Hello everyone!! The last time I updated you I was living an entirely different life than I am now. The first two weeks of my race were spent adjusting to the new lifestyle and getting to know my 40 other teammates. Although lots of things were different from back home, like not being able to drink the water, several things stayed the same. We had warm showers all the time and comfy beds. I thought my life was changing in so many ways back in San Pedro; with the Lord, my living conditions, and our ministry. But these past two weeks really showed me how much change I would continue to see throughout my race.
My team of seven was placed in Quiche, and we had no idea what to expect. When we would ask the locals back in Antigua about where we were going, they had lots of mixed emotions. We were told that it was freezing and in the middle of no where. Or that everyone spoke in Quiche, a Mayan dialect, and no one could even understand Spanish. This one really got us scared, because we had finally learned about five sentences of Spanish just to find out we couldn’t even use it. A few people told us Quiche was beautiful and that we would love it, but most everyone just said “I am so sorry for you”. This is not the news you want to hear days before arriving to a new place where you will spend the next two months in.
Luckily I think all of those locals had it wrong, because ChiChi is one of the greatest places I have ever been. My team is in Quiche, which is basically like a state back home, and we are living in ChiChiCastanango, which is a city in Quiche. It is up in the mountains, and absolutely beautiful here. Also, a good bit speak Spanish so were good 🙂 It gets cold and rainy at night, but is nice and warm during the day (aka the most perfect weather). We live on the church floor in our sleeping bags, toilets only flush at night, and our bucket showers are ice cold, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This lifestyle is insanely different, but because of our ministry host, Juan, it is so so so worth it.
Juan is truly one of the greatest people I know. He is hilarious, has such a servant heart, and follows and trusts God’s plan for him better than I have ever seen before. He chooses to spend his time going into schools and teaching children English, for no pay, just so he can tell them who Jesus is as well. Yet this is only a small part of his ministry, New Generation. He does so many things to constantly be building up the kids in the community, and also pours into the local police officers. He is making disciples and showing his hometown the love of God. He puts others in front of himself time after time. His wife makes us the most amazing meals everyday, even though they have no money to do so. Once a month they do a feeding program, and go without eating in order to have enough money to make meals. He knows that the Lord will provide for him no matter what obstacles he is faced with, and it is amazing to be able to witness daily.
These past two weeks we have been fixing up his church so that the community can come learn English and learn more about God. My ministry for the next two months will consist of teaching adults, police, and children at the church, as well as feeding programs and going into the schools. I am so excited to be able to stay in ChiChi for two more months and watch the Lord work in the lives of everyone here, including Juan, as well as me and my team!!
