It’s official, we have touched down in Guatemala!! It did take some blood, sweat, tears, 75 hours of no sleep, and countless hours of flying. But my second day here I could just feel the joy, color, and presence of the Lord. Our first week here was PVT- parent vision trip. So the racer’s parents got to come and do ministry for a week with their child and see how God is moving. Sadly, my parents didn’t come, but it was such a treat to see my teammates and friends see their parents again. Me and non-pvters got to go to Prayer Mountain which was an awesome opportunity. The vision is that people can go up on the mountain and just spend time together resting in God’s presence. We did manual labor moving dirt for a barn and getting down into a hole to make a well. It felt good not only to do hard labor but to sit with God in his nature. During that week I was able to build friendships with people who, prior to that week, I wasn’t close with. If I’m being honest it was hard having the parents there and mine not. Through that and different trails happening back home, I have been shown the beauty, vulnerability, and comfort that comes from crying in front of the Lord. Even getting to learn what Lament is and practicing it. Lament equals calling out to God in a position of grief asking for something but still rejoicing in Him because you trust in the goodness of His character. We started our ministry and this is a group that is really in tune with the power of prayer. Over the race I have been believing the lie that there is not power in my prayer. So I have been challenged and blessed praying over my teammates and squad because through FAITH there is so much redemption , reverence, and revelation that can come from prayer. In our ministry we started with a bible study because it is not our ministry hosts’ hearts to be pouring out from an empty cup. We also do house visits where it’s so clear that they just want to pour into and do life with the people around them. We also do VBS for the second half of our day, which is just packed with showing the love of Jesus through our actions by just loving on the kids through bible stories, playing soccer, and showing them they matter and are seen. Something that was a great encouragement for me was when we were doing ATL we met a woman that had extreme pain in her back which fed to her legs. She also had corneas in her eyes causing a lack of vision. We got to hear her testimony and pray over her multiple times. It was clear that the Lord was dwelling in that house and with that family. Even though she didn’t receive healing in that moment she was still rejoicing and praising the Lord for what he has done and continuing to do. Wow, it is powerful to see someone still rejoice in the Lord even in moments of deep pain and lament. To think I only have a month and a half left till I’m in the states, WHAT. I want to use this time to continue to grow what I know about God and how He perceives.
Continue praying for me when it comes to not listening to the lies of the enemy, giving up my desires to the Lord, and that I place my eyes here on what’s happening around me and waiting to have my eyes on what’s to come when I get back in the states.
Thanks for tuning in!
