Manistry Month. Clever, right? Well for our ninth month on the race in Guatemala, this is what we called it when the men separated from the women for ministry. The men were in Puerto Barrios on the Gulf coast and the majority of the women stayed five hours west in Antigua. Ashley and I decided to participate this month, which meant I joined the men for the first two weeks of ministry, and then came back to Antigua to be with Ashley for the final two weeks. I can honestly say it was one of the most difficult things we’ve done as a married couple. It’s one thing to go away on business and leave your wife at home near friends and family, with her iPhone, internet, and normal comforts. It’s another thing to be apart in a different country, in a different culture where everything is new and unfamiliar. We had little communication while we were separated, but we knew this was a special time for each of us to grow in intimacy with the Lord and pour into the men and women around us.
Missing Ash at Tikal Ash missing me at the volcano
Upon arrival to Puerto Barrios the guys were excited to see what our ministry would be. What were we going to build, demolish, or maybe even kill? The answer would be nada.. actually, quite the opposite. Our ministry contact informed us that most of the ministries at Casa Verde were relational. They planned for us to visit a children’s hospital, nursing home, elementary school, dumpsite, city park and multiple churches to pray with people and spend time with them. That’s pretty much covers every ministry except manual labor. Oh, the irony. It was more than we could have asked for though. We loved each of our ministries and cherished the opportunity to bring Jesus to each of those places.
Praying for the babies and mothers Nick and me outside the children's hopital
Practicing my Spanish with Armando at the nursing home
Speaking at one of the churches Praying with Ruth who lives and works in the dump
Outside of our ministry, we had great opportunities to study together what it meant to be men and leaders. While other men of our generation and culture are shirking responsibility and leadership, how can we step up? What does it take to not only lead, but also influence? As Christian men, do we know what we believe? Where do we stand on tough biblical issues like tongues, prophecy or homosexuality? Is it okay to be offended or should we be unoffendable? Do transparency and integrity go hand-in-hand? Do our sins disqualify us from leading this generation? I’m not sure we answered all these things, but it’s what we explored this month.
Z Squad men spending a day at the lake
Team Ignition Men- me, Matt and Nick at Tikal
When we weren’t doing ministry we enjoyed hiking through the jungle, visiting local swimming holes and beaches and touring the Mayan ruins at Tikal. Hope you enjoy this video by Matt Bell that shows how we spent our day off at the lake!
