I’ve only been out of the country for a week, but it feels like so much longer than that. We got to Guatemala last Wednesday. In the past week I’ve grown to love the country far more than I already did. Both the landscapes and the people of Guatemala are incredibly beautiful. I can’t wait to get to know them more.
We spent the first couple of days here debriefing, learning about all the customs and rules about where we’re staying, and preparing for our ministry. Ministry started on Monday. Each team has a different ministry, and my team is going into the town of San Luis with the goal of staring a church within the three months that we’ll be staying here. On Monday, the very first person we talked to in San Luis ended up surrendering his life to Christ! Thanks God! We spent this week of ministry walking around the city and praying for the people we could, working to listen and obey the call of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the week we have had a handful of people surrender their lives to Christ, two people commit to coming to a weekly bible study, and the school asked us about leading a sports ministry for kids on Wednesdays.
When we are not doing ministry we are hanging out at our base. We are staying at the Adventures in Missions base. We don’t have ministry on the weekends so we can use those days as adventure days. The squad is already planning adventures that include hiking volcanos, going to a surf camp on the beach, or staying in a village that is inspired by The Hobbit. But even just hanging out at our base can be plenty entertaining. The staff here is already pouring so much life into me. They are all on fire for God and are able to speak so much wisdom. I also love my team and my squad, so it is just a blast getting to spend time with them playing games, having bonfires, or starting a band. (Yes I am technically a member of the Quetzalley Cats even without musical talents).
This past weekend was the Guatemalan independence day, so we got to join in on the festivities. We spent this last weekend exploring the towns closest to our base, Parramos (a smaller Guatemalan city) and Antigua (one of the people there referred to Antigua as the Beverly Hills of Guatemala). They had a parade to celebrate the holiday in Parramos, but the best festivities happened that evening when we were back at base. People would run down the streets in groups while carrying torches as a way to celebrate the holiday, but my favorite tradition was to throw bags of water at whoever you saw on the streets as a good natured way to enjoy the holiday.
After one week, I am so excited for what’s to come these next three months. I was put outside my comfort zone when I found out that we were going to have the responsibility of planting a church, but the amazing experiences from this week made me excited. The AIM base staff and our squad leadership is so ready to push us out of our comfort zone and closer to God, both in what they teach and what they call us to do, that I can’t help but be optimistic about how much I will grow in this time in Guatemala. I know that the Lord is teaching me things about my identity, my purpose, and my authority already, and I am so ready to keep learning and growing.
