This past week has been so difficult to grasp for me. To be honest, I believe that without knowing God’s ultimate power and love, I would never be able to understand the depth of what happened just over a week ago. First, I want to take a look back at this past month in Guatemala and one of the best ministries I have experienced on the race.
Guatemala City had so many things to offer us in ministry. One particular ministry was called Teen Challenge. This ministry brings in recovering alcoholics and drug addicts to begin or continue their recovering process while being in a positive Christian atmosphere. The ministry involved playing soccer with the men, preaching and teaching, testimonies, worship, games, and more. We spent a good quantity of our time with the men there and developed great relationships.
One of the men, Juan, really invested in our lives just as we did to him. He gave us encouragement in our race and applauded us for everything we were doing. We encourage him to continue to strive after God’s heart in all he did. Juan sacrificed so much to follow Jesus and he has never looked back since doing so. His testimony rocked many of us when we heard it, honestly it was mind blowing. He came from gang life from California to Guatemala. He got out once accepting Christ, and did not look back. Juan impressed us in every way, every day!
Sadly, once we left our host we were informed of his tragic death. He was noticed by a few gang members while walking the streets in Guatemala. He was shot and died of his wounds. Personally, I was in shock when I heard. I could not believe that He was taken from this world by the life he left behind. I was legitimately angry, but at the same time I was reminded that God has complete control of everything. I may not have clarity on why God took Juan at that moment in time, but I know God had perfect timing for it. Juan loved everyone he came across and I know that he would have witnessed to the men who shot him also. Juan was a class act!
I will miss him, but I will always remember his testimony to us and everyone he knew.
