Update:
I want to start off by saying that I am now fully funded! Praise God! Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me. It means so much, and I truly am so grateful! I could not be doing this without you all!
I have been in Guatemala for almost two months now! It is so beautiful here, and learning the culture has been amazing. Our base is beautiful and has been such a blessing. They’ve had two festivals since I’ve been here—Día de los Difuntos and the Flower Festival. The city is known for its festivities, and on many nights you can hear and see fireworks. The major religion here is Catholicism.
I love my ministry so much! Monday through Friday, we focus on ministry, which includes teaching English, house visits, soccer, and VBS. Thursday is our activation day, where we do worship, hear a message, and then go out to evangelize. Those days have been so sweet, and I am learning so much! Since being here, I’ve been able to experience the fullness that God offers by living in full surrender and learning what it looks like to align with His will. I have felt so much joy and truly feel fulfilled.
My favorite day of the week is Friday! We get to play soccer with the kids all day. During lunch, we climb stairs to prepare for the volcano hike, which we did this past weekend! I loved it! While hiking, we met a woman and her child who live at the top of the mountain. Her baby had been sick, and for the past four weeks, we’ve been visiting them. Since then, the baby has gained two pounds, and her health is improving! God is so good!
The weekends have been a blast! We got to go to a little amusement park with pedal boats, zip lining, and horseback riding! It was so much fun! Also, we found an English-speaking church called Shoreline. It’s been so good to be a part of a church again. They are a mega church with a location in Texas as well!
The volcano hike this past weekend was by far my favorite part! We hiked a total of 14 hours. It took 6 hours to reach base camp, then we did 3 more hours to see another volcano. After that, we slept, then woke up at 3 AM to hike 2 more hours to the very top. The view at the top was so worth it! It was beautiful and had the most breathtaking sunrise. Then it took 3 hours to get to the bottom. Going down was a little harder because it was steep and slippery. Overall I had a great time!
We have two more weeks of ministry, and then the last week here will be debrief. During debrief, we are staying at a hostel! I am so, so thankful and excited for all that is to come! Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
Things I’ve Learned:
- Intercession: standing in the gap and praying in alignment with God’s will on behalf of others.
- Don’t get caught up in the structure of church. We are losing what church is supposed to be because it’s wrapped up in structure rather than design. How often do people go to church but never read their Bible? How often do people live a Sunday-morning faith and don’t walk it out the rest of the week? Podcasts, books, and sermons are great, but they’re just leftovers. It’s important to get personal revelation. God wants a relationship with you, not just a religion. Before the race, I would read my Bible, but I’d only pick out verses or read devotions. Now I’m working on actually reading through it, and it has been so amazing. There is so much in there! I know it’s cliché to say, “Go read your Bible,” but truly, there’s so much to take away from it.
- You don’t need some big event or scheduled time to feel God. God wants to meet you where you’re at. His encounter isn’t dependent on where you are or who you’re with. You can experience so much more if you have a Christ-centered mindset all the time and are actively listening to what He wants to tell you. It’s been so cool seeing what it means to walk with God and let Him into the little things.
- I’ve gained such confidence and a foundation of who God is and who He says I am.
Prayer Requests:
- For healing from alcoholism and restoration in families in Guatemala.
- That we would be able to make the most of our time in these last few weeks of ministry.
- Prayer for sickness in my squad.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.Know that the Lord is God.It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100
