So the 11-month journey has officially begun…
As we were first flying into the airport in Guatemala, it wasn’t difficult to quickly spot the poverty that was found in the country as we saw the rusted roofs that covered the houses below. Upon landing, we shared so much joy and excitement between all of us as the pilot made a brief announcement on the loud speaker to the other passengers about our journey.
Walking out of the airport, we were quickly welcomed by a group of vans that would take us to our ministry site. Our ministry site is located at a local hospital compound in a town called Quiche. Quiche features beautiful green hillsides covered in vegetation.
Everyone that has been on the World Race has always mentioned never have expectations for the race. In fact, “expectations” is a word that has been casually thrown around often. We quickly experienced this as what was supposed to be a 3-hour drive to the compound, turned into a 5+ hour drive. Although we fell way behind a scheduled arrival, God showed us an unusual welcoming to Guatemala.
As we were traveling through a combination between various towns and curvy mountainsides without problem, we finally reached a halting stop in the middle of a town. Traffic jam! Good. Everyone was able to make the best of the situation though by getting off the bus and playing in the rain next to where we stopped. Eventually we stumbled across what seemed like a small church right by our van that was currently having a worship session. We slowly approached the church with hesitation because of the possibility of the traffic jam breaking up. Full of curiosity, we peaked through the doorway.
The lady at the door smiled with joy and generously invited us in. As we walked in, I could instantly feel goosebumps as a lady was singing powerful worship along with a man playing the keyboard. Not many people were in the sanctuary, but the few that were there, were face down at the alter that stood before the preacher’s podium. Some may have been praying for healing, some for strength, and others for wisdom, but whatever the matter was, they were praying and laying their needs before their Lord and Savior. Our Lord and Savior. Though there may be a language barrier and different lifestyles between us, we could always share the fact that we all love and need our God.
After awhile of singing and prayer, we made our way into the nursery and began to play with the kids. Only knowing a handful of words, we quickly ran out of conversations once we asked what their names and ages were. All the kids in the nursery began crowding around us and eventually it turned into a strength contest. We took turns flexing muscles and made muscular poses.
Shortly after playing with the kids, we made our way back to the van to discover the news about the traffic jam.
The cause of the traffic jam was a fatal car accident.
The sound of the rain grew louder as the van turned to silence. The mood quickly changed in the van as we all felt the shock of learning about the people passing away. The team came together to pray over the lives that were lost and the loved ones as well. I don’t think it was coincidence we stumbled across the church that night, but sometimes God just does things we just don't understand.
Well I can’t leave this blog on a sad note so I’ll tell a little bit of what we’ve been up to.
While being at the ministry site, we have traveled our way through the town and market several times to learn our way around. Each team has taken turns cooking meals for one another and we have hand-washed our clothes. So it’s been pretty primitive for the most part. Ministry hasn’t officially started yet and won’t start until Monday. Though the official ministry hasn’t started yet, we have had the opportunity to pray over a few people and help retrieve medical supplies for the hospital. Oh yeah! Lots of rice and carbs, Hmmmm! Remember to subscribe to hear future updates about our upcoming ministry! If you're interested in looking at some of our pictures (internet is too bad to upload), look at my Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/clay.carson.9
