After 4 days of final training in Atlanta, the biggest hugs and hardest goodbyes, 3 flights, a sleepless night, and a bus ride later, my squad and I have made it to Guatemala!
life here is simple.
The people are kind. The coffee is fresh and oh so plentiful (!). The volcanoes are huge & the views are incredible.
We sleep in bunk beds. We’ve hung pictures & bought flowers, and made this place feel a little more like home. We have running water and flushing toilets. We hand wash our clothes and hope that they dry on the clotheslines before it starts to rain again.
The weather is surprisingly cool & the dry mountain air is a sweet reminder of home.
I get up at 5:30 (almost) every morning to see the sunrise and go for a run (I know, shocker!). i spend time journaling & reading the bible and find so much peace in where God has called me to this season.
I live in intimate community. My squad, my team, my people- some of the most genuine and kind hearted souls that are becoming more like family everyday.
We ride the chicken bus everywhere. (don’t worry there’s no actual chickens on it, it’s just what us weird gringos call it) & we ride in the back of a pickup truck up a mountain to do ministry.
My team and I do ministry in a little village called Panamaquin. The ministry there is rebuilding after a few years without leadership. The town feels quiet and our presence feels unwanted. Spiritual warfare is so heavy here.
Restoration. That’s the word I am trusting that God is gonna press into these people and our hearts as we learn how to love and serve them these next few months.
I am learning how to choose joy.
Each day I am striving to be more expectant.
More confident in my uncomfortability.
More open to the unknowns.
And more hopeful for what God has in store.
Guatemala, thank you for being my home, at least for now. I cannot wait to know you more.
Until next time,
~mae
