We made it to Guatemala! Following is a snapshot of our time at Launch, travel to Guatemala, and orientation with Adventures in Missions’ Guatemala base team.
“Launch” is the final stage of training before officially launching into the World Race. It includes training for specific roles, worship, mind/heart/body preparation, and team time. We stayed at Adventures in Missions headquarters in Gainesville, GA for 4 days. Although COVID restrictions canceled the usual opportunity to have family and friends join us for the first day, AIM’s staff and careful preparations allowed our squad to successfully fly out to Guatemala on schedule. We drove to the airport Monday evening and spent the night there before our flight out Tuesday morning.
We arrived in Antigua, Guatemala Tuesday afternoon. The AIM Guatemala base team took us to lunch at Wendy’s (super original, I know, but hey, the frosty was great!) and then to our host home for orientation. The home overlooked a farm and had a stunning rooftop view of three volcanoes, including the active Fuego, which put on quite the show for us! We spent many evening hours stargazing and watching the firework-like eruptions turn to fiery fingers that traced their way down the mountain cap. What an incredible gift from God!
The Guatemala base team provided us with location-specific training and an introduction to their mission to serve, disciple, and send. We learned about Guatemalan history, cultural customs, language, and local religions. Guatemala, the land of trees or eternal spring, originated from Mayan civilizations. Catholicism is the largest religious practice, closely followed by Evangelical Protestants, yet a small percentage of indigenous religions remains. Although they have endured traumatizing years of war, Guatemalans are a people of resilience, peace, and deep relationships.
My squadmate, Lindsey, and I experienced first hand the relational and welcoming culture through our new friend, Juan. As we walked through the hills, admiring the magnificent surroundings, we passed by him. Although we still aren’t 100% sure what he was trying to communicate, we think he was warning us not to continue the direction we were going because we might get robbed. We decided to turn around and ended up walking and talking with him for the next 45 minutes. Despite our limited Spanish speaking, we learned he was a Christian and farmed a local coffee plantation. He took us on a tour through the plants, showing us the growth stages of the coffee berries, picking an apple-like fruit and spicy peppers for us to try, and discussing our faith. We even sang together. It was an incredibly sweet and unexpected time of ministry!
On Thursday morning, our squad split up into the 5 teams and headed out to our individual ministry sites. My team will be serving in Chichicastenango alongside another team for the next 5ish weeks. God has already been working mightily in our hearts and in these communities. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
