Leaving the country is a process. We are now in Puerto Barrios, Guatamala. There are 13 of us living in a house. It is way beyond my expectations. We had 26.5 hours of travel time trying to get here, but it was so worth it.
I have now been here exactly a week, and I have seen and experienced things that I never thought I would have a chance to see.
Monday was my birthday and I woke up at 5am to lights flashing and loud noises going off next to my bed, (yes, I get a bed!) Come to find out, it is tradition to pop fireworks in the room and sing Feliz Cumpleanos (Happy Birthday.) It scared me so bad I almost fell off of the top bunk. Now, THAT is a birthday greeting I will never forget.
Later that day, I went to an orphanage for the first time in my life. I met a little girl, Maria. I’m pretty sure she has my heart now. She is about 9-12 months, I can’t really tell. I first saw her on the ground crawling around. I immediately went to her and she shut herself off. She was very quiet. Even in her mild cry when I first picked her up. Then I just started singing to her. Jesus Loves Me. And in the next hour and a half, I held this baby as if she was my own, and she wouldn’t let me go. She just laid on me as if she found rest and contentment in me holding her. I mean duh- she doesn’t have a family. Of course she wants to be held and loved. And that is exactly what I did. I loved her. I made her thick black hair into a fohawk (naturally.) She just laid- and I loved. She didn’t interact- She didn’t really want to. Until, an hour and a half later, I go to lay her down and she was just laying there staring at me with those huge dark eyes and I started tickling her and she laughed and laughed and laughed. Oh my gosh. My heart was melting. I was so overjoyed to see this baby smile because my heart had been hurting so much for her.
Then we prayed over the children, and we left. I was standing beside her rubbing her belly as she was laying and looking up at me with a smile and I took one step to the door and she got up and crawled to the bars of the crib and started screaming. Screaming. I went back to calm her down and I did for a while until the same thing happened again. And here I am- walking out of this orphanage with a baby crying out for me to hold her. To love her. It tore me up. All I could do was pray though..So I did.
And I also prayed for the ministry that we will be doing and the different people we will be touching.
- On Mondays we will be going to an orphanage of about 25 people and then at night playing futbol in the park with children.
- Tuesday we go to the children’s hospital and then church at night
- Wednesday we will worship in the street and attract people and minister through music in the mornings and during the afternoon we will go to the Nursing home and then church at night
- Thursday we will go through the markets and evangelize to people and then Thursday night we will go into the bars and pray for the prostitutes (they live in the bars.)
- Friday we will go to the dump. There are children who live in the dump and wait for things to come in so that they can dig through the trash for food or for things to recycle so that they can get money
- Saturday is optional, but as a team, we will come up with some ministry to do.
Please be praying for all of these things that we are going to be doing. That we are able to touch the lives of the people and that our light shines through the darkness.
I know that this team of 13 is meant for this area. God is moving. ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads straight, and the rough smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’
We are here to prepare the hearts of those that we meet in the same way as John the Baptist did. His purpose was to prepare the way of the Lord for his coming, just as we are to prepare now. I remember how John was put in a position to easily accept the glory for the things that the Lord was doing through him, but instead, he humbled himself and declared that there was one more powerful than him. And he gave all of the glory to God. He just allowed God’s light to shine through him. That is my heart’s desire for us during our ministry here. We may be the only light that some people see- but that light is not ours- it is our Fathers’. All of the glory and honor and praise be to him.
I know that I only shared about Monday, but I have so much that I want to say. I will be journaling/ blogging as much as I can.
It absolutely breaks my heart every day to see the hopeless and broken. It takes a while to process the things that I see. I am still processing the things I saw and felt from Monday. Please pray for the people. I love and miss you all.
“Rejoice in the Lord, Always.” Phil- 4:4
