awkwardly talk and laugh as the local smile at the funny gringos, and arrive at our destination in one piece. Then on Wednesday, we needed a Micro Bus to take us 20 minutes to a different site. This allowed Bre the opportunity to sit up front with the driver and practice some Spanish while the rest of us chatted in the back.
By the time we arrived at our destination, Bre had learned that Antonio spoke some English, she shared about the World Race, our mission to love and serve, and found common ground in our shared faith. He was so happy to have met us and the work we are doing for the Lord’s Kingdom. Before we set on our way we asked if he had prayer requests and proceeded to pray for our new friend. Antonio asked when we would need a ride back and said he would be there for us.
Sure enough, he was there when we walked about to the “depot” with a smile beaming across his face to see us! He proceeded to be our faithful (and timely) driver for the week, giving us his number to call when we need transportation and is excited to meet more racers that will have our assignment next week.
The story of this man reminded me that opportunity to engage with people and love on them can happen in any situation. It only takes a few seconds to survey our surroundings and *notice* people. I encourage us all to step out of our bubble of “what will they think/they may not like me/they look busy/it’s only a few minutes” and say hello to our fellow “neighbors.”
