To love people and share Jesus’s heart for His children from a place of overflow is the most beautiful place to be. It is effortless, humbling, and rewarding to live as though life is mission and mission is life. Each day and all day here in Guatemala the Lord is present and active.
ATL “Ask the Lord”
Most mornings during the week we have “ATL” ministry. This means to “Ask The Lord” how God wants us to serve today. I was thinking the other day about how Jesus created ATL. He most likely woke up every morning and asked His Father to lead Him where His heart desired that day. I love the idea of going where Jesus asks you because of how spontaneous it is, the Lord is so creative in how each day looks so different but is fruitful in its own unique ways.
The other day, ATL started out doing listening prayer and writing versus and encouraging notes on pieces of paper to hand out during the day. As we walked into the village we noticed a church service going on with the door wide open. We walked in and were greeting with smiles. We worshipped with the women for over an hour, giving away a verse.
We then continued our journey stopping to talk to a woman on the side of the road. we shared our testimonies and heard her story as well, giving away another note of encouragement and praying for her. We then asked if anyone in the village needed healing. She pointed across the street, and led us to a small house.
We were greeted by a older woman named Marta, who had broken her leg months ago and still couldn’t walk on it. She introduced her grandkids, who she was caring for. We prayed for healing over her leg, the whole household weeping. We shared the gospel with them from start to finish, and shared how much the Lord loves them. We then asked if she wanted to accept Jesus into her heart, she said she had past hurt and is no longer a believer. The Lord was urging me to ask the children, so we then asked her grandkids who were attentively listening to everything, if they wanted to accept Jesus into their lives. They immediately said yes! We gave them bibles, along with notes of encouragement that we had made and prayed over earlier that day. We invited them to the church we had visited earlier and told them they were more than welcome to come.
I have faith that the Lord will heal Martas heart and her leg. We have been returning to their home and praying for healing. We also just recently had lunch with the family and have built a really wonderful relationship with them. What a honor to welcome 3 beautiful children into the Lords kingdom! Party in heaven.
I could seriously go on and on, just writing about/ and pondering this day gets me excited for what the Lord has for us through ATL the rest of the time here in Guatemala.
MINISTRIES
Lugar de Promesas (The Place of Promises) is one of the ministries we partner with in the afternoons. In a small village called Itzapa, we have the opportunity to teach the children English, worship Jesus (with dancing of course), teach a bible story or lesson, and play games (futbol and ‘pato pato ganzo’ is a fan favorite). We also do house visits for the children’s families and love on them by helping them with everyday chores, sharing about Jesus, and worshiping together.
Our other ministry is called Esperanza Ministerio (Hope Ministry). This takes place in a village about an hour away from where we live called San Antonio. Similar to our other ministry Lugar de Promesas, we teach the children and visit the families as well. One of the moms we got to meet recently gave her heart to Christ! Praise God! My team gave her a Bible study to further her faith. I continue to be encouraged by how strong she is as a single mom both working and raising her children in the midst of the hardships of life. We are continuing to visit her each week to pray over her. This being said, in San Antonio we are planning on starting a Women’s Ministry! I am overjoyed to be loving these Women and encouraging them with the gospel. We are hoping to use the Beauty for Ashes bible study to guide this new ministry.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Team: Please pray for my team, that we are able to be the Lords vessels each and everyday. For the Lord to give us energy as everyday is busy!
Marta and her family: Over physical and spiritual healing in Martas life and the furthering of faith in her grandkids.
Ministries: That we are able to create relationships with the families and children. Please pray for each child that attends the program to understand the love of Jesus!
Guatemala: That there is revival in Guatemala. The Lord is so present here and continues to leave me in AWE of His heart for Guatemala.
My teammate Esther teaching English.
Praying over a man during house visits in San Antonio.
So thankful for each and everyone one of you!
Blessings,
Viv<3
