Sammy.
Sammy’s is SO mature in his faith. Sometimes he can be very shy, but when it comes to dancing with the kids, he owns that stage. He embraces humility and doesn’t let anything hold him back from ministering to people. My team goes to OWC youth groups on Friday nights, and what he shares carries such power. Sammy has so much joy, it pours out into our ministry and into the community. Sammy is willing and eager to interact with us and he goes out of his way to make us feel welcome and loved, not to mention that his style… A-1.
Ana.
Ana is sarcastic and hilarious and everyone loves her. She knows english really well, so she teaches it to the kids at school. She’s organized and ready for anything that comes her way. Rachel had the opportunity to preach at the first OWC youth group we went to (she killed it btw), and Ana translated. She has such a gift in bringing laughter into every situation, especially when she doesn’t know a word that we say. But the coolest thing is, she doesn’t get embarrassed about it, she just laughs at herself and continues. She’s so confident in her identity and who the Lord says she is that nothing can bring her down.
Rodrigo.
Rodrigo has a spirit of gentleness. He helps with the boys soccer team, so I’m not with him often, but when I am, I feel like he brings a peace and gentleness that wasn’t there before. He’s kind of shy, but in the past few days, I’ve noticed that he’s actually hilarious. There are times during house visits when we’ll just look at each other and laugh, but there are also times when he spends time sitting with the little girl who wants to show him her artwork, and he gives her all the attention she deserves.
Gerson.
Gerson teaches math and he brings such enthusiasm. Even though math isn’t always the funnest subject, he makes it fun. He brings games into it, running back and forth repeating “ocho por siete, cincuenta y seis”. Gerson also has a passion for photography and takes most of the pictures for OWC, and let me tell you, they’re amazing. He captures the beauty in ministry and in people, and he shares that.
Bryan.
He’s a weirdo. Bryan learned english from two years of just listening, and he’s really really good at it. Bryan’s friendship is like that of an old friend. He’s recently been getting a lot more comfortable with all of us and it shows. He’s come out of his shell so much, so we now have inside jokes and ugly pictures of each other. Like… really ugly. He has such a child-like spirit that brings the brightest light into that community. Bryan has such a willingness to serve. He would literally drop anything, unless his moto’s broken, to come early and translate for us, even if it’s not our set ministry time. Because of that willingness, he helps OWC run so smoothly.
There are five weeks left in Guatemala. Five weeks. I feel like yesterday I was getting welcomed by little kids holding a sign at the school. Five weeks left. I’m dreading the day that I have to say goodbye to my ministry hosts and all the kids at the school. I’m reading the Sunday’s I can’t go to McDonald’s with them after church for hours and when we can’t use our broken spanish and english to get to know each other, and the days I’m not at the campo doing ministry, but I’m so confident in them. I’m so sure that God has made them for such a time as this and that they have so much influence in that community. God really knew what He was doing when He placed me there.
