Sorry it has taken me so long to get updates on the site. After 10 days, I finally got over the bug I brought back. I cannot remember the last time I was that sick. I am so thankful to be well again. Life is now getting back together.
Pic 1 above - Me loving on sweet Nicholosa
Pic 2 above - Blair Boyd evaluating a patient
Pic 3 above - Jared Beavers and myself teaching kids and adults about God's mighty power through song and motions
So much floods my mind of what I would want to post from my trip to Guatemala. I could share much more, but I will just put highlights here. If this gets long, just find the section you want to read about and move on. Enjoy!
What did we do while in Guatemala? * The mission trip involved 3 medical clinics in 3 different mountainous villages on 3 different days. We traveled 1.5 -2 hours each day up the mountain to a different village . We saw patients each day in which each patient was prayed for and witnessed to after seeing a doctor and medical student. The team rotated seeing patients, running the pharmacy, praying for patients, doing evangelism with patients and doing the afternoon ministry activities. During the clinic in the afternoons, we had Bible study, activities and songs for kids and adults outside. The Jesus film played for the patients while they waited to see the doctor as well. After each clinic each day, patients were invited to stay for a worship service that we did together with the indigenous churches. We saw 180 total patients who all heard the gospel.
28 of them accepted Christ. The indigenous church in each village is following up with each person who made a decision to follow Christ. God blessed us in seeing a harvest!
* Mam is the language of the people on the mountain. We had to have a translator to go from English to Spanish and then another translator to go from Spanish to Mam. Only a few of them spoke Spanish.
* Our team did get to see some Mayan ruins the first day in Guatemala, volcanoes, and had a shopping excursion in the markets of Antiqua the last day.
* Prayer was a huge part of this trip. We sought the Lord before, during and after. We try to acknowledge Him through everything we saw and did. We saw the power of God move through our team because of prayer/dependence on God.
Interesting stories and things that happened from the trip:* During our second day of ministry, I noticed that everything had been going so smoothly. I questioned God if we were doing what he wanted because every mission trip I’ve led or been on we have experienced some opposition or attack from the enemy to throw the team off. Later that day as the team traveled down the mountain after a clinic/ministry day, the brakes went out on one of our vehicles. The driver did the right thing and pulled over as soon as we saw a ledge. She had to use the emergency brake just to come to a complete stop. God provided this safe spot as it was the only ledge we had seen for a while. At this moment, I saw how the enemy was trying to cause the team to lose focus and be shaken up about this emotional experience. God took care of us all and safely got the entire team off the mountain eventually. A local mechanic came to the rescue and we had new brakes on that vehicle at 6:30 am the next day. Nothing happens that fast in Guatemala apparently, but God provided a way for the team to continue serving. When we arrived to our base that same evening, the house did not have water. This was another obstacle, but the team remained flexible until the city delivered more to the cistern that night. Overall, the enemy’s tactic to distract the team drew us closer as we came together to pray and depend on God to take care of the brakes and water situations. The “bump in the road” affirmed to me that God was working through our team and guiding us.
* Eating in the homes of the Guatemalan people. They lived in one room shacks. Each day on the mountain the indigenous Christians would provide lunch for us. The lunch was a huge sacrifice for them as they have very little. Our team was humbled and grateful for their generosity and service to us.
* The team was honored to get to meet Angelina, the lady who worked with Wycliffe to translate the Bible into Mam which is the language the people speak on the mountain. This brought reality to the movement of God to people who speak rare other languages.
Interesting ministry/witnessing experiences:* While a student was sharing the gospel with three Guatemalan people through a translator, an older lady pulled up a chair to listen. She was tuned in and eager to learn. By the end of the sharing, all four were saved.
* Because young children are shepherds and shepherdesses, we told Bible stories to them about the Good Shepherd and the lost sheep. The kids understood and related so well. We had the kids act out each parable which was lots of fun, too.
* On our last ministry day, a guy was diagnosed with rheumatic fever. He was in so much pain and looked miserable. A prayer team surrounded and prayed for him and then the evangelism team shared Christ with him. You could tell he was still in pain, but he listened. He teared up, accepted Christ and seemed relieved. His pain transferred to peace and contentment. Later that afternoon, he stated he felt better, but had not even taken his medicine yet.
* Even though 28 were saved, our indigenous believing housekeeper/cook reminded us that even if only one was saved, that would have been enough.
Things the team took away from the trip (i.e. What God taught us):* We were amazed at God’s movement on the mountain in Guatemala. The indigenous Christians were being faithful to God and preparing the way for us while we were preparing and obediently going to Guatemala. God is working there just like He is here. Meeting Angelina, the lady who helped Wycliffe translate the Bible into Mam, was very inspiring to the team in how God reaches His people. We were humbled and honored to get to be a part of His work there.
* Other things people took away from the trip were how much joy the people had even though they had nothing materialistically; our suffering is minimal compared to theirs.
* Our team realized how much the Guatemalan people give up to become Christians. It changes their entire lifestyle in which they cannot participate in community activities anymore because it involves animistic religious activities.
* The team was moved by the power of God’s Word and how it led so many to believe and follow Jesus. The students were all encouraged to share their faith more boldly back in the states.
* God prepared the way so well. He was preparing our team spiritually, culturally and with finances while the Christians in Guatemala did their part.
Overall: This team was very humble, flexible, willing to serve and eager to learn which made my job easier. We had lots of fun serving together. Ultimately, we saw God guide us, protect us, and be Redeemer and Savior. We also experienced God’s joy in His people, His unity among our team, His strength when we were tired and sick, His love among all His people, and His faithfulness to who He says He is in His Word.
