Recently my amazing team leader Misty Curry www.mistycurry.theworldrace.org asked our team to really process our race country by country. So I thought to myself why not make a blog out of it. So here it is 9 months after I left my first world race country. My thoughts, feelings, and memories about the magical Antigua, Guatemala.
Lets start with some good stuff!
CARLITOS!
I will never ever forget this little guy. He has very sever Cerebal Polsey, his legs are twisted, and so are his arms. He can not walk, run or stand at all. He is eleven but could pass for a seven year old, and he never stopped smiling. I met Carlitos in our afternoon ministry volunteering at a local hospital. In a ward for children with sever mobility problems, going in to that ward it was overwhelming because you have 20 children are starved for love and effect on. I prayed "God please direct my feet, hands, and heart" As soon as I saw Carlitos reaching his hand to the sky and looking at me with his beautiful brown eyes. I knew that was my bro, he was the one to pour love on this month. Not that I didn't on the other children that were there but we all had that special someone God called us to that month.
As I read through the New Testament stories about healing after healing that month on our hostel roof, with a volcano as my scenery. I was truly believing for God to heal Carlitos before we left the Hospital at the end of the month. I prayed and prayed, but there was no real signs of healing, I became discouraged and confused. I came on this race to see healing, to see miracles, to see thousands saved, I said to myself. (I'm sure every post world racer has a small smug smile on there face right about now haha as do I). There was something I didnt know before the race, that God has showed me so much on this journey. Its this that true healing is way deeper than what we see in the physical, God heals every part of us even the deepest parts of our hearts.
That month God healed Carlitos I saw it in his body and in his eyes. When I held him and prayed over him, he squirmed less, smiled more, and had more peace. God did something everlasting in his and my life that month. He gave Carlitoes LOVE and showed me a new way to give LOVE.
LUIS
Luis was obviously my first contact on the world race. By contact that means the leader in charge of my team when it comes to ministry. In my head once again I had thoughts of these awe inspiring straight laced typical pastor types people when it comes to my contacts on the race. Luis was this but many ways not, he was FUNNY telling the slightly inapropraite joke once in a while, most of the time having a plan and schedule but all was okay if things changed, and did not have a typical four year bible college degree, or funds raised for the next five years of ministry. he was simply a man after Gods heart living out a desire God put on is heart to see real change, to see education, mobilization, and love happen in the classrooms of Guatemala.
Before the race for some reason, I guess its because of American culture. I had this idea in my head that every minister had to have been to bible college, have held some kind of position under the position he already has for at least a few years, and be married with three kids. FALSE to make a difference in this world you just have to be the best you, you can be and that's found in JESUS! thank you Luis for showing me this.
COMMUNITY
This month one on my race so a lot of things hit you for the first time like the thought of never really having time alone for the next ten months! On the world race we are never allowed to be alone unless you are in your ministry house or compound. Feedback hits you for the first time (on the race we do feedback every night as a team) that you will do this nearly every night for the next ten months which is a good thing trust me, but no one likes the thought of HAVING to anything every night for 11 months. I say once again feedback is a GOOD thing I have grown so much on this race because of my team mates pulling the best out of me.
Another thing about having to get together every night as a team with check in and feedback is that there is no hiding. The thing about the race is that you can not run from people you do not necessarily click easily with. Which by the way if there are people in your life that its hard for you to be around or they find it hard to be around you there is a deeper issue there don't settle for letting it be that way, you are missing out on having them in your life. As I was saying I could not hid from some team mates who in ways got on my nerves and I did for them to. We had to face it, we had to the reasons why, pray into them and see restoration happen.
BLESSED
The last thing I want to say about month one Antigua, Guatemala is that I realized how blessed my life is, yes I also realized how hard it will to not have a closet, living out of a backpack, sharing a bathroom with six other people at minimum, never sleeping in a room alone (no names mentioned but snoring happens, apparently I talk in my sleep so it evens out) and for the most part not getting what I choose to eat for 11 months. Once you make peace with all that, you can embrace the finner things in life.
Like the fact that I had a family of six people who loved me and wanted the best for me for the next 11 months, the fact that I get to share the Gospel in some of the darkest places on Earth, how I was living at the base of a Volcano that month, that we got to pray with class rooms filled with children who did not know Jesus as their personal saviour every day, and that point God had raised $6,500 to allow me to do this (by the way I raised $10,000 more dollars through the year CRAZY). I WAS BLESSED this was going to be one of the best years of my life
IT HAS BEEN I AM FOREVER CHANGED AND IT STARTED IN ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA
