Four more days until my first month is over. The first break up of eleven. I would like to reflect on the month with you if that’s ok. It seems like a year ago that I left the US and at the same time this month has flown by! The first week of ministry was insane! Thirteen like-minded and yet completely different people were thrown into community together. We live on a “compound” with twelve foot concrete walls and razor wire. We sleep in a three room school where the quarters would be too close if there were six of us and all the room had doors. Jesus always has a plan! We have had no other option but to get to know each other deeper than our comfort zones would have liked.
I used to be afraid of struggle and conflict. Now it gets me excited. As long as we are rooted in Christ Jesus and allow Him to do His thing, conflict can only bear the fruit of growth. No matter how hard the trial or heavy the burden, He has our best interest at hand. It has been pretty easy for me to forget this in the moment, but my time with Jesus has revealed so much.
That is another challenge that has been thrown in front of me. The month before I left, I did almost nothing but rest in His presence. This month I have had to fight for even thirty minutes with Him. Talk about a struggle! I need my Jesus and alone time with Him is necessary to my survival. This reality has actually made the time that I do get, taste so good.
Guatemala has been nothing short of an adventure! I have hiked an active volcano, rode a tuk-tuk (which is even more dangerous), rode an old school bus packed to the brim with people down a hill going entirely too fast, walked through flooded streets in hurricane influenced rain in the dark trying to find the right street to turn on, went to a lake surrounded by more active volcanoes, went to a WalMart in a third world country, prayed in English for people that don’t understand English, went to a garbage dump to pray for and pass out food to people that scavenge for a living, broken curses, seen demons physically move things, eaten street cart food that I have been told could kill me, eaten more frijoles than I knew existed, almost gotten run over by a police car, been accused of stealing a pineapple that I most certainly bought but didn’t know how to say that in Spanish, been under attack more spiritually this month than the rest of my life combined and at the same time I have seen more victory, breakthrough, and growth in this month than I thought possible!
