Yes you did read that title right. This past month in Guatemala I was teaching sex education. Well mostly we taught about relationships, dating, marriage, but we also taught about sex and saving yourself for marriage. It was extremely awkward but hilarious at the same time. There is nothing like a group of North Americans teaching sex-ed to a bunch of Guatemalan teenagers. We taught 25-30 classes a week to kids from 5th-9th grade. We visited each school once a week and taught our lessons. The first week was on dating, the second week was on sex, and the third week was about roles in society, and questions and answers. Needless to say it was an interesting experience, mostly because when we originally volunteered for it we thought it was more discipleship than anything else. We didn't know we had just signed up to stand in front of a class and teach about sex and relationships. It was especially difficult for my because I have terrible stage fright and I hate getting up in front of groups. I had dealt with it a little when I thought I was just going to be giving a lesson, because it was already made up for me. However, that isn't what happened, instead I had to share a personal story of my dating life. So I shared a story about my previous boyfriend and how although I thought I loved him it would've been the biggest mistake of my life to settle down with him. I tried to give them the example that you don't have to settle for the first person who says they love you, but that you should make sure you find the person God has chosen for you. Sharing all this stuff about my life to teenagers who I didn't know and couldn't communicate with was unnerving to say the least. I barely share my story with the people close to me let alone strangers. Plus I was convinced that my story wouldn't have any relevance to anyone else's life. Well I couldn't have been more wrong. After sharing a bit of my story with these kids I had several girls ask me questions and advice about their boyfriends. There was one girl in particular who approached me after class and told me that her boyfriend was about to go to juvy and she didn't know what to do. They had only been dating for 3 months and they were both only 15, anyways she wanted my advice because I had been through it before. So I told her that she shouldn't stay with him because honestly he probably wasn't worth the heartache all this would cause her. She was very appreciative and I think she realized that she needs to realize that you just can't settle down with anyone and expect to be happy. Anyways that was a very cool experience because it showed me that my personal story is different from anyone else's and that it will help me to reach people that others are unable to. So that was what ministry in Guatemala was like, awkward, funny, sometimes serious, but mostly it was very real, and I'm so glad I got to be a part of it.
