After the first week in Palenque with the whole squad, my small team was sent to the mountains in a village called Arroyo Palenque. It is very different from the Mexico you may think of. It is set back in a series of rolling mountains, magnificent waterfalls and rivers, and no sombreros. They don’t even speak Spanish; they speak a dialect called Chol. That means I talk in English, my team member, Jes, translates in Spanish which is then translated into Chol. So I was learning two languages at the same time. There were times I spoke three different languages in one sentence!
My team led services, played with the kids and prayed for many in the community. We have really started to step in boldness and pray for the sick with faith. I desire to have faith like the Centurion in Luke. That is a progress. My team started a small band called “The Cinco Gringos.” I play the guitar, Maithili is singing and playing the piano, Jes and Jessie are on vocals and Zach is play the djembe on a water jug. I couldn’t believe we did it. I don’t think any of us ever thought we would be leading worship. Amazing how God is using me even musically.
We left the village after two weeks of ministry there to head back to Palenque. I realized that God took us to a place where we would experience brokenness so that we could start to rely on Him for our unity. It is also in these earlier stages that God is starting to build something. So glad it is not us trying to build it. It just simply doesn’t work with out HIM! Even during the midst of our brokenness, God still used our team to minister to the family and pray over the sick. He still uses us. Beautiful.
We were in Palenque for two days and woke up to a bell at 5:00 am to start a day of racing to Antigua, Guatemala. This is about a 14 hour trip. First one to the Higher Ground Coffee Shop in Antigua wins. We cannot operate our own vehicle and must get there on a $50 budget per person. Our team, JOY, teamed up with BOLD–together we became JOLD. The highlights include windy roads, speed bumps every five minutes, an hour stop at the boarder and the slowest Guatemalan driver known to mankind. To my humiliation, we lost. We lost so bad that a team hour and half behind us passed us and beat us over 30 minutes. My competitive nature was thrown out the window after that.
Antigua hit the spot. It brought so much refreshment. I was able to see my Dad. It just happened that he was there at the same time, so I was able to spend a day and morning with him. Still thanking God on that one. He was able to meet some of my team members and Seth and Karen Barnes, our coaches for the year. The six days that we spent there were full of meetings with the squad, the team and individually. There was so much to process from the last three weeks that my mind was on overload. My small team was able to get a lot out on the table and start to work towards honesty and being disciples that press into the brokenness. So Antigua was refreshing yet still didn’t feel quite rested. Overall, God met me there. I felt pretty empty, but He is in the business of filling me up.
Also in Antigua, our small team closed the Chapter from Palenque and is now pursuing God and one another in a new light. Expectations were raised and prayer is becoming a daily thing for us. It is in that brokenness that God pours out His love and shows us how truly faithful He is. I have so much hope and faith in God. At this point, it is all I can do. He is going to continue to stretch us. This is good for us. But in the mean time, laughter, fun and JOY are back!
