Ministry in Guatemala
Well, it’s our last week of ministry in Quiche, Guatemala and then we move on to Nicaragua! The first few days of ministry my team and the Oceans team went to the orphanage, My Father’s House, where we did odd jobs around the house cleaning the light fixtures, putting sealant around the windows, washing cars, and painting, as well as playing with the beautiful kids at the orphanage. After working at the orphanage for a few days our team, Whispered Revival, went to work in the field that is next to the school where the kids go to school. We’ve been hoeing, using machetes (which I’ll be honest, I loved because I’ve never in my life used a machete!), rakes, shovels, and anything else we could get our hands on. First we had to clear out all the debris, cut down the small trees, dig out all of the overgrowth and take out all the grass. The school is renting out the space and Pastor David, who runs the school, is going to add a few more class rooms. Next we dug trenches and laid piping, which will be used for the toilet system and tore down the back wall. I was the only one on my team who brought gloves with them on the WR, so we all ended up sharing 1 pair of work gloves for the first few days until we were able to buy some work gloves.
I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve done manual labor, and I was so exhausted the first few nights I didn’t think I was going to be able to get up the next morning. My back hurt, my arms and legs hurt, and I had blisters and cuts all over my hands, but I honestly loved every minute of it. Every day around 1pm is lunch time and we walk to Pastor David’s house where his wife, Lolita, cooks these fabulous meals for our team. After lunch, we walk back to the hospital where our compound is right next to and take a shower and relax by taking a nap, talking with other squad mates, or walking back into town to TRY and get internet service.
Yesterday we were able to have PE class with the school kids and Greg and Davis from my team, Pastor David, Roberto and Carlos had a race and Greg won (which makes complete sense since Greg ran track in high school and college). The boys played soccer and me and Kath played with the girls and the very young boys. Kath and I would run around chasing all the kids just to tickle them and the kids absolutely loved it! It’s been a minute since I ran around all day chasing kids, so I went over to the side of the field to have a rest and 8 little kids come running at me and tackle me. It was a dog pile of kids all laughing and trying to tickle me…..by far the best day of my World Race experience! I’m learning to find the joy in each activity, whether it’s playing with the kids, or using a machete to cut down a tree. Blisters are certainly not fun, but being able to listen to music and crack up with my team mates while we’re working hard is priceless. I’m also learning to see every task as an opportunity rather than a challenge, which is sometimes really, really difficult. Honestly, sometimes it sucks, but if I want to grow closer to God and make it through the next 10 months, it’s something that I have to work on.
Until next blog……
Adios!
~LJ
