I have been in Guatemala for two weeks now. We spent the first few days learning the rules and culture of Guatemala. Last Wednesday we started ministry. We are working with local churches and organizations doing mission work in different towns. The ministry I am doing is ATL which is where we pray and go where the Holy Spirit leads us. I am also doing house visits, disciplining families, kids ministry, and building a prayer house. I am working mostly in a village called Chimachoy. I am glad to be here in Guatemala embedding myself in the culture and sharing the Gospel with many. I thank God constantly for using me to share the Gospel around the world, showing me more of who He is, and the opportunity to see the world. The Lord has been teaching me to surrender to Him daily and it can look different each day. Some days may be full of ministry and others may be slower. But no matter if I am in villages sharing the Gospel, or my whole team working together to scrape paint off a wall, or drag a log up a mountain it is all for God’s glory.
The people of Guatemala are amazing. They welcome us with open hearts and are very generous. Some of the kids attend school but most start working in the fields at the age of 12. I realize the education here compared to the United States is totally different. We are blessed to have the teachers, education, and facilities we have. The income here is very low compared to the States. If you work in the fields five days a week you make between $35 and $50 USD a week. There is a lot of agriculture here. Family members normally work together to make ends meet. Some keep part of their crops, others farm, make blouses, or cook. There are other jobs but most people do agriculture or handmake blouses. The blouses you buy are expensive. They are beautiful but take a long time to make and can go from $200 USD and up. The culture here is different from America. People here work at a slower pace. If you talk to people they will stop what they are doing and have a conversation with you where as in America we focus on work and getting the next box checked off. The food and coffee here is amazing. Most of the food I eat is natural instead of processed and I enjoy it. Driving here is an adventure. We normally take vans or buses to where we go. It is interesting riding with 20 people in a 10 passenger van. I have also had to ride in the bed of a truck a few times and they drive like you are in the truck with them. I love the culture here and am glad to get to experience it.
People here are more religious than focusing on a personal relationship with Jesus. The main religions here are Catholicism, Evangelistic, and witchcraft. I am glad to be able to come here and share my relationship with Jesus and lead them to have a relationship with Jesus if they don’t. I have learned that many people in the world focus on religion and miss the relationship with Jesus which is what really matters. I am trying to communicate with people but sometimes with the language barrier it can be difficult. Sometimes I have interpreters and also use google translate. I am not here to try and change the culture but to walk in this culture and love while leading people toward Jesus.
One day we were doing ATL which is where we go where the Holy Spirit Leads us. The Holy Spirit gave me a vision of a pink house. During the ministry on Wednesday we walked through this village for an hour on the side of a mountain which led us to a river. We did not encounter many people down this path, but I am learning that the Lord wants us to be obedient so my team decided to keep walking. When we got to the river we just soaked in God's beautiful creation, prayed. I am learning that every day God wants to teach you something. We walked to a dead end for God and saw two people. I was a little discouraged but thankful. On the way back something crazy happened though. As we were back in town with many houses, this lady said “I am diabetic and these little kids are taking firewood to my house”. We said we will help and as we were walking to her house and put the fire wood down guess what, her house was pink. So after we helped we listened to her and prayed for Her. God took us to some crazy places that day but we still ended up at the pink house He put in my head. We all need to work on being obedient to God and follow Him where he leads even if it sounds crazy. God leads us how He intends we just have to follow.
I am definitely growing with God and learning more about Him. I am learning to simply abide in Him and follow where He leads. Sometimes I believe we try too hard to do what we think God wants when all we have to do is just walk and when He says move do so. Know that God loves you where you are in your life and cares for you. He died for you so your identity is now in Him when you accept Him. When you give God your life He defines who you are, not your sin or imperfections. I love you guys and pray you just let God love you where you are at. I challenge you to find new ways to surrender to God and follow where He leads even if it seems crazy. Experiencing the culture, and learning to simply follow even when it seems crazy is definitely growing my faith.
I am one of the health and safety leaders on my squad and get to lead my squad by telling them what to be cautious of. In Guatemala we have to be careful and be aware of the water and wild dogs that could potentially have diseases. Getting to serve my team in this role has been a learning experience, but I am glad to take on this role.
