GUATEMALA: WEEK 1 & 2
I HAVE FINALLY EMBARKED ON MY WORLD RACE ADVENTURE! I have officially launched and am currently taking up residency in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I separated from ¾ of my squad and traveled to my ministry house with my team, GEN7. Here are my top 10 happenings of my first two weeks in Guatemala and some details about my life!
DETAILS
-I am living in the ministry house of my contact, David. The house currently consists of 7 women, and plot twist, 1 man. My ministry contact David currently has an intern from Bethel working under him so he too is living with us in the ministry house. His name is DJ, short for Daniel James. DJ is 19 and grew up as a missionary kid in China. He is fluent in Mandarin. He has a samari bun. He doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. He is currently living alone with 7 women. Please pray he doesn’t lose his sanity over the next 3 months.
-For ministry I will be working with The Street Revolution. I will be leading bible studies, doing VBS with street kids, building relationships with Guatemalan street youth, and working in a place called The Spark. The Spark is a Puesto (garage type street-front room) that is being transformed into a place where Guatemalan street youth can come to get a cup of coffee and be introduced to the truth of The Gospel. We will also be working a lot with David’s church, Vida Real. We will be pouring into the young adults there as well as serving there as needed.
-My average day consists of getting up at 7am for breakfast with my ladies (and DJ). We have worship and prayer from 8:30-9:30 and then we travel to the city for ministry. Tuesday nights we have worship nights at Vida Real. Thursday nights we have a young adults group at Vida Real called Alcante. Saturday and Sundays will be our off days to Adventure around Guatemala!
TOP 10 HAPPENINGS
1) ARRIVED. When I first arrived I had the realization that this was actually happening. I had just left America for nine months. I just left my family for nine months. I just left Jax for nine months. I just left Wilson for nine months. AHHHHH. My realization consisted of some tears and a little breakdown, but all of it was GOOD! It was raw and it was real. Even for me, who always wants to have everything together, this process can be overwhelming. BUT as my main lady Angie would say, it was WONDERFUL!
2) HOLY SPIRIT. When we arrived we all had little treats and notes on our beds. Before we arrived David and DJ wrote all seven of us ladies prophetic notes and placed them on random beds. The front of mine read, “Mighty Warrior”. The inside said, “You have a very strong gift in prayer and intercession. He has given you a strong ability to discern what is happening in the spirit realm. He wants to challenge you on this journey to step deeper into it. He will always give you the words you need to speak forth to destroy what the enemy is doing! Your words release life and light around you! ‘Go out in confidence, mighty warrior!’ Judges 6:12.” I receive that.
3) HOME LIFE. On night of day 3 there was a terrible thunderstorm. What to do during a bad thunderstorm? There is only one logical option… shower. As I was showering the power went out due to the lightening and therefore the pump for the water no longer worked. So there I was… mid-soap… completely out of water. I ended up having to rinse off with water bottles filled with our filtered water. Welcome to the World Race Darby Jeanette.
4) MINISTRY. My first few weeks of ministry have been A BLAST. My ministry consists of VBS with street kids, discipleship with street youth, and construction work in The Spark. The street kids are crazy and love to hang off every portion of my body. They especially love doing backflips off of my legs. The street youth consist of teenagers/young adults who are trapped in the cycle of living on the streets. Some of my favorites are Harrison, Lester, Giovanni, but above all Rosa. Rosa calls me her favorita and in return she is me amor.
5) PIERCED. GEN7 had their first adventure day, which consisted of us traveling to Antigua, Guatemala. We were so very privileged to have Mafer’s Mama, Dinora, drive us to Antigua (Since then we have had to take chicken buses which turns the 45 minute drive into a 2-3 hour trek). On of my teammates, Shelbie, had her 19th birthday so we got together with the rest of the squad to celebrate. At training camp our team vowed to get pierced together so we checked that off the list as well. In addition to GEN7 getting pieced some of our squad mates got pieced and one even got a tattoo.
6) COMMUNITY. Community living in CHALLENGING! People sing too loud too often (and off key), people leave their stuff everywhere, people mess with my peanut butter (horrible idea), and some of my teammates are the worst morning people on the face of the plant. With that said, community living is one of the best things I have ever experienced. I love waking up every morning to both the happy and extremely cranky faces of my teammates. I love our team times (which usually involve LOTS of tears)! I love our movie nights and cuddle puddles. I love the insides jokes, DADDY, and many copy & pastes. I love our ministry and sharing my walk with 6 other Ladies in Jesus. Community is challenging, one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it is 10000000% worth it.
7) CHICKEN BUSES. The local transportation in Guatemala consists of tricked-out school buses called Chicken Buses. These Chicken Buses look like they are straight out of MTV’s Pimp My Ride. The outsides consist of vibrant colors and designs. The insides are plastered with either playboy stickers or tributes to the driver’s mom. The seats are tatter and torn, but that doesn’t even matter because when we get on there is usually only standing room. By standing room I mean I am practically hanging out the door because there are so many people crammed into the bus. On our first chicken bus ride ever we slammed/skidded sides with another chicken bus, which almost sent me through the windshield. Near death experience #3 of my WR adventure. (Sorry Dad. I promise to come home in one piece.)
8) CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. In Antigua there is a Children’s Hospital that is very special to one of my teammates, Mafer. This is no ordinary Children’s Hospital, but is a place specifically for children with disabilities. Our entire team went together a few weekends ago and we all left changed in one way or another. Some ladies had an extremely difficult time and left with LOADS of questions, but the Lord used those children to speak directly to my heart. I walked out with questions, but I also walked out of those hospital doors with a deeper understand of God and His love. When I first walked in I saw about 50 disabled children sitting in wheelchairs. Some were unable to speak, some unable to move, and some completely unable to interact at any level. I didn’t know how to interact or even how to approach these children. I saw them as broken. Not whole. Imperfect. God specifically spoke to my heart and said those are His children just as I am His child. He loves me no more and them no less. Those children that I saw as broken are whole in the eyes of God. They are perfect in His eyes. Mafer and I now go together to visit our kid’s each time we are in Antigua. It is now too one of my favorite places.
9) VIDA REAL. Vida Real is the church of my ministry contact, David. We have worship nights there on Tuesday’s and a young adult’s group called Alcante there on Thursday’s. Alcante is one of the things I look forward to most each week. The group is lead by an 18 year old by the name of Aaron and some other young adults from the church. Nicolle and Fabriccio are some of my favorites. In Alcante we do everything from movie premieres to worship nights to Holy Spirit treasure hunts. Blog to come about my latest treasure hunt with my pal Fabriccio.
10) JESUS. Everyday I am being challenged to see the good amongst the bad. Everyday I walk over homeless people and see starving dog’s everywhere. Everyday I walk through bus terminals filled with trash and human waste. I do ministry outside tin shacks that people here call home. Everyday I have children run into my arms and scream out of pure joy solely due to my presence. Something God has challenged me in is to see the good. See Him working in this city. See the hope instead of the destruction. God is here in Guatemala. Amongst the homelessness, drugs, alcohol, and sex driven culture… There is hope. Everyday I choose to see the hope. I choose to find the hope. I choose to be the hope.
Today I challenge you, wherever you are, to find the hope. Choose the hope. Be the hope. God is working, whether you see it or not. He is in your situation, He see’s you, He hears you, and He is your solution. He is more powerful than any evil and He has already won the war. Choose to see the world through His eyes.
SO EXCITED TO SHARE THIS ADVENTURE WITH YOU.
Peace and Blessings from Guatemala
Dubs
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