Wow! Month nine has come and gone! My month here in Guatemala was amazing. Our team and Logan’s team had the chance to work with a really great organization called Nueva Generación. Our host’s name was Louis and he was really great to work with. We became really comfortable with him and his family right off the bat. Our two teams lived in his ministry house two blocks from his family’s house in a really safe and beautiful community just outside of Antigua in a place called San Pedro. We cooked for ourselves and had lots of space to live comfortably with 13 of us there. For the first three weeks, we combined our two teams and then divided up into three ministry groups. One of the groups worked with Louis as he went into schools to teach English to all different ages and schools. Another group worked in different classrooms teaching morals and biblical studies. I was in the third group; we worked on a fundraising project for a ministry home Louis was trying to finish renovating. We partnered with a coffee shop in Antigua for a week and received a portion of the coffee sales. That was a really great opportunity to do something a little different compared to what ministry we had been doing in the past few months. We also had the chance to meet the owner of the coffee shop who was from the U.S. and is here with his family working on a bunch of different ministry opportunities. It was super refreshing getting to hear his outlook on missions and the ideas he has to help Guatemala.
My group also used this fundraising tool through Adventures in Missions called the Give Platform. With the help of our friends and family and a very generous Canadian company we were able to raise over $1200 in two weeks! That experience was a great reminder of how many awesome people we have supporting all of us, the things we are doing around the world, and God’s unending goodness.
For the last week of ministry, my group helped one of Louis’ friends with some manual labour. We spent a few days levelling out ground for a foundation of a home in a village on the side of a volcano. No big deal.
As hard and exhausting as it was, I actually really enjoyed it. Every time I stopped to take a break I could look up and see the mountains and volcanoes that surrounded us. The view from where we were working was breathtaking. And as we pulled dirt from one side of the yard to the other and then back again, I was getting really tired. At the time I may have been exhausted but I was reminded of how important the foundation of a house is. I get to be a part of building the foundation of their family’s home and that’s pretty cool.
At the beginning of the month, one of my really good friends on the squad had decided to go home. It caught me off guard and hit me really hard. It also made me really sad but over time, the Lord was able to show me that everything happens for a reason and that He has his hand on him through this season. I was also reminded that I can’t change the issues or how they deal with them. As much as I want to, the best thing I can do for anyone is constantly be lifting them up in prayer.
For the last week in Guatemala some of the squad had our parents come out on the field for a Parent Vision Trip. This was a really cool opportunity for our parents to come out and experience a glimpse of what we’ve been doing for the past 9 months. And when I say glimpse, I mean glimpse. It was probably the fastest 5 days of my whole 9 months. So id say just over half of our squad had parents or a parent come visit us for the week and the rest of our squad mates actually went to El Salvador to hit up some A. T. L. Ministry for a week. (That’s Ask The Lord Ministry) The week with our parents was just a whole bunch of emotions, feelings, exhaustion, laughter, growth, and insight. It all happened so fast. We crammed in a variety of different ministry opportunities for the parents to experience. But it was also very well balanced with ministry time and off time. For ministry we went to an old folks home to hangout with some really awesome old people. (One even asked my mom if he could marry me!) We went to a hospital for children with scribal palsy. And we went to an orphanage in the mountains. We would either have ministry in the mornings and off time in the afternoons or vice versa. During our off time I had the chance to show my parents around the beautiful city of Antigua and we also had the chance to catch up and talk about the things God has been doing in my life and theirs in the last 9 months. We also had the chance to introduce our parents to A.T.L. one afternoon. Our group ended up talking to this woman on the street begging for money to feed her 5 children. This really hit my parents hard. One thing my mom said to me was “Its one thing to read your blogs, watch your monthly videos and talk to you over FaceTime, but now that we’re here, experiencing the way you are living and seeing the hurt that you have seen, it gives us a whole new outlook and appreciation for what you’ve been doing the past 9 months.” I think the coolest part about PVT was being able to work along side my parents as brothers and sisters in Christ to bring Gods Kingdom. My parents are incredible people and I can confidently sit here and tell you that I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for their godly influence on my life. During that week we experienced each other in a new way. I believe God is continuing to mould and shape me into who he’s created me to be and I’m thankful that my parents are 100% supportive of this growing process. Sure, we aren’t by any means perfect and we still have arguments and disagree on things but I think one thing that I learned during that week was that we are all on the same team. We all have one purpose in life and that’s to bring Gods Kingdom in everything that we do and everything else is temporary. Our relationships with each other and our intimacy with the Lord are eternal. It was really cool having the chance to meet some other parents on the squad. I really enjoyed seeing the way our parents came together to support each other and to support us as the journey continues for us racers and them as parents. They didn’t choose to do the Race, we did and I appreciate their continued support and willingness as they come alongside me. God is doing some really great things in and through my family and I’m excited as I prayerfully prepare to go home and join them on the journey we’re on.
As I enter into a new season of my race, I’m overflowing with love and joy as I step into a leadership roll with my team. I know there are only two months left, but I also know God can do a lot of great things in two months. Please join me in praying for my team and our squad as we jump in with both feet to what God has for each of us.
Also, my team is heading into the mountains where there is little to no Wi-Fi access. I’m looking forward to stepping away from the distraction of social media and using this time to make the most of the opportunity God has given me.
Thank you for your support and prayer! It really does mean more than you know.
Until next time!
Court.
