For this weeks blog, I wanted to allow my supporters back home to get a little more of a glimpse of what day to day life looks like here! One of my favorite things about Guatemala that I am still adjusting to is the laid back nature of the culture here. People here aren’t agenda based like they are in the states and I’m learning a lot about the value of being interruptible and loving and seeing people in every situation and place I’m in. Because of this, our ministry varies daily, each day looks a little different! Often times plans change, times get moved forward or pushed back, but I love it because the staff here is so intentional in how they spend their time and they allow God to change their plans throughout the day, however small they may seem, so that they can minister to the best of their abilities. We start every morning with devotionals as a squad, eat breakfast and dinner together, and have team time and free time in the evenings. As I mentioned in my last blog my team is doing ministry in the rural hills here, in two different villages, Cajahualtan and Chiljuluhe. We teach English, visit homes, prayer walk, help with sports ministry, and are currently in the process of hoping to start a soup ministry in Cajahualtan! Here’s what our week will typically look like:
Mondays – ATL (ask the Lord) in Chiljuluhe. We prayer walk through the village and ask the spirit where he wants us, there’s no agenda or expectations, just open hands and open hearts. This village is new for our minsitry hosts, so our ministry is a lot of pioneering and prayer. Last week my team leader and I had the opportunity to meet a man named Bernie and his family. Bernie spoke a little bit of English due to living in California for 5 years, and now he harvests corn and beans in his village. He told us he had surgery on his appendix a few months ago but was still experiencing complications that caused him to miss work often and miss out on providing for his family. We had the opportunity to pray for healing for him and his family and I cannot wait to go back and see how they’re doing. Afterward, we celebrated with them as they had a piñata for their daughter’s third birthday and they gave us fresh pears from one of their trees. I am constantly blown away by the openness and hospitality of the people here and cannot wait to share more about how the Lord moves in these precious families.
Tuesdays- In the mornings, we teach English in the same village. I teach first and second graders and absolutely love it. At first, I was extremely nervous because I have never had any teaching experience, let alone teaching someone that doesn’t speak my language, but teaching has been one of my favorite things here! I was skeptical that we would be making any difference through teaching, but I’ve learned that education allows the children here to dream bigger, to see that they can do more than farm, and to have more opportunities in their future. Through teaching, we also get to build relationships with our students and show them the love of Jesus every day, and I am so excited to see how the Lord continues to move through this ministry. In the afternoons, we host VBS in Cajahualtan, more updates to come on that ministry, our first VBS will be this Tuesday!
Wednesdays- We also teach English in Chiljuluhe on Wednesday mornings! Last week we used Wednesday to lesson plan and prepare for the upcoming week, and in the afternoons we are in the process of hopefully starting a soup ministry! We met with Maria, an elder in the village of Cajahualtan last week, and we are hoping to use her home to start serving soup for the village. We are hoping that through providing for the physical needs of the people here, we can build relationships and bring the community together and then provide for their spiritual needs. Last week we had the opportunity to meet an amazing woman named Paulina, and she is a pastor of a church in the village! She invited us into her church that they are currently building, a small building with cinderblock walls, dirt floors, and a tin roof while she told us her testimony and how God has used her church in the village. It was so encouraging to see a woman in a position of leadership here because women do not have as many opportunities here other than staying home, and I am excited to get to know more of the women here and to learn about how God is using them despite cultural limitations.
Thursdays – Deep dives! On Thursdays, the staff here takes time to pour into us and teach us through an in depth Bible study and then we have an application in the afternoon where we take what we learn into ministry.
Fridays – Friday mornings look different for us every week, but we are hoping to do soup ministry on Fridays as well, and sometimes we’ll teach in Cajahualtan. In the afternoons, we help the boys with sports ministry, which for me looks like hanging out with the sweet girls from the village on the sidelines while we play games, braid hair, and occasionally kick a soccer ball or two haha. Fridays are one of my favorite days because we just get to love on the kiddos here and make them feel seen and known while building relationships with them. We also get to practice our Spanish and English together because we have a lot of them in our English classes!
Saturdays – Adventure day! We get to explore and spend time with the whole squad. Usually we’ll hop on a chicken bus to go to coffee shops in Antigua to get wifi and talk to our families, post blogs, and feel a little more “normal” again. This Saturday we went to the farmers market and it was insaneee! So cool!!
Sundays – Sabbath! Most of our squad goes to a church in Antigua called shoreline that actually originated in Dallas woo-whoop!! Its such a cool opportunity to be a part of the global church and see what God is doing across borders. My favorite part is when some people worship in Spanish and some people worship in English! They put both languages on the screen and I am so enamored every time that God transcends cultural boundaries and meets us where we’re at, even though we’re all singing the same song and worshipping the same God. I’m still learning a lot about how to truly rest and be filled on Sundays, but usually I’ll spend time journaling, napping, listening to music, and painting in the afternoons so I can be well rested for ministry on Monday!
So, here’s the gist of what my team’s week usually looks like. Pretty busy and fun and the Lord is moving in so many ways here! Thanks for reading this today, I love to share about how God is working over here and your support means so much to me. Please be in prayer for my team and our ministry and the people of Guatemala, as always my prayer is for open hands and hearts!
Til next time,
Mallory Sailer
