I have been in Guatemala for three weeks now! One word: Refreshed.
I am staying at the AIM base 30 minutes outside of Antigua. The staff here is so kind! We have a spacious room, comfy common areas, a big field for working out, and guess what: HOT showers. I call it home. I wake up at 6:55 every morning and breakfast is at 7. To all who know how much I love to sleep in, I know, I even surprise myself. I have getting ready in 5 minutes down to a science. There is even coffee provided for us every morning! Talk about going above and beyond to make sure that we are equipped to bring His kingdom. It’s the little things that matter. Every weekday we catch the chicken bus and ride up the mountain to the village we do ministry in. We get home around 3:30, I try to work out or do some laundry in the good old pila outside (or shake all of the bugs out of my clothes hanging on the clothesline), then dinner is at 5:30. After dinner we have team time for an hour or so and then I get to rest! Life is busy, and life is so good.
I am working in a small village up the mountain called Calderas. It’s surrounded by volcanoes and still partly covered in ash from the last big volcano eruption. Sometimes still wonder how this is real life. A few days of the week I teach English to boys ages 9-12. They are so sassy and funny. It has only been a few weeks, but I know I was meant to teach their class. They love to make jokes, and if they are being rowdy, I ask what’s funny and they say “nada” and go right back to doing their work. They laugh at almost everything I say, but they are so eager to learn, and I leave feeling like it was the best day. I swear my team says “wow that was such a good day” every day. On Fridays we play soccer in a huge field with all of the village kids. The kids run into my arms and kiss my cheeks and call me family. The girls pick me flowers and weave them into my hair, and the boys get me to chase them on their bikes. And they LOVE duck duck goose. Fridays are so fun. They even let me ride their horses if I’m lucky!
Every morning we do ATL, which means ask the Lord. Basically, we go to Calderas and just ask the Lord what He has for us that day. Thursday mornings we get teachings to activate us to walk in what the spirit has for us. Incredible teachings. Seriously, I want to write down everything that is said. It’s gold. And then we go out and practice what the activation was that day! Like focusing on hearing the voice of God. Most mornings and afternoons we do house visits for ATL. The people in the community are so sweet, and invite us into their homes and love to serve us by cooking us food. We have made some beautiful relationships already. Guatemala is AMAZING. I feel refreshed and renewed.
We have seen people healed!! There is so much healing that needs to take place in this little village. 2 young sisters who are going blind, an incredible woman named Ruth who a few months ago was on her death bed and is still in so much pain, so many injuries, and so much sickness. I have prayed over many people, and I have witnessed healing with my own eyes. A man named Francisco who couldn’t walk on his foot, standing on two feet and walking up and down the hall of his house. Hesitantly approaching a home my team felt a lot of spiritual warfare from, and being led to share my testimony with a woman who needed so much faith and hope in her current circumstances. Sometimes healing isn’t just physical. Sometimes spiritual healing is truly the healing that needs to take place. Just as I believe blind eyes will be opened, I believe so much spiritual healing is waiting for Calderas. Restored faith. Courage that He is in the waiting. Hope. This is what the village of Calderas needs.
I feel very poured into here. I am being challenged in my relationship with the spirit, and I am thriving. Also, Antigua is my place! I go to church every Sunday in Antigua with my friends and we grab coffee before hand. Days when it feels like we’re just friends hanging out are the best. When everything just goes away and we realize we’re hanging out not because we’re forced to because of the race, but just because we love each other and genuinely have fun together. Life here feels so normal sometimes, and that feels good. Haven’t felt that way in a while. I have two more months here to put down some roots and dive into the community around me. I’m so stoked!! And there are so many coffee shops, farmers markets, and acai cafes! I feel right at home.
Think I’m liking Guatemala? I love it!!! This Wednesday I also start working at a school called Loving Arms! Can’t wait for all the next two months has in store.
XOXO, Cat
