¡Buenos días! We have officially been in Guatemala for 6 days – thank you for all your prayers for safe and smooth travels! This experience has been all the things already; I could say so much but I don’t have the space (or, currently, the time!), so I’ll try to share some highlights.
We got in to Guatemala at about midnight on Tuesday and made it to the Adventures base by 1:30am. After a day of orientation there, our teams parted ways for specific orientation with the ministries we’ll be serving with. My team thus hopped in a couple pickup trucks with our gear and headed up to Prayer Mountain – more on that below! On Saturday we then journeyed into Antigua for the weekend to connect with another ministry (and get some groceries and wifi 😉).
This first week has been a lot of adjusting and learning in many ways. So much of what I’ve taken note of or gotten excited about has been learning more about culture and being reminded of why we’re here in the first place. For me at least, I can get so wrapped up in the details of all that needs to be done or everything happening around me that I lose sight of the bigger picture, the greater purpose – I start getting “caught in the weeds.” When I fix my eyes on Christ again, though, I realize that those issues I make so big are so small in light of the Lord, who He is and what He’s done. At church this morning (which, side note, I think bilingual church services may just be one of my favorite things ever!!! Such a cool peek into heaven according to Revelation 7!), we were reminded of what Philippians 1:21 says – to live is Christ and to die is gain. When we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our reason for being here on this earth is not ourselves, but Him! It was a much needed heart check for me heading into a new week of being in Guatemala. And interestingly, it mirrored the sentiment that I wrote out on our first night on the mountain:
Training camp seemed unbelievable and hard and overwhelming the first day, but it got better – Lord, so too may this. Show me what You have for us here – show us more of the why. Show us more of You, God. May we know more than anything from our time here that You are all we need, all we want, all we long for, everything. Open our eyes to see You better, our ears to hear You better, our minds to understand You better, our hearts to align with Yours better.
Menos de nosotros, más de Ti
Menos de mí, más de Ti
Todo para TU gloria, Señor.
Teams!!
Let me briefly introduce you to the amazing people of F Squad and our team divisions! I’m linking everyone’s blogs here as well for easy access to keep up with everyone’s adventures. 😊
I’m on Team FROG – Fully Relying On God! (And long story short, we had to discover who our fellow team members were by making “frog noises”, so we just stuck with that theme 🤪)
Myself
YuMei: https://yumeianderson.theworldrace.org/
Caroline: https://carolineheaton.theworldrace.org/
Tanner: https://tannerjacobs.theworldrace.org
Josie: https://josephineherrarte.theworldrace.org/
Squad Leader – Lexy: https://lexydonath.theworldrace.org/
We’re working with a ministry called Dar Para Dar on Prayer Mountain in the Chimaltenango region, which is definitely a more remote area. The vision behind Prayer Mountain is to create a place, for families especially, to get away and just be with God and learn and grow in relationship with Him without distractions. Nothing but the essentials, so it’s very basic (hence we are actually using those tents we were instructed to pack!) – it’s also still under construction, which is a big reason why we’re here! So far we’re organizing supplies, digging/leveling ground for new buildings, helping lay wire/pipe, etc. Haggai 1:8 is a big part of the vision!
The ministry focus here is a lot of manual labor on the mountain, house visits, English teaching, and some kids/sport ministry. Our first few days have consisted of getting accustomed to life on the mountain, helping with Prayer Mountain construction, and travel into Antigua and getting introduced to the ministries and culture of the town. There’s been some culture shock for sure (looking at you, chicken bus ride!), but it’s also been so exciting to engage with a Spanish-speaking culture!!
Our other F Squad team is Team Happy Feet, based off of Isaiah 52:7 - How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Mazi: https://mazigray.theworldrace.org/
Bella: https://isabellaquatraro.theworldrace.org/
Noah: https://noahweinstein.theworldrace.org/
Payton: https://paytonlothman.theworldrace.org/
Alexa: https://alexawood.theworldrace.org/
Patricia: https://patriciashelton.theworldrace.org/
Squad Leader – Bri: https://briannevanvoorhis.theworldrace.org
We’re all sad that we have to split into teams, but I think that it’s a good sign – we’ve gotten close after just 2 weeks together! It’s definitely been an adjustment already to not see the whole squad every day. Thankfully we do have a bit of overlap and should get to see each other for prayer ministry on Mondays!!
Every day I’ve woken up and been amazed by God’s goodness to get to be in another nation for the purpose of sharing His Gospel and His love with others. There are so many ways and opportunities to do so here in Guatemala, as well grow and be discipled in my own faith – it’s such an exciting time, and I am truly grateful to get to be here!
¡Dios les bendiga!
