I am dumb founded to say that month 1 has come and gone. This month has been an insane start to an incredible journey. Let me try to begin from the start. (I will apologize that this may be long).
One month ago, I made my way back to Gainesvile, GA. This marked the start of my journey on the World Race. It was time for launch. Launch is a week long time in Atlanta, where we get some more training and important info and most importantly have time to worship corporately with all squads that were leaving in September. For my squad, K-Squad, we had to show up even earlier (a whole week) to get trained on “story telling”. You may be asking yourself why did you need training on story telling? Well my squad has been selected for a unique opportunity; to be filmed over the 11 months we are in the field in hopes to create a documentary that will touch even more lives for the sake of Jesus. We were given incredible equipment from the production company, Grey Media (check them out! They are incredible!) We spent a week learning how to use the camera equipment and how to chase stories. I, at first, wasn’t sure about filming on our own, but I have learned that it is something I enjoy. It has become a unique way to see how the Lord works. I will post some pictures that I have taken very soon.
Then all the other squads showed up for Launch.
Launch seemed fast and furious, full of training and meetings. It was neat to be able to invite my mom to join me at Launch for two days. I was so grateful and excited to bring her into what I will be doing for the next year. She got see what AIM is all about and what the World Race is about first hand. That is something I could not give her through explanations and emails and photos. It was incredibly difficult to say goodbye her at the end. This may sound harsh or unemotional, but normal when I say goodbye to family it usually isn’t difficult. I love my family with my whole heart, but leaving has never been emotional or tough. This time how ever is a new story. My mom and I had some great conversations and God shared some truths to the both of us, which in return made this goodbye the hardest of all. My mom spoke some things to me as we said goodbye that made me cry and final begin to see myself and her in a new light. God showed up huge at training camp, huge at Launch, and my only expectation from here forward is that HUGE is an understatement.
At the end of Launch we found out that our first month in the field will be an ALL SQUAD month! This means that all 55 or so of us will be leaving together and serving together in the same city. Can you believe 55 insane Americans merging on one town in northern Guatemala? We learned that we would be in Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala, a city that was once a cultural center for the Mayan culture and still is to this day. To get to the city, we headed to the airport at 4am and took a 3-hour flight to Guatemala City then about a 6-hour bus ride to Quiche. The views are absolutely spectacular! Think Rocky Mountains but with a lot more rain and green vegetation! So maybe a combination of the Appalachians and the Rockies. Quiche is a mountain town that sits at about 7,000 feet above sea level. I did not know this or expect this! What a great surprise and gorgeous place to live for a month!
We arrived around dinner time, a very long travel day. Our first full day was spent touring the city and getting the lay of the land. Oh yeah, we are sleeping in our tents this month and my sleeping pad already has leak! ? I fell in love with Guatemala the first day! I was speaking Spanish, again! That is something that makes my heart jump with joy. Since I have some background in Spanish, I was designated to be translator because our tour guide did not speak a word of English. Times like this make me wish I never stop speaking and practicing my Spanish. Nonetheless it was a great challenge and I have loved being immersed into a Spanish culture again.
My team, team Relentless Hope, served at a day care all month. I was the point person because I spoke Spanish. No one around here really speaks English haha. At first, there were some challenges with day care because we did not exactly know what they wanted us to do or what they expected. I may speak some Spanish but by no means am I fluent! There was some difficulty communicating. We were serving with another team at this location, so 14 Americans and maybe 100 little Guatemala children. This day care is a government run facility for families with one parent or broken families or families that live in extreme poverty. Most of the kids only have one parent and the parents work in the market everyday, so they drop off their kids here.
I know for me personally it was a struggle at first. I love playing kids but it can be very difficult to create real relationships with out being able to communicate well. I was also put on cleaning duty, which meant I spent most of my days cleaning the cafeteria and hallways and bathrooms. Definitely not the most glamorous of jobs, but it was one I found great joy in because I was able to physically serve this day care. It made it tough because I did not get much time with the kids. I remember sitting one morning thinking and journaling and it hit me that I my attitude towards what I was doing needed to change. Later that day, I learned that one of the kids (one I call a trouble maker) who always came up to me did not have a father. I began to ask questions and found out that he has never really been around men, especially men that would pay attention to him. This hit me hard. Here I was complaining about what I was doing as a “job” and yet I was doing so much more. I was being a “father” to this boy day in and day out. I was a chance for the Lord to show this little boy that men do and can love him. The Lord showed me that it’s not about the title of what you do but it’s the attitude in which you do it. He also showed me that ministry isn’t about the big things, it’s about the small things. It’s not always preaching to large groups and seeing large amounts of people come to Christ, but instead it’s about a simple smile, a hug, a broke/chopped conversation because you don’t speak the same language. I was reminded that Jesus’s ministry was not always preaching on the hillside, but it was about letting the children come to him and about pouring everything He had into his disciples. In other words, He was present where He was and He took advantage of every minute to pour into and love those around him. That’s what I want to do. I don’t want to be looking forward to next month or month 9 because maybe then things will be easier. I want give everything I have in the moments of the present day and that day only.
This is a challenge and struggle everyday but it is one I am determined to follow.
The director of the day care came to me one day and told me that we were to scrap an entire cinder block wall and then paint a mural on it. This was very different for me. I am not an artist, but I can do physical labor. So with putty knives in hand and wire brushes, 14 Americans turned their energy and craftsmanship towards a cinder block wall on the playground. Scraping the wall seemed to take forever at least one full week or more. This quickly began to challenge everything I was learning in the first week. We got the scarping done and then spent another week painting a mural. This mural is incredible! The creative credit goes to my teammate, Molly Fae, who took a leadership role, planned this whole thing out and made sure we got it done with excellence. The mural turned out incredibly!
I have met some incredible people here in Guatemala. I will post their individual stories to come. For a teaser, one is on a woman who works at the day care and two other jobs, as well as being a student and mother to 4 kids and a wife. She is an incredible woman, in which I bonded with immediately. It was a tough goodbye, or rather “see you later”. Stay tuned for her story!!
Guatemala is a place where difficulty is faced and overcome with beautiful smiling faces, determination, and grace. A place that will stay in my heart.
I don’t believe it is time to pack up and head to country #2: Nicaragua!!!!
What I have learned: Be and live in the moment to the fullest, leave nothing to spare. To live a life of adventure and following the Lord cannot be done on your own strength. The Race is more difficult than I ever thought it could be. Being a team leader maybe the most challenging thing I have done to date. When an adventure presents itself, NEVER say no!
