You’ve called us to be your light. Over the last two weeks, I feel like that’s all I was doing.
Emma, Daniel and I did ministry at a middle school for troubled youth. From the first day of ministry, we knew it would be different. For a few days, they had us paint a classroom and the face of the school; for the other days, not much happened.
The way the school teaches is extremely basic—so basic that there is really no room for helpers. The teacher stood at the front of the class and wrote information on the board. The students copied the information in their notebook. Once finished, the teacher stamped their notebook. Class was over. At the end of the week, the teacher took the notebook for the individual student and tested them from the material inside. If it wasn’t written, they weren’t tested on it!! *shocked face* As you can see, there is not much for an assistant to do.
For this reason, Emma, Daniel and I struggled. The teachers made use of us—by stamping books and erasing the board—but it seemed inconvenient. We spent many moments wondering why we were there and what the Lord’s plan for us was within this school, but we tried to make the best of it.
This week, it became clear: We were there to be a light in a dark place. We were there to pray and intercede for the students and teachers. One day this week, the atmosphere seemed dark. There was an abundance of conversations about guns and the act of killing people. It was hard to change the conversations—they kept straying back to the same topic.
I entered one class and sat close to a specific teen; part way through the class, I noticed him using a box cutter to cut the handle off a lollipop that was in his mouth!! It would only take a slip of his hand and he would have shaved off part of his lip. Praise God, that didn’t happen! He noticed me watching. Shortly after, he used the scalpel to carve a tattoo into his upper leg! I was shocked!! All the students knew; after some side conversations, the teacher caught on to what was occurring. I looked at him and asked what he was doing; a student in the class interpreted for me. He just smiled and continued. The teacher remained silent! Why isn’t she doing anything? I thought. I said something to the interpreter, and he quickly translated to the student. He put the box cutter down and rubbed his leg. Not much injury occurred, his actions tore at my heart!
I spent the rest of the class praying silently! Am I allowed to step in here? I thought. I wasn’t sure what the culture said about his action, but I couldn’t accept it. The darkness within these lives were starting to show. A sex-education class the next day turned into a very inappropriate “interpretation” of the topic, and there was no attempt to stop it. It was uncomfortable! But God didn’t tell me that I’d be comfortable!
Despite these actions, the Lord was faithful to us; He had us there for a reason. One student, David (our interpreter), has an amazing story. He grew up in the U.S., but now lives in Guatemala. He had hunger in his eyes. He knew there was something more, and I think He knew that we had it! He was vulnerable about his past and about his desires. It wasn’t long before we knew that David was our ministry. We’ve had many conversations with him, and we are excited to see what the Lord does for him and through him.
We have been moved to another ministry to finish off the month. Emma, Daniel and I will continue to minister to David over the next 2 weeks while we are here in Chimaltenango!
Please keep David and his family in your prayers, and I will keep you updated on how ministry goes with him!
