so i am in vietnam trying to talk about our ministry time in guatemala…..here is an idea zach, why dont you blog about guatemala while you are in guatemala…..thanks zach, i will keep that in mind! for my subscribers back home, i apologize for not keeping you more informed. i have already had a few “where in the world are you!!??” emails so i will make more of an effort to keep you posted. so anyways, back to guatemala. after our bus crash that was mexico, our team needed a month where we did not have a harrassing or heavy schedule that freed us up to get to know one another and not only grow as a team but just become friends. our initial responsibility with regards to ministry is our own small team. we cannot be truly impactful in ministry if we are ministering out of a broken body of Christ. our contact there, paul (who spent 10 years on ywam mercy ships) thought it would be a great idea to get us connected with a local pastor of a small church and see where that relationship would land us. God’s hand was truly on paul and his decision. the first time we walked into el calvario church in santo tomas we were greeted with open arms, literally. they handed out hugs, smiles and laughs as if they had an infinite supply of them (which we all do). this stood in stark contrast with our church experience in mexico where the village seemed to have a worship blockade firmly in place. el calvario was chicken soup for the soul. they were alive in worship, being made complete in the joy that comes from Christ while challenging us to do the same.
if you go to google on the web and type in puerto barrios, you will see many personal blogs that say things such as “dont go there, not much to do there, not much to see, nearby ocean and beaches are dirty….” from this side of the coin puerto barrios is not necessarily a place that one would want to visit or spend any amount of time in. this is one lesson that i learned this month that i am sure will hold firm anywhere we go: the thing that punctuates each month is the relationships that are built and centered around Christ and that are truly eternal.
