We have done quite a few tasks this first week in the Mayan biosphere of Guatemala. My squad is together in one place so we have been doing stuff together. One of the first tasks we had was collecting a lot of very heavy rock to be used for making things and we went into the jungle to get it. We got acquainted with painful plants and clearing pathways to get the rock. The whole squad also went out one day to clear trees and bring back their trunks which involved taking machetes and clearing swaths of jungle and also hacking up tree branches with them. I always get passionate about clearing vegetation especially when a machete is involved and I really loved that part. There seems to be something therapeutic about chopping things down. The other part was more challenging. Some trees had fallen from a storm and we were just picking them up for the purpose of building structures. It is straightforward but heavy physical labor and it calls for much humility. I’m seeing this as supporting a ministry and we are not on the front lines like last month. This time it is more labor intensive for the purpose of making ministry go smoothly. I have to see this as something equally important like taking to word of God to people in a lesson. It seems that we are not making disciples but we are being discipled and grown through this work and through our efforts, ministry will happen, and pastors and missionaries down here will be more effectively trained because we chose to serve no matter what it looks like. One thing that God has shown me through the first week here is the importance of discipline with my time. We don’t like discipline too much and most of us think of it as a legalistic thing with rules but I’m in a position right now where the only way to experience God and grow on this race is through managing my time.
