Disclaimer: So, I didn’t write an entire book but I wrote a few pages of one . One of the many ministry assignments was to write a book as a squad. I have decided to post a blog that includes what I put in the book. Hopefully at some point in the near future we will either have a PDF or an electronic book via amazon so you can read the whole book if you’d like. Enjoy readers!
“What type of mission work are you going to be doing on this thing called The World Race?” is the question that I got a lot when I told people that I needed to raise $14,250.00 to go on an 11 month long missions trip to 11 different countries. I honestly had no clue how to respond and could only tell them about things that other World Racers have done in the past. My typical response was “we could be loving on children at orphanges, or serving food to the hungry, or talking to women and children who have been caught up in human trafficking, or construction work.” Never had I thought that I would be going to visit widows and having conversations, or that I would visit a woman who was in her upper twenties that appeared to have 6 children and one on the way who were all under the age of 7 or 8 maybe and I would help her do her dishes. Nor did I think that I would be involved in helping set up the program GO! Buy and Sell that is seeking to reach out to the widows in Guatemala that have a skill to make a product that can be sold online to people internationally. This is only the beginning of how God has used me in Guatemala to help advance the Kingdom of God.
The other day our ministry assignment was to go to Central Park, about 5 blocks away, and play with any and all kids who were there or showed up. Well, some of us were carrying basketballs and other inflatable plastic balls about the size of a cantalope. We passed a few kids along the way and asked them to join us.
There was a boy named Andy, about 8 years old, who has come over to German’s house to play and he happened to be in the neighborhood and so we invited him. As we were walking to the park, he took hold of Patrick’s and my hands and wanted us to swing him; it totally melted my heart. Andy definitely has a childlike faith. He has only encountered us one or two other times but he put his complete trust in us and was open to the love that we had for him. Who knows if Andy knows Jesus as his personal Savior but I hope that he comes to know his love someday.
On another ministry assignment, we went to Ayapan Village and spent time just playing with the children there. We played with them during recess. Several people played soccer on a giant dirt field. Several others played with these cantalope sized plastic balls with other children. At one point, we were in an open porch-like area that was maybe 10′ by 40′ and there were at least 20 boys and then a few of us missionaries. There were 3 or 4 balls that were being kicked around. It was definitely a dangerous place to be but the kids were having such a blast.
After recess was over, we split up into groups of 4 or 5 and went to visit different classrooms. While we were there we handed out toothbrushes to every student. We also got to teach them some English words. In one of the classes we went over days of the week. There was also a list of Spanish to English words on the white board and had the class pronounce the words aloud. In the other class that I visited, we went over the colors in English.
In another village that we visited, we split up into teams of 4-6 people and went to visit a widow. Our widow was in her seventies. She had four children, but only two of them were still living. One of her sons visited often to look after his mother. She was definitely a Catholic, which is a prominent religion in Guatemala. In the room that we visited in, she had a table set up that had rosaries and a picture of Jesus and candles and other stuff. My heart was saddened for her because when we asked her if we could pray with her, she told us no, because she didn’t think that God would hear our prayers. We honored her request and when our group returned to the park we gathered together and prayed for her.
We returned to that same village about a week later and had a meeting with any of the widows who wanted to come. At the meeting, we handed out toothbrushes and suckers to the women. There were maybe 40-50 widows who showed up that day. We also provided them some bread and horchatta as a special treat.
Another major part of our ministry this month is a feeding program that goes into two local schools and provides a meal for some of the younger students. Overall, between the two schools, GO! Ministries feeds about 300 students daily, when there is money for food to be purchased. German’s family prepares the hot meal daily and delivers them by themselves when there are not teams here to help them.
I am going to drastically shift subjects now and talk about myself and what the Lord has been doing in me while I have been on the Race. I have changed a lot since the beginning and it is only month two. The Lord offers freedom to all of His children and I am choosing to walk in that freedom. Some things that I have let go of are: pride, lies about myself, fear of what others think, fear of trying new things, and more. I am choosing to walk in newness because I feel that this is the theme that the Lord has for me this year.
Some new things that I have tried so far are: riding on top of a van through town and the mountains, drinking goats milk, getting my first tattoo, striking up a conversation with a complete stranger, sharing personal information about myself with people I barely know, and more. Some new things that I would like to try are: snowboarding, learning how to cook a traditional meal in one or more of the countries I visit, and acting.
GO! Ministries in Guatemala is definitely seeking to live out James 1:27 which states this: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” The majority of our ministry time has been visiting widows and bringing them food. Also, ministry includes: going to the schools to feed the children, playing with the children in the park, and playing games with the children during recess time.
