For the last week we have been in Antigua, Guatemala. We will remain here through April 9th. If you will remember, this is where I spent a
summer during college studying Spanish while working at a hospital with
disabled children. Antigua
is a place where the Lord continued to capture my heart for the nations. A place that began to solidified the Lord’s
call to be apart of the nations coming to know Himself.
The “we” I speak of in Antigua is not team Zion I have spent the
year with. For this month our squad
prayed about which direction the Lord would have us go individually, and we
created new teams. Those in my Antigua family include Allison Johnston, Sarah Dager,
Lauren Morris, Katey Breneman, Courtney Pearsall, and Sean Smith. We split into about 5 teams, and are all
doing a form of ATL. I spoke of ATL (ask
the Lord) in several other blogs. To
refresh your memory, this is simply praying, listening, and receiving from the
Lord each day. While in Antigua we have several contacts, but the bulk of our day
is spent doing an ATL.
Antigua is a largely international community with people traveling,
seeking, studying, working, etc… Many
days are spent in the Central Park ATLing.
We have met locals and internationals from all walks of life. Conversations about the Lord have been
plentiful! We have also had incredible
opportunities to provide daily necessities for locals and pray for people in a
variety of circumstances.
The ATL has proven to be interesting
already! We went to an international
church service where I ran into the same guy, Dick Rutgers, I met 4 years ago
at a different church. He is the person
who provided an opportunity to volunteer at the Hermano Pedro
Hospital while I was here
in college. He works with an organization
that brings wheelchairs to 
third world countries and now lives outside Antigua, dedicating his time to handicapped
children. Since running into him, we
have been volunteering at the hospital.
To me, Hermano Pedro is not just another hospital or place to
minister. It is a place where I left a
piece of my heart 4 years ago. It is not
just a place where sick people come and go, but it is a place where handicapped
children, teens, and adults that I love live.
The majority have some form of cerebral palsy or similar handicap. To hear more about my return to Hermano Pedro
check out my next blog…
As you know our time in Antigua
is spent during Holy Week. Holy Week is
a huge celebration in this city. There
are processionals, floats, ceremonies, street murals, dramas, etc… It is quite the spectacle. It should be an interesting week, so stay tuned for more to come. We look forward to sharing more stories with
you of ATLs over the next 3 weeks and this Holy Week celebration.
Daily Mode of Transportation….the chicken bus
El Arco and La Merced (Large Catholic Church)
Katey, Sarah, and I in a TucTuc
And yes….I did run into my friend, Whitney Fancher, from high school
while hanging out in the Central Park…small world!
