Hey all!!! I’m in my second country now which is crazy! The three months in Romania flew by a lot faster than I anticipated they would. I am so grateful for all God did in Romania, but I am beyond excited for what He has planned for my squad, my team, and myself here in Guatemala.
I’ve been in Guatemala for about a week now and just wanted to share with you what life in Guatemala is like so far. To do that, I’m going to share a little bit about where I live, the atmosphere here, and what I’ll be doing the next three months. So here I go!
Where I Live:
Adventures in Missions, the organization the World Race is part of, has a base here in Guatemala. This means they have staff who live in Guatemala, and they’ve built a base where we stay. (This is different from Romania. In Romania, we stayed in our ministry host’s house.) The staff are around quite often and want to build relationships with us. The base is build about 30 minutes outside of Antigua, a bigger town which is also very touristy. The base has a nice big yard, multiple rooms with bunkbeds and bathrooms, a kitchen, and a big room to gather in.
In the yard we often play games, throw a football, play soccer, or just sit and have conversations with each other. I praise God daily that we have a space like this and that I get to wake up to the sight of grass and mountains daily. There are places to hang our hammocks and many mornings I wake up and sit in mine while spending time with Jesus. It’s quite relaxing and is slowly becoming one of my favorite parts of the day.
In the rooms, each team has a room to themselves and have made it nice and homey. Because of the nice yard and big room to gather in, there’s not much time spent in our rooms but it’s still a place of comfort, rest, and peace for me.
In the kitchen, I connect with Sandra and Teresa, the two people who cook most of our meals for us. I’ve gotten to cut fruits, help serve meals, and have worked on my Spanish with these two lovely ladies. (I’m hoping to be almost fluent in Spanish before coming home! I feel pretty confident in that since we have 6 whole months in Spanish speaking countries!)
Then in the gathering room, we have our meals, worship, lessons, and just sit and have fellowship with each other. There’s rarely a time when the room is completely empty unless we’re all asleep or hanging out outside.
There are so many amazing things about this new home that I can’t even list them all, but this gives you a small look as to what it’s like where I’m living until the end of February!
The Atmosphere:
Wow. I honestly don’t really know where to start. It is such a distinct and unique atmosphere that it makes it hard to put words to it. To try to put it simply, I would say the atmosphere is very Godly and growth focused. From day one, people have been open and want to hear what you have to say. The staff here and the Guatemalans are this way. The base staff are very wise and filled with the Holy Spirit. They speak truth and challenge you to grow deeper with what you think and believe. The Guatemalans know who we are and what we’re here to do. They smile and join in on conversation when possible. (Fun fact: The bus system made a new stop specially for us. They see us and shout “Misiones! Misiones!” To get us on there bus and then drop us off right in front of our gate. It’s simple but shows that an impact is being made here in Guatemala.) I hope as the weeks go on I will be able to better explain the atmosphere to you all because it is so incredible, but for now, that’s all I have. I hope you understand a least a few bits and pieces of it!
What I Am Doing Here:
MINISTRY TIME!! This is one of my favorite things to tell my supporters about because it shows how I get to spend my days growing the Kingdom and give you all something to be praying about for me. So here it is!!
My team and I will get to spend the next three months pouring into a village called Bola de Oro. It literally means “ball of gold,” and I’m so excited to see why God gave them this incredible name.
In Bola de Oro, we’ll be working with a group of 40-50 children three days a week. Monday afternoons we’ll teach the children English. On Wednesday’s we have the blessing to lead a Bible study with them. Then on Friday’s we get to hang out and play games with them. Our main focus is to show these kids how loved they are and build relationships with them. We’ve already spent one afternoon with these children playing games and getting to know them. I am beyond excited to be with these children and see where God’s going to take it.
In the mornings, we get to walk around Bola de Oro and make house visits. This is where we go into houses and simply engage in conversations with the people who live in this village. We get to build relationships and show the love God has for each of these families. I haven’t done house visits before, but I have heard great things come out of them and can’t wait to see God working through them.
Lastly, on Thursdays we’ll be doing something called Church Activation. We will be taught a lesson with tools on how to expand the Kingdom and activate churches in the morning and then go out and use what we just learned in the community. I’m not completely sure what this entails, but, like I’ve said before, I am excited to find out what God has planned for us and Guatemala through this!
SO there ya have it! That’s what I have so far about life in Guatemala. If you could be praying for this ministry my team and I are starting to pour into and for our time here in Guatemala, that would be much appreciated! Also be praying against homesickness as the holiday season has begun. 🙂
I hope you learned something new about this next chapter in my Race journey. And as always, if this brought up any questions, comment them below or message me!
Lots of Love and Prayers,
Paige :):):):):):):):):)
