Through the Mountains and Valleys

Sup hombres, 

I am currently sitting at a Coffee Shop on top of a Mountain in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. WHAT!?! You guys!! I am drinking coffee on top of a Mountain in Guatemala! The clouds are high today, but they rest right on top of the mountains in front of me. It has been beautiful weather all week and it rests at 73 degrees currently. We have been in Guatemala for almost a week now, and although we are very out of place here, I feel a peace that is so overwhelming and I am learning to find my comfort in God’s will for me. I will update you if anything changes. But I know that even if my feelings change, or my circumstances change our God is still so good y’all! He is so good. 

For the first two days in Chichicastenango my team, Treasure Seekers, and Team 217 took time to explore the city and get to know our surroundings. Our cab happened to be the bed of a pickup truck, so as we drove through the mountains we were able to see everything around us and interact with the locals. Once we got to the city we went into the market. In the city, there is an interesting mix of Mayan and catholic faith. We got a chance to go into the Santo Tomás Church, where people perform Mayan rituals and pray. When we walked in we instantly felt the heaviness of lives that were being lived with no hope of salvation. Jose, Jacob, and I prayed over the people of Chichicastenango. After that, we visited a coffee shop! Don’t act like you are surprised. We got to interact with the barista and pray over him. He and his family run the coffee shop and he asked for prayer over them and their business. We went to the roof of the coffee shop and looked over the city. The mountains surrounding the building were incredibly beautiful. Saturday was a great experience in the city where we were able to pray for the Lord to move in this place and ask that we receive the blessing of being a part of what He is doing here. 

Saturday night, once we got back from the city, was when we started to prepare for the week’s ministry. Monday was when our host, Pastor Juan, prepared for us to attend a church in the community and encourage them through communal worship and the sharing of testimonies. I happened to be one of the people who was placed on the team for sharing my testimony. God really just ripped the bandaid off for me, considering one of my biggest fears in my obedience to come on this trip was public speaking. Not to mention the fact that I had never shared my testimony in front of that many people. But God! As I said before, He is so so good! I asked to be a part of what He is doing here and He said yes, but He didn’t leave me alone in that! Not only did He give me an amazing group of friends on this trip to walk through it with(S/O to Daliah, Jose, Samantha, Allie, Jacob, and Lindsey), but He also brought me peace in the midst of anxiousness and nerves. Saturday night I was able to share my testimony in a way that I never had before. It was the first time I have ever shared my testimony and it felt genuine and real. The Lord gave me that moment to be vulnerable and real so that He could work in me. When I approached the church service I tried so hard to go over my testimony in my head, but I was unable to because of a block that was put in my way. I had only shared the depths of my testimony once and I had no clue what I was going to say. I gave up and although I knew all along God would give me the words, I surrendered it all to Him at that moment so that He could speak through me. He got to share with 75-100 people that He loves each of them and that night I rode back to our host home not feeling anxious or worried about what I had shared but instead was confident that the Lord would use His story that He gave me. 

Yesterday was the day that we got to do ministry with the local kids, we will have ministry with them every Tuesday and Friday. Pastor Juan and Evelyn’s(his wife) ministry is called New Generations and he invests in kids by helping them with their schooling and shares the Gospel with them. We split them into 4 different sections of the property. Pastor Juan worked with the 12+-year-olds, Allie and Lindsey worked with the 4 through 6-year-olds, Daliah, Jacob, and I worked with the 7 through 11-year-olds, and Evelyn invested in the mothers’ who stuck around. Once the kids got there I had to run to the common room to get colors for the kids. That is where Juan was teaching with the older kids and as I walked back I went through the dining room where Evelyn was working with the moms, and then through the yard where Allie and Lindsey were working with the littles. As I made it to the back of the property where the older kids were, I couldn’t help but tear up from the joy I felt being in a ministry that is so diverse and beautiful. It was as if I was in a dream or a movie as I walked through this home filled with children running around and playing. It reminded me of the scene in Little Women that I love so much when she walked through the school and saw all that she had dreamt of come alive, except this was so much greater because I am getting to walk in God’s will and not my own. 

Sitting on top of this mountain and reflecting on this week has been such a blessing because even in the craziness, uncertainty, and anxiety of the week I can see God’s faithfulness. I am currently looking down at the city of Chichicastenango and cannot wait to see all that God does in the next three weeks. 

Signing off… Deuces!

 

Prayer Requests:

For the barista and his family(their business).

Encouragement for Pastor Juan and Evelyn’s ministry.

Healing

Hope and salvation brought to the people of Chichicastenango.

Walls to break down.

Open hands for our team so that the Lord can use us however He desires. 

I love you all! <3