Our second week in Guatemala and our first full week of ministry! This week has been so full and gone by so quickly but I’ve loved it so much! This week at our ministry point we’ve had another missionary group from London come and help out with stuff which has been so much fun!
Our week of ministry started out with getting to spend some sweet time of worship and prayer with our ministry hosts in their prayer room. Our focus was on the beauty of God and we got to just sit with him; it was super sweet to worship alongside them! After that we went to the Santa Marta village and did another lunch for the kids. I got to help make the meal and helped carry giant tubs of water up three flights of stairs. After lunch with the kids we did some cleaning and helped teach some classes. I helped teach English to the youngest class which was a lot of fun! After all the classes were done we played soccer in the field with the kids till it was time to leave.
Wednesday was our first full day working with the London group. We spent the morning helping to paint the ministry house white. I got to work with one of the guys from London and talk with him a little bit. Some of the village kids came and hung out while we painted and one of the little girls helped me paint for awhile. We painted together and she used some of the paint to draw smiley faces on my arm and teach me how to say some emotions in Spanish, in turn I also taught her how to say the same words in English. After painting we helped set up for their afternoon Bible club! They split us up into groups with the London people and some Guatemalans that were volunteering and then each group got some kids ages 3-15. We started with what they call “praise” which was just jumping and dancing with the kids., then they had a message on Joy. After the message we prayed over the kids and had some sweet time of worship with them. Even thought the kids are young they’re so passionate about teaching them the depth of God’s love and worshipping him which is honestly something we miss a lot in America. Seeing all the kids even the really little ones on their knees and raising their hands in worship was so beautiful! We ended our time with the kids by hitting piñatas and just hanging out with them.
After the Bible class we helped clean up and then we ended up having a dance battle with the London group, it was honestly so much fun. We did the Church clap and Cotton Eye Joe and then the London people did some dances and the Guatemalan group joined in and did a dance or two. In the end I think our group won the dance battle.
On Thursday we did what’s called an activation day. We did worship in the morning which was super sweet and then we had a lesson on the steadfastness of God and how to be steady in him. It was such a cool topic that I’ve hardly ever heard about. Learning that the Lord is always steady and how to find that steady flow in him even when life is up and down! After that my team went to do a house visit in Parramos and then wandered around the town for a bit talking and praying over people.
Friday was another ministry day but this time we went to a different small village to help out with a medical clinic that they had going that day. Me and a couple people from my team went with some of the Guatemalan people to walk the streets and invite people to the clinic. After walking the street we went back and helped do counseling. Pretty much counseling was just taking time to sit and talk with the people, ask how they were feeling and then share the gospel and pray with them. It was honestly kinda hard for me because the people only spoke Spanish and my translator was struggling to help translate for me. Even though it was kinda rough I did get to talk to my translator a little bit which was sweet.
After the clinic we helped do a little bit of stuff with the kids just doing some music and then the London team did a little skit about the parable of the sower. We all ate lunch together and then headed over to Santa Marta village for the afternoon. Our transportation from one village to the other was riding in the trunk of a car which was honestly so much fun! We listened to some great praise songs and felt the wind blow as we drove. When we got to Santa Marta we rested for a bit and then split into 5 groups to do some activities with the kids. I got Sharks and Menows for my activity but after trying it once it was decided that it’s not quite the right game for the Guate kids. Instead one of the people volunteering helped me teach them a different game called Cat and Mouse that the kids absolutely loved! We ended the day by playing soccer again and then headed home for the night. We were supposed to do ministry on Saturday but because it was such a busy week our hosts decided they needed some rest and honestly we did to! Instead we did a rest day and I got to go to Antigua and call home which was super sweet!
This week has been so good and so fruitful and I’m so excited to keep going and see where the Lord leads! Prayers for this week would be:
- For lots of rest as we continue in ministry this week. One thing that our team has said over and over again is that we’re a team that does everything under the sun so continued strength in that.
- For continued patience and love for me and my team as we counting to do life together. That we’d continue in unity and not get caught up by all the little things
- Prayers that our ministry would continue to go well and to grow that we’d be able to help well
- For continued patience with the language barrier that we’d be able to overcome it well and not be hindered by it anymore.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for all the prayers!
Love,
Emilee
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