So when they said this was going to be tough, they weren’t lying. I think about my family, friends and life back in Atlanta about every other day. But at the end of the day, that’s not what I want or need. I am here to learn, grow and serve. This week, my team is painting at the local hospital in the maternity ward. They had to use ammonium and bleach to clean the blood off the walls before we could paint. There is no privacy here. There are several women per room, many of which cannot afford pain medication… that should paint a picture for ya. I saw a little newborn yesterday, still purple, barely breathing. They made an incubator out of a large Tupperware bowl. It was making little squeaky sounds. They don’t name babies here until they’re 10 days old because of the mortality rate. I wanted nothing more than to swaddle that baby and hold it in my arms. Ahh. I want every baby/kid that I come in contact with… well, minus the smelly kids on the public bus yesterday… sorry everyone, but vomit/poop covered kids packed in a small, hot bus is no bueno.
This past weekend we had an awesome squad retreat at Lake Atlican. If you’ve never heard of it, Google it! It is by far the most beautiful place in the entire world. I was trying to come up with words to describe it in my journal and got this: “Jurassic Park meets Lord of the Rings meets Sound of Music meets a Bob Ross painting.” Pretty good, right? The hostel we stayed at had a Swiss Family Robinson vibe – some rooms were open air, communal, etc. And the best part: they have a costume room for guests. Yep. My dream hostel. It was an incredible place to fully relax and spend quality time with each other and God. Now, you might be thinking, aren’t you already spending quality time together?? Well, yes. However, we have pretty packed days. (I’m currently working on a “day in the life” blog post… so stay tuned…) It’s hard to find good, quality time with each other.
There were several activity choices at the retreat, but I opted for cliff jumping. That’s right, Mom! I was super nervous, but ended up having a great time. I even jumped twice! Wowzers.
OHHHHHH funny story: we were on our little boat in Santz Cruz, headed back to Quiche, and we were discussing how during our retreat we didn’t minister to many people, and felt bad about it. The next thing we know, there’s a boat speedily creeping up on ours, with a man who needed to be on our boat. He ended up jumping from his boat to ours. We were all thinking, thanks God. We say we wished we had ministered to more people during this retreat, and you literally drop a random man into our boat. His name was Paul, and he and his girlfriend own a yoga/surf lodge in Nicaragua. They were in Santa Cruz chilling and taking holistic healing classes. We told him all about the race and gave him a blog URL so he could follow us. It was pretty cool.
While my team was painting yesterday, Travis, our team leader asked us if we’ve felt growth since we’d been in Guatemala. Some said yes, some not sure. I knew right away that I had been growing. Through prayer, reading my Bible and listening to God, I’ve started to learn about discipline, what it means to really walk in faith, and letting my dreams and ambitions go for God’s plan for me.
Ephesians 1: 17-19
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightenedin order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritancein his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
This is our last week in Santa Cruz del Quiche. Sunday, we set off to Antigua for squad debrief. After that, it’s onward to El Salvador… just as our 7-person team! Wowzers. It’s getting real, real fast.
Last but not least, my awesome friend, Emily let be borrow her book, Radical. I want to challenge all of my blog readers to read it, especially if you think being a Christian just means going to church and praying over your food. J Radical reintroduces you to what it means to be the hands of feet of Jesus, and challenges you to not only learn about the Gospel, but live it.
Until next time!
