First Sunday in the field, in Guatemala to be exact. You'd expect to go to church. You wouldn't necessarily expect to go at 6pm. And you definitely wouldn't expect to participate in the service as first timers, especially since you don’t even speak the language.
This Sunday, my team and I spent the day exploring ancient Mayan ruins and ministering to the church we have been serving. The Mayan ruins were only a short ride from town. There were remains of temples, ball arenas, and courtyards. This was a place that was still used to sacrifice animals, as the Mayan culture is still very prevalent in the Quiche region. Pastor David, our contact here, told us that this is the biggest obstacle for the church here in Guatemala.
During our first day with him, he told us all about the Mayan culture, took us to a cemetery down the road from the church to show us where animal sacrifices are made [there was actual a family performing a sacrifice when we walked by], and telling us about the Guatemalan culture in general. Pastor David said that many Guatemalans feel looked down upon by Americans, and even those in Quiche feel looked down upon within Guatemala. This struck a chord in Erin's heart and we started praying about how we could serve them and show them that Americans do not look down on them. We decided that as a group, we could do a foot washing. We didn’t know what the details looked like, but we were set on doing one. We talked to Pastor David about it and he said we could do it at his church on Sunday!
So, we planned it out the best we could. Our team would do the actual washing of the feet and Brant would play guitar since his team would be joining us for church. We got to church a bit early to help set up the wash basins and towels. The service started with some worship, followed by a scripture reading and more worship. Pastor David preached on foot washing and his son, Rene, translated the whole sermon for us World Racers [there were 3 teams total].
After the sermon, we started the foot washing and the other teams chose to take part and switch out with us throughout. Kwak started singing "Amazing Grace" while Brant played and the next thing I knew, there was a mic in my face and I was on the stage singing right along with her. It was such a sweet ministry and a lesson on humility. We were planning on serving the church, but once we washed everyone's feet in the church, Pastor David and his family turned around and washed ours. And as we washed each person's feet, we prayed for each and every one of them.
Even though we couldn’t understand all of the service, we were still blessed and we were still able to communicate God's love to the church we have been commissioned to serve for this month. Whether that looks like painting the walls of the church, or washing the feet of our brothers and sisters, we are serving them with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our souls. And the more we serve them, the more I feel they are serving us.
"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. " Colossians 3:23
