Following the Spirit, Literally.

As I processed my 11 month World Race journey in the couple months I was home, Dec. 2012 to Feb. 2013, I realized how much The Race environment was not one in which I flourished. I never fell in love with a specific country, people group, ministry, or cause. To be completely honest, I forced myself to try to enjoy a lot of the ministry we participated in (e.g., bar ministry, dump ministry, door-to-door evangelism, drop-in-centre ministry, orphanage visits, English classes, etc.).

Don’t get me wrong, I still had amazing times in ministry and the Lord worked so much in and through me to serve others well, but God had way bigger plans for why He called me to go on The Race. The Race was a necessary step for what the Lord is calling me to this year and the years to come. During that journey, God continued to foster and develop my high regard for discipleship and spiritual mentorship. I soaked up any and all feedback I could get throughout The Race and realized the immense importance of ongoing personal and spiritual growth.

When I was presented with the Guatemala vision trip back in Aug. 2012, I had an immediate disinterest with the project because my sole missions experience, The Race, wasn’t exactly the time of my life. The ministries weren’t my passions, the teams were ridiculously and unnecessarily messy at times, and life overseas is not easy.

In January 2013, when I finally decided to receive the Lord’s invitation to walk by faith and move to Guatemala, I had slight reservation about what it might look like (e.g., the specifics of ministry, team dynamics, living in one place for months, and solely relying on the Holy Spirit to work through me).

So, I’ve been in Guatemala for almost 10 days now, and man, it so good!!! Our leadership team, Jonathan and Ann Little and Noe Rivera, are sold-out for the vision that Adventures in Missions has for Guatemala and are committed to discipling our team of 9 through the Spirit. We are in an accelerated and fast-paced season of personal and spiritual growth and maturity because the Lord wants to get this project up and running at an unprecedented pace. And guess what?!?! I LOVE my team! We are an incredibly balanced, gifted, and loving team who work well together and are all-in for what the Lord wants to do in Guatemala!

So far, we spent Wednesday through Saturday in Jutiapa, Guatemala, at a rural, rustic retreat center in order to clearly hear from the Lord regarding this project’s foundation (i.e., what is our purpose, what are details of the vision, etc.). It was a beautiful but challenging time of being out in the middle of nowhere seeking the presence and guidance of the Lord.

We travelled to Antigua on Saturday and spent a few nights in a local hostel as we prepped for the transition into a more permanent residence. We have a 6-month lease on a 5-bedroom house within walking distance of the markets and our Spanish school. This house is going to see so many people come and go as the vision begins to take off.

We moved in to our new house on Monday and since then, have hit the ground running! Each morning, we gather as a team to hear from the Lord and see more and more of the vision taking shape. We go to Spanish language school from 12:30p to 4:30p five days a week, and let me tell you, it’s intense and exhausting! We always make and eat dinners together in our house and fellowship and/or discuss things that the Lord has put on our hearts in the evenings. We don’t have very much free time, which has been a bit stretching but necessary for staying focused and disciplined in these early stages of the project.  

  

At the moment, each day looks different because we don’t have finite details or a structured blue-print on how to walk this thing out. Solely being led by the Spirit is a new thing for me, but the dependency on God and the Spirit is incredibly humbling. I am well aware I cannot operate out of any of the strengths of my flesh or else I will horribly fail at what God is and will be calling me to do. Living “in the moment” is taking on a whole new meaning, and it has definitely been an adjustment.