Buenos Dias!
I realized when a teammate mentioned we only have about a week left here that I hadn’t written anything about what ministry looks like yet. I did attempt to record and create a video twice, but I quickly learned that is not my area of expertise. Maybe at some point on the race I will make a video that I enjoy, but between technology issues and my lack of skill, I’m 0 for 2 in that area.
So, where are we? We are in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. After El Salvador we took a brief respite in Antigua for debrief. Debrief is a tim for rest and learning with leadership and each other. We arrived in Chimal (short for Chimaltenango) on September 7th and experienced an earthquake that same night. Earthquakes are fairly common in Chimal, but that one was pretty significant, or so our host told us after it woke the house up that evening. There was no damage where we are and we are all safe, but it was definitely an experience I won’t soon forget.
Chimaltenango is about an hour ride (by chicken bus) from Antigua. The Kakchiquel dialect is spoken here, which is a Mayan dialect. We’ve been told that Chimal is the car capital of Guatemala, and in general it’s very industrial. I love the people we’ve met and everyone is very friendly. Between the Adventures in Missions base being established, the ministries that we’re partnering with, and the people already doing great work here I can sense that God is doing amazing things in Chimal. I can’t wait to see what else happens over the next few years, and I’m grateful to play a small part in it.
You might be asking, how does ministry work with twenty five racers in one city? Well, for us that meant being divided into about eight ministry teams that we now affectionately refer to as “Triads”. Each Triad was assigned to different local partner and then we were off. Most people were sent to schools or somewhere similar to teach English. Will went solo with music lessons. One team is working with a ministry focused on the homeless in the area; they’re actually doing a variety of different things in the community. Chelsea, Julia and I were sent to a library in a neighboring town to help with preparations for the upcoming “summer” programs when school lets out next month and to help with English classes twice a week.
Julia giving out hugs at the park one day.
I love our little library in the town of El Tejar and the people we’ve gotten to know there, but about a week ago we were given an opportunity to help out at a Christian school. I would be teaching art, Julia, cooking and Chelsea, English; all with the goal of reinforcing English skills. So now, on Mondays and Wednesdays we spend the mornings at Jardin Infantil (Garden of Children) working with pre-k through sixth grade students, and Tuesdays and Thursdays at the library helping with English and various activities at the library. Fridays and Saturdays have become flex time where we can plan or work with other ministries. Last Saturday I taught an art lesson to work on English skills. This week I might be going to a special needs orphanage that some of our teams just started working with.
We met some children on the way home one day and stopped to play with them.
Through our ministry this month–the good and the bad–I’ve been learning a lot. About myself, where my heart for ministry lies and how different ministry and serving look on the race versus at home. Last month, ministry didn’t look like what I expected on the race, but it did look like ministry back home. I felt like I was working on projects I would have worked on at my home church. This month, it’s been a little harder. Fighting feelings of comparison with other teams, looking for meaning when it doesn’t feel like there is any, and looking at ministry as a mindset instead of an assignment. Confirmation that I really needed to work on my mindset came in the form of a group email from my squad mentor on the very topic.
Looking back at the month, I’ve started to see ministry differently. Now I see ministry in serving my squad by giving an art class to them. I see ministry in the awkward conversations with strangers in coffee shops that I would normally avoid. I see ministry in coloring with a little boy on the side of the street. And I see ministry in getting to know and helping a ministry host practice her English.
Pre-k student showing off his artwork at Jardin Infantil
It’s been a month of stretching. Of stepping outside my comfort zone when I don’t want to. Of not serving in the background, but stepping up and communicating. It’s been learning to go with the flow when you don’t speak the language and your only translator is your smartphone. It’s been a month of learning that sometimes the lesson isn’t as important as the time and attention you’re giving the student. It’s been a month of embracing that ministry is what we make it, not where we go. That ministry happens all the time, in our bedroom, in the coffee shop, on the street or at the park. It’s all an opportunity to share love and to open doors. I don’t know the impact I’m having this month; it’s hard to see, but I’m spreading seeds. Seeds that I may never see bloom, that I won’t necessarily get to water and tend to, but that’s not my job. My job is to show up, be ready and love people the best I can, because that’s what God has called me to do. That, and trust that where He’s placed me is exactly where I need to be.
With love,
Sara
