ATL. Ask The Lord. This is how we spent our first day out in Antigua Guatemala. Thirteen of us that are currently on base took over a chicken bus (common form of transportation) on its way to Antigua to simply Ask The Lord. On the 45 minute bus ride into Antigua we practiced our Spanish and prepared ourselves for our first day in a bigger city inside of Guatemala. With no agenda or plan, our group set off. We left with only one piece of instruction, Ask The Lord. Ask The Lord? Where do we even start with that? For a group of four of us (Abby, Lexy, Kara, and Myself) it looked like following crosses all over town. We visited churches, coffee shops, tiendas (stores), and a really great place for authentic Guatemalan food. It was a day filled with prayer and introspection as we wrote blogs and loved on some of the community members in Antigua.
Our first stop of the day was a cozy coffee shop where we were able to order some of the best coffee we’ve had yet. We shared with each other what the Lord has done inside of us and through our blogs. We ended our coffee shop moment in prayer, but not by ourselves. We were given the opportunity to pray over and with the cashiers working the counter. What an amazing experience and all within the first two hours of Asking The Lord. From there we had some amazing lunch with other members of our squad and then it was back out onto the streets. This is when I really asked what it looked like to Ask The Lord. So I said, “Maybe it’s (ATL) just following the crosses.” So that’s what we did, we followed the cross on top of a school and stumbled into (unknowingly) a Christian coffee shop. We didn’t even order a coffee but instead talked with a former World Racer. She works in the coffee shop and lives on mission in Antigua permanently. We got to pray for her and then we were on our way. Almost immediately, while looking for more crosses, we came across the tiniest clothing store where we got to speak to the owners. Two daughters and their mother. We talked for awhile with the help of Kara translating and then we prayed the Lord’s Prayer over them in Spanish! It was a very powerful moment as they also prayed back over us. Feeling moved by our three encounters we decided to keep following the cross. This brought us to a very kind man right outside of a market. We talked with him for quite a while through broken Spanish and English and then again prayed. Both in Spanish and English. Such an incredible experience! Again, following the cross we stumbled into a store run by sustainable farmers. Something Lexy and I are very passionate about. We learned all about there business and how they are supporting those working in agriculture all across Guatemala. Such an awesome story and store! After we talked for awhile I asked if we could pray for them, they politely declined which was totally fine! We decided that the gospel and prayer wasn’t something that always had to be verbally shared but could also be played out in our actions and simple interactions with people. So we ordered drinks and sat down in their garden contempt with being the ears of Jesus. Sometimes loving your neighbor looks like respecting them and just listening!
I think the theme of our Antigua adventures is to Listen. Listen to what God has for us and wants us to do. At the same time we need to be listening to those who need to speak. Sometimes people need prayer and miracles, but a lot of the time people need a lenient ear. As followers of Christ I believe we are called to be that ear as we act as the whole body of Christ. The verse I found that goes with todays theme is this, James 1:19 “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
As always, if you have any questions please reach out to me and lets talk!
Much Love and God Bless
Jaden
