So excited to say that I am officially in Guatemala! We showed up here on the 9th of September and had one of the smoothest travel days. It was definitely a blessing besides the fact that I was up for about 20 hours straight. haha still recovering. The base that we are staying at is defiantly a gift and surpasses so many of my expectations. We have beds and HOT showers and the cooks that prepare meals for us are absolutely amazing. We eat well and the fact that we have filtered water coming out of the faucets makes me so thankful!! Having clean running water to brush your teeth with is something that you never would think of being thankful for. On top of that we have amazing leaders and mentors here at Adventures Guatemala. They are so intentional and lead as amazing men and women of God. They know what it looks like to live missionally and I cannot wait to learn from them. They have beautiful hearts for this country.
It’s real folks, I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. Thank you for all the prayers and encouragement. It means the world to me and the Lord has spoke to me through so many of you. The Lord has given me so much peace about being here in this country & being here with my team. There has been so much unity within our squad and the relationships that are being built are so sweet and it makes me so excited to do life with these people. God is working in huge ways through us and through me! I’m gunna write a whole blog about what God has been teaching me and the impact that training camp had on me and share with you some of the promises that God has given me for the race. He has continued to bring healing to my life and has shown me what it looks like to live freely in the grace of the father. But for now I just want to share with you what this time in Guatemala will look like for us as a team. Our team, “Ekklesia” started ministry on Thursday. We will be traveling to a little village called Los Encinos. We will be teaching English at two different schools a couple days a week. We will be spending a ton of time doing house visits and building relationships within this little village.
“An inch wide and a mile deep” is the vision that the Lord gave us as we began to minister to these people. Our team asked the Lord to give us a vision of what he wanted our main focus to be and we felt like that phrase was perfect. Our goal is to build very intentional and deep relationships within this little village. We have been called to show the love of Christ by our actions and be the Church as we enter into this community. We are excited to see the things that the Lord has planned for these next three months.
On Saturday we were invited to go with one of the schools that we will be teaching at and watch them as they walked in a parade for Independence Day. We woke up at about 6 am to head to the school where we would be picked up on a school bus and be taken to the town where the parade was happening. We got there & they had no idea that we were coming so with very very broken Spanish we communicated that we had come because the owner Joseline invited us to come watch. We finally got that across & patiently waited at the school for about 20 minutes for the bus to show up to take us!When we arrived we helped unload the bus and get the kids ready for their performance. As it was pretty simple due to the fact that they all knew the rounds of what this was supposed to look like. Little did we know that we would be standing in the sun waiting for the parade to start for 2 hours. The time finally cones for the parade to start moving & the teachers eagerly tell us where we are supposed to stand IN the parade. (Let me give you a little glimpse of what this looked like. We were all in Birks & we all had our heavy backpacks on because we were planning on heading to Antigua after we were done.) We had no idea this was going to happen, but we start the trek through the little town on cobble stone streets. This is a big day for them & I’m pretty sure the whole city was there watching the parade as we walked through the streets. “GRINGO GRINGO” is what we would hear them whisper & oh boy did they like taking pictures of us. It was quite an adventure as we walked around for about 2 miles in the hot sun.
Thanks God for pushing us into that Guatemalan culture & teaching us how to be flexible & always learning & living missionally. This is a beautiful life we get to live.
Cant wait to share more with how the Lord is working. We will start our full time ministry schedule this next week. Please continue to pray over our team and for the people of this little village. And for our ability to learn Spanish :)) haha its defiantly a struggle at times.
Anna
Anna! I felt your hunger through your words as I read your blog. I can tell you’re filled with excitement and anticipation for what the Lord has for you in this specific missional season. Don’t lose that! I know God has so much in store for you, your team, and the tiny little village. I can’t wait to see what happens 🙂
It is great that we get to share your journey through your blogs. You will be so blessed to have this amazing experience. You are learning truths that will be with you every step of your journey with your Father, Savior and Holy Spirit.
Oh it’s so fun to hear the stories! What an eventful day. Just like a BV parade huh???
Wow Anna! What a wonderful start! I hear your heart fully engaged, blessings on the team, praying…..
We’re so thankful for your safe travel’s and it’s exciting to hear about your amazing adventures and the work the Lord is doing through you and your team. We are praying for you and looking forward to hearing about your journey. We miss you but we are so excited for you.
“An inch wide and a mile deep.” What an awesome calling. Looking forward to hearing all about this sweet adventure God has you on. Praying for all the lives you will touch so deeply, Anna – both on your team and in these communities.
I’m so glad to hear your first experience in a new country has been a pretty pleasant experience especially about the hot showers and delicious food which is a gift from God. I was in Guatemala around 20 years ago with a group called “Hearts in Motion”. They gave women healthcare while I took care of their children. It’s a beautiful country! What an experience you’re having. God’s blessings to your whole team!
Thanks for describing your ministry, teaching is so gratifying when there’s hunger for what you’ve got, enjoy as you bare the image of Christ and share your lives with them. Your parade story is SO World Race, cracks me up, LOL. You’re living it, the Lord is just beginning to show you His plans, don’t blink, it goes by fast, enjoy every moment.
Anna, loving all that God is doing in and through you. Thanks for taking time to write about the adventure and let us in on all that you are experiencing. Love you, Dad.
Love the parade story! So thankful that our girl (Makayla) is building deep friendships with others who passionately love Jesus. Squad W is in our prayers.
Anna: Your mom came yesterday and set me up on my computer so I share your experiences with you. I have been praying daily for you and your sharing
helps us be more specific. Thank you for answering God’s calling your this ministry. It will be of value to you, all the days of your life. Remember that we at home are pleased that you took this journey, God loves you and SO DO WE! Sally and Les Stencel