I have now been in Guatemala for over 2 months and it has been amazing. The first month and a half I lived with my team at a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base in Guatemala City. While we were there, we had some amazing ministries. We taught English, went to a daycare on Wednesdays; teaching songs, washing out lice, and just spending time playing outside. Mondays and Fridays we went to an area called “The Line”. We served coffee and food to the prostitutes working on “The Line” spending time to hear their stories and getting to know them, occasionally teaching English in the afternoons. If you want to hear more about that ministry, my teammate, Olivia Dabbs posted a beautiful blog about the ladies there called “Not a prostitute, but a princess” at oliviadabbs.theworldrace.org. One Saturday a month the base hosts a program called 4-14 to disciple kids ages 4-14 (though we get up to 18 years old). They are split into two groups; older and younger. I was always with the older kids, the program goes all Saturday. In the older group, we start on the top floor of the base with testimonies, a devotional, worship, and an activity of some kind, it’s a little different every time. We have lunch, play some games in the park outside of the base, and then we take the kids out and do ministry. The first time we went to a cemetery that overlooks the areas of the city inhabiting gangs and did intercession prayer. Guatemala City has a very strong presence of spiritual warfare. I had heard of spiritual warfare before but never knew how real it was. When you enter certain areas of the city you can literally feel a darkness and a weight over your body and spirit, and you feel it lift when you leave. The last Saturday we were there, during the morning time I had lead worship with my ukulele and my teammates and I sang. Since we only know English worship music, we sang and they sat and listened with their eyes closed (I actually learned and sang one in Spanish!). Once we finished, Carlos, one of the YWAM staff, asked if anyone received anything from the Lord. Many kids opened up and shared visions or words with tears running down their face of things they heard or saw from our Father. It was one of the coolest ways God has ever used me, he spoke to the kids through me. God is too good. For ministry, we went out in groups and the kids all had little surveys asking strangers on the street questions like; Are you a Christian? What does it mean to be a Christian? Etc. We only got to experience two 4-14 days while we were there, but I get to experience 3 more!! That is what this is about.. I have 20 days left here in Guatemala, and once I get home, 20 days until I return.
During the month and a half at the base, I grew more than I had in all the rest of my 9 months. One of the things that pushed me to grow was spiritual warfare/the enemy. He found the smallest things and targeted them in my head. He twisted things in my mind, brought up things from my past, and tried to push me away from some really amazing people. It was honestly one of the hardest times I’ve had on the race but I am so, so grateful for it. Another amazing thing at this base is the staff. They are some of the most amazing humans, they have already become family.
When we had first arrived at the base the idea of doing a DTS (Discipleship Training School) was brought up as a joke but it has become my reality. A DTS is a 5-month discipleship school made up of two parts; lecture phase and outreach phase. The first 3 months I will be living at the base learning about the character of God and his word. The last 2 months I will be in Peru doing ministry using what I learn to spread more of God’s truth. The outreach phase is much like the World Race, but I will be able to pour into others more with the knowledge and discipleship I will gain from the lecture phase and staff at the base. After a lot of time spent praying and being alone with God I knew this is the path he wants me to follow. My future is leaning towards being a full-time missionary and this DTS is my next step into fulfilling God’s path for me.
So now, here I am, terrified but excited. Getting ready to go home in 20 days and preparing to come back 20 days later. Thank you for all your support during this journey. If you have any questions feel free to email me at [email protected]. This may be my last blog with the World Race but let me know if you would like me to add you to my email list for updates as I continue this journey.
Drew Alyssa Jansma
(P.s. For the last month in Guatemala, I am living in a city called Chimaltenango with my team and 3 other teams from my squad. All of our ministries are different, my ministry for the month is teaching ukulele to students at Grace School. 🙂 Lots of fun, I have some pretty talented students. Lots of humorous kids too. See y’all in a few weeks!)
