“Welcome to Guatemala!” We heard this late Monday night after a very grueling 20 hour travel day. We finally arrived to our new home away from home and all crowded in to the main living area in great anticipation as to what the next few weeks would like. I could feel the excitement in the room despite our longing to fall into our beds. To think that God had provided for 40 people and aligned our stories perfectly so that we were all united for this single chapter of life is absolutely beautiful to me. God is such a great author.
The next morning we woke up to see the beautiful country that Guatemala is. It was so amazing to arrive in the evening and then wake up to the country being illuminated by sunlight. Just south of our home is a huge volcano that is always covered with clouds at the top. The streets are paved by hand with cobblestone and our house is a vibrant yellow with the most striking flowers and plants. This country is absolutely beautiful. God is such a great artist.
Wednesday my team and I were given our first ministry assignment! The moment we had all been waiting for had finally come!! Our assignment was to go into the local city and sell tickets for a comedy show our host is putting on next Friday to raise funds for a local school’s materials. In very poor Spanish I walk into the city with Joey, a teammate, and attempt to sell these tickets. We wander the town and see the complete rawness of it. Here in Guatemala I have noticed that physically/ mentally disabled and elderly people are often not taken care of so they are left to sit on the side of the road or walk up to travelers in attempt to collect money. It is very easy to see all of this and hate God for putting these beautiful people through such a disability and poverty, but God is so good even in such despair.
We continued to timidly wander the town and then finally mustered the courage to pray for an elderly woman with a broken arm. “Queremos orar por usted.” I said. (We want to pray for you.) Receiving a big smile as our cue, we began to pray for healing and a life lived abundantly for her. We said amen and walked away with such joy and faith in our God. When I walked away I was so stunned that I had remembered the Spanish. It was all God. He is such a great father for inviting me in to share His love.
Thursday we hopped on the bus and went into the city of Antigua. We hung up advertisements around the city, adventured, prayed over a few locals, went grocery shopping, and even got some french fries for lunch. 😉
Friday we sat in the driveway and scraped paint off of the sides of our host’s bus for 4 hours. I’m not going to lie but this was very challenging for me mentally. I was so drained from the past few days and was noticing my extreme negativity. When we finished scraping the bus, my team decided that they would go into San Pedro and play soccer with some of the local kids. My immediate reaction was one of hesitance and unwillingness but then the guilt hit me so I dragged myself there. We arrived at the concrete field and all I wanted was to go back home and take a nap or finish writing this blog. But then I saw some young girls and their mother. I walked over with my team and began to play with them. My mood had changed completely. God is continuing to transform me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw three young sisters sitting off to the side. I walked over expecting them to be warm and excited to play with me but they weren’t.. so I sat a few feet away.. and waited. A few minutes go by and the three of them had been inching closer and closer to me where they had made their way right beside me. They had seen me playing with some other kids and finally warmed up to ask if I would play with them. I saw God change their moods just as He had changed mine. By the end of our time together we had played pato pato ganzo (duck duck goose), toss, and tag together. These girls were the sweetest and tried their hardest to converse with me with my very low level of Spanish vocabulary. 😉 We gave hugs goodbye and their smiles were as big as ever. I hope to see then again soon! God has such a beautiful family of children.
Saturday the 13th I got to call my dad to wish him a happy birthday and then had a fun free day with my team! We climbed up to the top of a mountain that overlooked the city and enjoyed the creation that God had made. We could see the roofs of every shop/home and a volcano in the distance. I am so excited to further minister to the people living in this country.
Today we started out the day with some scrambled pancakes and then headed off to the Lucky Rabbit club to attend church. This was probably one of the most beautiful services I’ve attended. The pastors are from Houston and are renting out a club to hold a church service! It was so amazing to collect in this place and sing praises to God and listen to a great message. And for the rest of my Sunday I have been celebrating the sabbath for the first official time. It’s been a lovely day of praise and rest!
Thanks for reading my blog and don’t forget to subscribe!
*For this blog I wanted to give you a day by day of what life has been looking like in Guatemala but I am SO excited to change up my style and share more in depth stories of ministry!
