Well last week today it has officially been one month since I first arrived in Guatemala. I know that I posted a blog recently explaining that I would not be blogging a lot during this season of my life, but my team leaders have asked us to blog to share with our friends and family about what is happening here in Guatemala within our team and discipleship base that the Lord is starting.
The first night that we got here to Guatemala we arrived to the house in Antigua (where a team of 12 people have been for the last year). When we got there we were informed that since the team had grown into 25 people, 11 of us were going to be moving 3 hours away from Antigua to a town near Lake Atilian. I was informed by the leadership team that through prayer The Lord had revealed to them that I would be on the team that was going to be at the lake.
So far this first month has been somewhat hard, but there has been a lot of growth within myself and our team. There also have been great times of celebration and making memories with my team. We are learning a lot from each other and helping each other grow in many ways. I and we are also learning how to cook, believe it or not (yes Mom it’s true). There are two days a week where each of us on the team cook for one another and hand wash all the dishes afterwards. This might not sound like a huge deal, but after going to the local market, preparing most of the food from scratch, and then cooking and cleaning up for 11 people, it can really wipe you out. We are also learning to honor one another and to live in a culture of grace and honor where we call one another higher. This month has been much different than my time on the world race. On the race I would just be getting ready to leave Guatemala right about now, but this time is much different. The relationships that we have started to develop are not nearing the end where we as a team would have to say goodbye, but just getting started where we get to press in and invest for a much longer duration of time.
We have currently spent our time so far this month seeking God corporately and privately. The amazing thing about this team is that they teach us to pray about everything. We are learning how to walk more deeper and intimate with the Father in hearing his voice for the big decisions and the little ones within our lives.
We have also spent a lot of time looking for a home in a local town named San Marco’s that we feel that God is calling us to live in. This can be somewhat difficult when there are 11 people living together in one house. But as of right now we have been blessed to stay in a house called “Redeemers House.” It is owned by two American missionaries who live in Guatemala. We have become great friends with Lee and Angel. It has been a truly great blessing to meet them and their two kids Parker and Anna-kate. They have blessed us by helping us feel at home here in Panajachel and they even invited us over their house when we first moved here to watch the Super Bowl!
The rest of our time has been spent getting to help out at Lee and Angel’s after school program for kids that they run a couple days a week, playing soccer and basketball with the local people in building relationships and friendships with them, and spending time praying as a team through out the city and on the high mountain tops around the cities of Lake Atilian. There are also many practical things to do such as running errands, shopping at the market daily, and taking care of other things that come up when teams come to visit from the states. Six days a week we start off the day meeting as a team at 9 am with a team meeting where we read the Bible and pray together. We always eat dinner together to end our days and spend time in fellowship before we go to bed.
So even though this first month has been a month of transition and of moving to a new area to start a new base with a new team and group of people, it has been a month where our team is growing closer to one another as a team and a family. We are learning how to walk closer with one another and most of all learning how to walk closer to our Heavenly Father within the midst of our every day lives. I’m excited to continue to grow as a team and as a family in what The Lord is doing in us. I am also very excited to see what The Lord does through us as he continues to do his work in us taking us deeper into his heart, love, and Holy Spirit!
Having dinner the first night all of the new team members arrived with both bases being together in Antigua before we moved to Lake Atilian
The Lake Atilian team with are two friends John and Jami who visited us for the weekend from the U.S. and Nicaragua
Finally, how could I forget to mention how blessed I was to see two pastors and close friends Katie and Chet who are from my home church in Ohio. They were here for a vision trip with Compassion International and God blessed me so much to get to spend an afternoon with them!
So just before we said our goodbye’s, we just had to do a “With God All Things Are Possible” pose because it was honestly a blessing straight from God that we were able to see each other in Guatemala!
Thanks for reading, supporting me, encouraging me, and praying for me like you do….I am so thankful for you all
God Bless everyone
Sincerely, Ryan
