I am now in beautiful Guatemala – The Land of Eternal Spring – and I am so excited to share about the amazing ministry opportunities that my team and I get to participate in for the next 2 months! We have been on mission for one week now, and already I have had the opportunity to see God’s presence in many ways. But first, an update on my travel and ministry assignment.
On Thursday night, September 11th, our squad loaded our belongings into a trailer and a van and said bittersweet goodbyes to the younger mission squads that we had spent the previous two weeks investing in and the mentors and teachers who had invested in us. There were many hugs and tears on both sides, and a beautiful display of love and support as a small army of young people ran down the long driveway of the mission base with the van and waved to us as we drove away. We drove to the airport with a mixture of sadness for saying goodbye and excitement for what was to come. We camped out on the airport floor with pads and sleeping bags and slept through the night.
On Friday morning, we checked into our flight and made it through baggage check and TSA with no issues. Our entire squad of 17 people flew from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, to Guatemala City, Guatemala. We were picked up and drove for about 4 hours to Parramos, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, where the local Mission Base for Adventures in Missions (AIM) is. It was about 4:30 pm when we arrived. We were extremely grateful for our large group getting through the entire international travel experience without any issues, and we were tired from the last 24 hours. We were able to take the rest of the evening to rest and to play. Several of us were excited to be out of cramped spaces and wanted to move around, so we went out in our first Guatemalan rain in the yard and played with a volleyball, becoming completely drenched and having a blast! We all had a wonderful chicken and rice dinner and spent time fellowshipping with each other for a final dinner as a whole unit before our teams would be split apart the next day. We shared in each other’s company, joy, and anticipation. Later in the evening, an AIM staff member sat down with us and gave us all details about the ministries that each of our teams would be joining for the next two months. This was the first time that we had all gotten this information, and we eagerly listened to every word.
Our squad was divided into 3 teams of 5, and each team chose a name. These are pictures of the teams with their names and job assignments (right to left, squad leaders on 2 teams not pictured):
My team chose the name Yada Yada. “Yada” is a Hebrew word that means to be Fully Known, which we wanted to show our identity in Christ, and what we want to show to the people that we minister to. We got assigned to a local ministry that is partnered with AIM, called Reindom. Reindom it is located in a town called Sumpango. The ministry’s goal is to connect hearts, create spaces, and manifest the kingdom of God on earth, especially through the children – the next generation of Guatemala. Reindom has three pillars: Intimidad (Intimacy), Reino (Kingdom), and Maranata (Maranatha). Maranatha is a longing cry for the Lord to come and declaration in the assurance that He will. Practically, we will be helping run feeding programs, Bible clubs and programs, English classes, and carrying the love of Jesus to children ages eight to fifteen. Every Wednesday, we will be hosting an event called “Mesa del Rey”, translated to “The King’s Table”. The heart of this event is to gather the widows, orphans, and alcoholics in the town and serve them a beautiful breakfast. During the week we spend most of our time in a small village nearby called Santa Marta. Santa Marta deals with extreme poverty, no electricity, no running water, and little food, but the people are kind and generous in spirit. Reindom welcomed us with so much love! They actually threw us a party the night we arrived. They have made us feel so loved and it is an absolute joy to be adopted into their ministry.
I will give more details in future posts. For now, I will end with updates on prayer requests. Thank you for reading and may God’s favor shine upon you!
How You Can Pray for Us:
- Pray for myself the individual members of our squad. Everyone is dedicated to growing in our relationships with God while we have this time set aside for God in our lives. Pray that we would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and He would develop gifts for ministy in us. Also, for our families. We all have family who is far away from us right now, and many of us have family members who are not walking with God.
- Pray for the separate teams. We need protection from illness, any dangers around us, weather, spiritual warfare (we are on the frontlines and are active targets for the enemy), and we pray for team unity, that our labor would be useful and effective.
- Pray for Ministry Partners. I am still seeking ministry partners to actively engage in this mission with me. Pray for God to bring those people to me.
- Pray for Guatemala. Guatemala is a nation that is hungry for relationship with God and it is a privilege to be part of the discipleship process as they grow in love for God and passion to bring God’s Kingdom to all the nations. We pray that God would be preparing the hearts of the people we meet to be tender and soft for the Truth.
- Pray for Language. We can easily get by in Guatemala in English, but I am trying very hard to pick up as much of the language as I can, building on some knowledge that I already had of it. The other members of my team are also trying to learn. Pray for my mind to be a sponge and that I would be able to speak to the people in their native tongue.
