Dios Le Bendiga from Jeruselen! Since winning the first leg of the race, we’ve been spending most of our time here in Jeruselen ministering to the villages, churches and schools and being blessed tremendously.
From the day we arrived here, they have treated us like family. The Pastor we are working with plants many churches in different communities so we are able to go to these churches everyday. In many of the villages we are the first missionaries and Americans these people have ever seen. Because of that we get a lot of stares. But as soon as we show them love, the walls break down and when we leave there are tears in their eyes. Even though, we have a hard time communicating with them we are building friendships and they are feeling the love we have for them. One of the little villages we were ministering and some of the women made us a soup for lunch. It probably took most of their months pay to make us lunch. We are truly blessed by everyone here.
Between the times of ministering, Pastor Samuel, has taken us around Palenque and the neighboring villages to see the sights. We were able to hike through Aqua Azul (blue water) and just meditate on God’s beautiful creation. There were gorgeous waterfalls, trees and views. We also were able to go to the Mayan ruins in Palenque. We climbed up the ruins which was quite a workout but well worth the climb. When we got to the top the views were just spectacular. This was the first time I had ever been to any ruin.
On my team, I am mostly the translator because the Pastor does not speak any English. For those of you who know me, you are probably laughing right now because you know my Spanish vocabulary is about at a 4 year old level J So, I am trying to understand the locals and the Pastors so I can translate to my team, which is quite difficult for me. However, the good news is….my Spanish is improving. Again, I was called up during a church service to introduce my team and to speak to them about our journey…in Spanish. One service I was speaking in Spanish and they were translating in Chol.
We will be spending approximately another week here, so I look forward to telling you more about our journey in Palenque. By the way, we have very cold showers now, which is extremely tough for me! Burrr…cold.
