Two weeks in Guatemala and it has been an adventure! This country has so many colors, people, greenery and beautiful volcanos. I had no expectations coming into this country, and it has been a bit of culture shock, to be completely honest. I was not expecting to have this culture shock but it has been present, but I’m slowly starting to really understand and get a flow for this place. Here in Guatemala, everyone is family focused, not individualistic. The homes that majority of the population live in include a cement or tin siding, with a dirt floor. And last but certainly not least, the driving is absolutely wackadoodle! People drive crazy here but I have yet to see an accident between two cars!
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Our ministry we are working with here is called Hope Ministry. They have two different locations, one in Antigua, and the other in San Antonio. My team is working in San Antonio which is a smaller town and has many surrounding villages. Here is a glimpse into our ministry schedule for the week:
Monday
AM: house visits – we go around to different homes and chat with the family. Sometimes they are Christians, but most are Catholic. We learn about their lives, or catch up if we have been to their house previously, and then pray for them at the end. I have yet to have a house visit where we bring up the gospel for the first time yet, but I’m so excited for that time when it will occur!
PM: Teaching English – the kids are split up into five different groups, and the times that I have had the opportunity to help teach English, I have created sentences teaching them about the verb, to be. It’s a lot more complicated teaching English than I thought!
Tuesday
AM: Bible Study/Teaching – Our ministry hosts have a Bible study every Tuesday morning filling themselves up so they can pour into others. While we are here, we get the opportunity to join them during this time! Every other week though, a staff member from the AIM (Adventure in Missions) base named Gabe, comes and gives an activation message.
PM: VBS!!!! – This is such a fun time with the kids! On average, 50 kids ages 6-14 come every week and it’s a blast! We start out in a big circle doing a bit of an introduction for the day, and then divide into two groups (the older kids and younger kids). I have been with the older kids both times and the spirit is MOVING within these 10-14 years olds! We start out with worship and then move into the message. The first week, the spirit led worship the whole time, moving within these kids hearts so intensely they were crying out to the Lord. One kiddo even chose to give his life to Christ that day! This past week, we had a message about the 10/40 unreached area in the Middle East and why missionaries are so important. I had the opportunity to share why I chose to be a missionary.
Wednesday
AM: Free – these mornings we do whatever our team need. Sometimes that includes rest, whether that is spiritual or physical rest, or we may do ATL (Ask the Lord). ATL could mean evangelism, serving, or praying for specific people.
PM: Music Lessons/ Beauty 4 Ashes/ Play with Kids – these afternoons there are a couple options for us to do. Some of us teach guitar and piano, while others help lead a group of local women through a Bible study (beauty 4 ashes). Still others of us play with the kids of the women doing the Bible study. This afternoon is scattered but focused on the Lord (:
Thursday
AM: Teaching – Someone on staff at the AIM base here in Guatemala gives us an activation teaching. Our whole squad is together for this and we here a word on how to activate our faith. These messages are primary focused on Ephesians 4:12-14, learning how to use our spiritual gifts the Lord gave us.
PM: Activation – We then take the teaching and word we heard in the morning to apply in town! We apply things like evangelism, healing, freeing demons, etc. This is all very new to me but very exciting!
Friday
ALL DAY: Soccer – In the morning we have soccer through FCA with the older kids, and then in the afternoon the younger kids. Hope ministry partners with FCA for this soccer program on Fridays. The coaches lead a small huddle with the kids focused on a certain topic, learning how to apply biblical values to their every day life, and then go into the sports part of it! Woo hoo, soccer!! It’s so cool to me how FCA is a large part of ministries over here in Guatemala, and probably all around the world, and not just in America!
What the Lord has been teaching me:
- The language barrier shouldn’t affect our ability to communicate and share the gospel. Coming to Guatemala, the language barrier was difficult but over the past couple weeks I have learned that google translate is so helpful, but it’s alright to have awkward pauses in the middle of conversations to type out what you need to say. I have also learned that God speaks every language. It doesn’t matter if I’m praying in English for someone who only speaks in Spanish, because I am praying to the Lord, not to the person. The Holy Spirit speaks every language!
- Being bold in my faith! I have been praying about this and talked about this in past blogs but it is still ever present right now! We have been doing lots of house visits and evangelism in the streets which has been so fun! Relying on the spirit to speak through me, and not on my own words has been difficult, but I’m definitely learning! I have noticed that when I rely on God’a strength, I can share the gospel and God’s love SO much better than I can on my own.
Prayer Requests:
- Health for our squad – many people have been getting strep or salmonella recently so prayers that they can quickly get better and those viruses can completely disappear!
- My team and I can continue to grow in our faith, and adopt the Lords heart, eyes, and mind.
Thank you for all the love, and support! Please reach out if you want to chat or have any questions (:
