My first month on the World Race was an Unsung Hero month. An Unsung Hero month looks very different than other months do on the race. Our goal is to seek out long-term missionaries that may be a good future partner with the World Race. That means that we travel from ministry to ministry, city to city, and contact to contact. In other words, we do not have a single host ministry that we get to bond with and spend the entire month with.
I loved my month in El Salvador, but this month in Guatemala I have realized just how much love, support, and encouragement I missed out on without having a host. I have loved all of the ministry opportunities that we have done here in Xenacoj, but without a doubt, bonding with our host has been the highlight of my month. German and Susie are our hosts. They have 6 wonderful children that I have been able to grow close with. I’ve also formed a special relationship with Amarilis, their neighbor that helps cook for us. Spending time with their two-year-old daughter, Gracia, has been a blast. Whether we were swinging in the hammock or building a fort, it was always a wonderful time with this precious child.
I have loved getting to spend time with Gracia because she is a ball of joy and energy. My Spanish has also improved in random phrases that I would never have thought that I’d need to learn. For example, I can’t count the number of times that I heard Susie say “dejalo”, which means leave it or don’t touch that. I will never forget how to say “cover your mouth when you cough”. This is a habit that I have worked hard to teach Gracia. She already passed on her cold to me, but she is starting to get the hang of it! The other day I was holding her and had no free hands, so I coughed into my shoulder. Sure enough, little Gracia told me to cover my mouth with my hand. It was adorable.
I call Susie my “GuateMama”. German is my “GuatePapa”. The girls are all my “GuateHermanas”. German calls me his “Gringa Hija”. Things as small as having a sobre nombre (nickname) make me feel so loved. Moments when I walk into the house and Gracia runs towards me with arms open wide yelling my name and gives me the biggest hug a toddler possibly can are ones I will always cherish. Memories of celebrating Amarilis’ birthday with the whole squad are snapshots that I will always have in my mind. Sharing music and dancing to Taylor Swift with Emily, Natalie, and Amarilis and just being silly for hours with them are memories that will not soon fade. Whether they were teaching us how to make a typical dish or they were laughing at us because we are tall and have big feet, their house was always full of happiness and laughter. I am so thankful that I was able to delight in their contagious joy for the Lord for a month.
For ministry this month we worked with widows, orphans, and in schools. I greatly enjoyed this ministry. But this was not the highlight of my month. Getting to know Amarilis, Susie, German, Emily, Natalie, Gracia, and the rest of my family was the biggest blessing. Having a family and people that I love in Guatemala was my highlight. I was greatly missing my family, so the Lord provided me with one in Guatemala. He knew exactly what I needed.
This family does so much for us. Without them, this month of ministry would not be possible. I am so glad that I’ve had the opportunity to love and encourage these long-term missionaries. Even though we had a different assigned ministry, I believe that my ministry for February was loving on, serving, and celebrating this family of long term missionaries with my whole heart.
