I’m sure that many of my friends and supporters are wondering what exactly I’m doing out here in Guatemala. Before I came here, I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. I didn’t know which town we would live in, where we would sleep, or what our ministry would be like. When people at home asked me what I would be doing on a day-to-day basis, I either gave them an extremely general answer (feeding the hungry) or told them that I didn’t know what was going on and I was just sending it. In this blog post, I will explain what a weekday in my life here in Parramos, Guatemala looks like.
6am: I sleep in a room with 6 sisters, and I wake up first every day to shower. Once I’m clean and ready for my day, I sneak out and have some quiet time with the Lord. This includes reading my bible, journaling, and just giving the Lord time to speak into my life. This had become my most important morning ritual since being on the race, and I’ve found that if I skip it I have very little energy throughout the day. This quiet time in the mornings puts my mind at peace and allows me to set my intentions for the day and to focus on why I’m here.
7am: My squad and I are so lucky to have Sandra and Theresa, the cooks here at the base. Every morning they make us pancakes, or eggs, or oatmeal and there is always a beautiful array of fresh fruit!!! We love them so so much and we are so grateful for them!! After breakfast, we have personal devotional time or we do a deep dive as a squad, which is when we choose two or three bible verses and study them thoroughly.
8am: My team and I take the chicken bus to ministry every morning. The chicken bus is hard to understand without experiencing it, but it’s pretty much the public transportation system in this area of Guatemala. It’s a bunch of colorful school buses, and they’re constantly driving all around here. They are usually extremely overcrowded and loud, but so fun. Our team takes a bus to Chimaltinango, then we have to get on another bus to Bolo De Oro. This totals up to about an hour of travel each way, but it’s beautiful and so worth it.
10am: Our first class of the day has about 30 kids and arrives around 10am. We start teaching either English, art, discipleship, or sports. We have so much fun with the kids, and we spend a lot of the time building relationships with them and coloring. Our classes take place in the front yard of a local family, and we sing and dance constantly! My team and I love our ministry and our kids so much and we are all truly living out our dreams.
11:30am: Our ministry host organizes house visits for us daily, so in between our classes we go out into Bolo De Oro and pray for anyone and everyone who needs it. This has been a touching part of our ministry for me because we have been able to lay hands on so many sick or struggling people that have faith that could move mountains. We are able to meet many of our studenrt’s parents and families through our home visits. It is an absolute honor to pray for the Bolo De Oro community, and I have never felt more welcomed anywhere in my life. In Guatemala, we are always given a place to sit and the warmest freshest tortillas. I have learned so much about what it means to be a host and how to love everyone who enters the doors of my home.
1:30pm: After our house visits and a lunch of PB&J’s and apples, our afternoon class comes. There are around 100 kids in the afternoon since most of the older kids come after school. Every day we struggle with a lack of resources and experience; nothing could have prepared me for explaining bible stories to a class of 100 Guatemalans all under the age of 13. Every day I wonder if we will make it work, and every day we do and we love it so much.
3pm: We get back on the chicken bus and head to the base where we eat dinner as a squad, and then we have team time, which is when we blog, worship, and debrief our days. I feel so incredibly blessed to be here experiencing everything. Each moment is a treasure and I could not be happier!
