I have no idea how we’ve already gotten to November but here we are and we’re already a month into being in Guatemala! There truly is no place I’d rather be or no where else I could imagine being right now, this is right where the Lord wants me to be! This last week was a little different and shorter than usual because of a festival but it was still so so good!
We started our ministry week on Tuesday and we got to start the day in the prayer room again. This week’s focus was on intimacy with the Lord and it was a super sweet time of just getting to sit with the Lord and be in communion with Him! After our prayer time we went to Santa Marta to do a meal for the kids and to do some classes with them! I helped clean and also helped cook the meal a little bit. I got to help serve the meal which is so much fun to do and then helped clean all the dishes afterwards! Then we got to play with the kids until it was time to go home!
On Wednesday we got to help do Kingdom Table for the first time and I absolutely loved it! Kingdom Table is a program that our ministry does in Sumpango where they give a meal to the elderly and homeless and do worship and a lesson with them. This week they split us into groups with some of the other volunteers and we went out to the streets to invite people. I wasn’t super helpful at actually inviting people since I don’t speak Spanish but I did get to talk with the volunteers I was paired with which was super sweet! Even that was a little hard but it gave me the chance to practice my Spanish and they got to practice their English. After we invited people we went back to the building to help greet people. I got to help with the handwashing station which was really just one of my teammates putting soap on peoples hands and me pouring water on their hands from a jar to rinse them. I actually loved getting to help wash hands so much, it was so sweet to just take the time to care for the people in such a small simple way! One of the big things they care about with this ministry is making sure that we’re treating all the people with dignity and respect and for me getting to wash their hands was such a simple way of doing that. After we washed hands we sat at tables with the people while they ate. Even though I couldn’t really understand or talk to them because of the language barrier just getting to sit with them and smile at them was so sweet and brought so much joy to their faces!
After kingdom table we washed dishes and had lunch at the Reindom house, we also practiced some dances to do with the kids in the afternoon. We got to ride in the back of a truck to Santa Marta where we did bible blub with the kids. Bble club is my favorite! This week I got to help lead the motions for our praise time and then we had a message on intimacy. We played games and did activities with the kids and then it was time to head home! Because of the festival over the weekend this was our last day of ministry this week but it was such a sweet day to end on!
Thursday was activation and this week we had a lesson on speaking life. We’re always told that words are so powerful and to speak life instead of death but the way she taught us about speaking life was so different than what I’d heard before. The fact that God literally created everything just with His words and because we’re made in His image our words also hold so much power. The big thing that I took away from the lesson is that speaking life is a mindset on Jesus and not just words. Not just the things you say, but the way you live your life. Our words do have a lot of power but our words really start with our mind and when you’re continually renewing your mind the words that come out of your mouth will bring life. We serve a God that only speaks life and to serve Him well means that only life should come from our mouths. After our lesson we had a team debrief to talk about the day and share our thoughts on it. Honestly this was my teams best debrief and not because we all enjoyed the mornings teaching (which we all did); but because the Lord had a different plan and he used this time to break down a lot of walls in my team and bring a deeper level of communication and unity. We got to spend the afternoon talking and it was just a super fruitful time!
On Sunday we went to a church in Antigua and they had a really good message on Jesus being the One Way. This was my first time being in an actual church since I left for the race and it was so good! I’m excited to go back again next week! There’s a lot more I could say but I think I’ll end here for this week! Thanks for reading!
As a side note this is a post for the week of October 27 I’m posting late due to lack of WiFi. I’ll have another one with stuff from this past week shortly
Love,
Emilee
Movie night
This is so beautiful Emilee! May God continue to work and teach you of himself. I pray that you can find rest in Him and know that He holds you. I will continue to pray for you. But praise the LORD for his steadfast love and faithfulness. He is so worthy to be praised!!!!