WE FINALLY ARRIVED IN GUATEMALA! It actually is the Promise Land here. The weather is perfect, and you can tangibly feel God’s hand over this whole country.
We gotta backtrack to the rest of our travel here. Monday felt like the longest day ever haha. After falling asleep for a few hours in the Egypt airport, we left at 5:00am for our 12 hour flight to New York! This airport experience felt like the most chaotic for my team when it came to security and wheeling Emery around. Eventually we got some McDonald’s and united with our squad, then left for Panama at 2:30pm. 5 hours later we arrived, then had a quick layover and headed straight to our flight to Guatemala City at 9:00pm. We flew for two more hours, and WE ARRIVED IN GUATEMALA!! We met our base host Hannah outside and got picked up by two school buses. The drive to the base was about an hour. When we arrived, we got some quick instructions, went to our rooms, showered, and KONKED OUT.
Continued travel
Finally in Guatemala
Tuesday was our very first full day in Guatemala. We had to be up for breakfast at 7:30am, so we got up early, ate, and had a small orientation at 9:00am. After that, today was just a rest day!! Eastern Europe was rough in terms of lack of sun, so coming to Guatemala we immediately soaked it up. A bunch of us laid out in the sun for most of the day, which unfortunately was not the wisest decision because it was at 12 UV and almost no one wore sunscreen, so obviously everyone got COOKED. There were about 20 dads here from Washington D.C. for a men’s missions trip that were here for a few days. We got to get to know them a little bit and it was so sweet! In the evening, they helped some kids with soccer practice.
Wednesday was our orientation, so we ate breakfast, and had some awesome worship with Liane and Philip. After that we rested for the rest of the day. I ended the night by sitting at the fire with a few people from my squad and some of the dads.
Thursday was my 19th birthday!!! Wow today was actually so awesome. I woke up and went on a run, was sang to by my team, got a few cute gifts from Gretchen, and got ready for the day. When I walked into the main room, everyone sang Happy Birthday to me and we ate pancakes for breaky. I took out my digital camera and everyone left a little birthday message for me. Thursdays are our ATL activation days, so we had our first session today. Philip gave us some processing questions after the session, so we had time to spend time with the Lord and answered those. We had a little team debrief and I was with Gabe who has been in Guatemala for 11 years. I shared how I’ve always had a little dread when it comes to my birthday because I don’t feel worthy of people’s love. How am I supposed to accept God’s love if I can’t even accept other people’s love? After the debrief, I went with my team to Paramos for ATL (first time on a chicken bus!!) and I went with Gabe, Liv, and Emery. Gabe got some pizza and we sat in the park, then Hannah (our base host) and Alexis (our awesome intern friend) came up to us. Gabe said we should ask God for words for Hannah because she could really use some encouragement. We practiced listening prayer and gave her a few words. I was standing close-ish to her, and SHE ended up giving ME insane words of encouragement. I prayed out loud to be able to accept the words of love that God was trying to give to me. Hannah, Alexis, and Gabe were all interceding as I was REBUKING the devil for telling me that I was unworthy and undeserving of His love. I immediately felt a rush of the Holy Spirit covering me with peace. It’s truly a feeling I could never describe fully because it’s something you can never feel without God. We went out for ATL and I ended up low key getting delivered 😭. I felt so light after, it was amazing. Everyone went back to the base, we hung out for the afternoon, then had dinner. After dinner, they had a little ice cream cake for me and they sang to me again! I watched the sunset outside with Jaylynn while eating my cake and processed the day with her. Mae (another amazing missionary at the base) and Mike (one of the dads) prayed for me. Mae said my inheritance is Godly joy which is insane and so encouraging. I had such a good birthday and I felt loved in so many different ways. This is the most I’ve felt seen by God my entire time on the race, and I want everyone to be able to experience the tangibility of His presence.
Friday, we had our first day of ministry bright and early. At 6:15am, my team left with Junior (another one of the staff at base) for the care point that he works with his wife Rakél. For the morning, we helped make pancakes for about 30 kids before they went to school. It was super sweet and chill and we got to talk with Junior and Rakél a bunch. We got home around 10:00am, and left to go grocery shopping. We ate dinner and hung out for the rest of the night.
Saturday morning, my team went to Junior’s soccer team to support them in a tournament. It was fun being able to cheer them on. We did that and went home before lunch. A few girls and I went to Megapaca, which is a thrift store about an hour away, including the bus and the walk, in Chimal. We got Burger King before shopping, then all came out of the thrift with some good things! We came home to cook dinner for the team, and the boys surprised the girls each with a little present for International Women’s Day LOLLL.
Ministry in the morning
Shopping and cooking Saturday’s meal
We had squad church on Sunday morning, then went out to Antigua for adventure day! I went out with my team (plus Brandon) and we got some lunch, then I went to a coffee shop with about half of my group to get some things done. When we got home, we cooked dinner and chilled before Betty (the parent coordinator) came to present about our parents coming this next week!!
Coming into Guatemala felt like a breeze with how we eased into it, which I’m so grateful for. Even though we didn’t get to experience our actual ministry this week, it was still really fun getting to spend time with Junior and his wife and kids. PVT IS GOING TO BE AMAZING. I’m pumped to see my parents, and I have faith that God is going to move so much this week.
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