Our squad arrived in Guatemala on Monday, marking the start of a 2 month journey in a beautiful country. It has been so incredible learning about Guatemala, its history, and its people. Already I have such a heart for the people here and their amazing culture.
The first few days in Guatemala were full of debriefs about the culture and ministries we will be doing while here. However, Thursday we had our first activation day. This is when we have worship and a lesson in the morning, and then after lunch go and evangelize in Parramos, the closest town to us. I was extremely nervous about this as we didn’t have translators and I was only with one other person on my team. I will admit that the first few conversations we had were extremely awkward, however, after stopping and praying to ask for guidance, we had beautiful interactions. It was so cool to be able to talk to people about their families and their lives. As Americans, we often come off as rude, so simply being able to have conversations with the locals and praying for them was an amazing way to show the love of Jesus.
Then Friday was our first day of ministry. We met up with the ministry hosts that also worked with AIM and drove up a mountain to a village where we made homemade tortillas with a local women who was also a part of the ministry. She also made rice and a chicken stew. We had so much fun learning to make the tortillas and chatting with her. Then once all the food was done we loaded it back into the truck and drove to another village that was higher up the mountain. We cut up fruit and laid out the fruit. Then, once the kids were done with school, they would walk past us and take food home for them and their siblings. Unfortunately, the building we were in did not have enough room for the kids to eat and hang out, but it was still such a blessing to be able to serve them and make an impact on their lives.
Something God has been teaching me this week is to be content with the ways He wants to use me. A lot of times I get so caught up in what I think is the best way for me to serve others. Or I have big dreams and ideas about how I think I should be used to serve His people and share the gospel. However, when these things don’t happen, I get so discouraged and down on myself, thinking that I have no impact and that I am doing a terrible job of serving. However, one thing that stuck out to me this week was the fact that God uses us in the way that he thinks is best. His plan is obviously best and the ways he thinks are best to use us may not be what we think is best but it doesn’t mean that we don’t have an impact or that he isn’t using us.
I have also been praying that God will make me like a firework. Right now, I get trapped in thinking that I have such a small impact and that I am nothing, however, I want God to light me up and use me in big ways to serve Him and others. I am so excited to see the ways God uses me and how much he stretches and grows me in the 2 months that I am here.
