Guatemala!!

¡Amigos y Familia! 

¡Bienvenidos a Guatemala! After some complicated travel days from South Africa to Guatemala, we made it! We began our time in the best way possible with having our PARENTS COME VISIT US!! We spent about a week together and it was amazing to be able to show them what we have been doing for the past 7 months and for them to meet the people that have become a second family to me. 

My ministry here has been incredible! We do everything you could possibly imagine: house visits, English classes, Bible studies, worship, VBS, food distribution, women’s ministry, prayer, and soccer games!! They are some fun-filled days! AND my Spanish has been a huge blessing and has provided the opportunity for some very sweet and intentional relationships. 

This past week was Semana Santa (Holy Week). This is a very busy time here in Guatemala; school is closed, everything is decorated, and there are so many parades. Sadly, we have learned that the practice here focuses a lot on Jesus dying on the cross and everything leading up to it but with no celebration of Jesus conquering death and resurrecting. Please be praying for the people here to understand that Jesus rose again and they don’t have to dwell on the sad. There is joy! They do not need to carry their burdens! 

During Semana Santa we did not have our normal ministries because so many things were shut down. Instead we spent the week in a lot of prayer as well as talking with people in the streets! We studied the passage of Luke 10 where Jesus sends people out. He tells them not to take anything (verse 4), find a house of peace (verses 6 and 7), eat and drink whatever is given to you (verse 7), and tell people that the kingdom of God is near (verse 9). Here is the story of what happened on my Luke 10: 

My group set out (taking nothing) walking towards a nearby town. About 15 minutes into the walk we came across a pila (public community pool for washing clothes). My group decided to stop and ask 2 of the women there if they wanted help washing their clothes. With surprised expressions they accepted our help. So myself and two others begin to scrub at their laundry with them. 

Olivia, Marly and I ended up hand washing laundry with these two wonderful women for 5 HOURS. There was so much laundry because it was a week’s worth of laundry for 15 people. Their water had been shut off because they couldn’t pay the water bill. Brenda (the mom) was living with 7 other people, and Paula (the daughter) was living with 6 other people, making a total of 15 family members. There were 3 large trash bins as well as lots of laundry baskets FILLED with laundry. 

 After a little while of washing the clothes we prayed that God would provide food for us that day (as we had not brought anything with us). Moments later Paula brings us Chuchitos (a type of tamale) and a 3 liter of Pepsi! We continued washing for a while then were gifted once again with a lunch of tortillas, beans, rice, and papaya juice Paula’s grandma had squeezed that morning! 

Once we finished the laundry Paula’s husband came to pick us up in their truck. We loaded all the laundry in, then jumped in the back of the truck as well and drove to their house. We were welcomed into this family’s home and sat with them for a while. Olivia went out to play soccer with the kids and Marly and I sat in the house with Brenda, Paola, the grandma, and an aunt. The grandma was older and this aunt was in a wheelchair. Only 2 of the 15 people in this family have a job. We sat talking with the women for a while and they ended up gifting us these beautiful crocheted pieces they had done. We asked the women if they had favorite Bible verses. They responded with Psalm 23, Psalm 91, and Isaiah 55 which are all verses about the Lord’s provision and the way God loves us and cares for us. This was really cool because this family has nothing, yet they had been feeding us and taking care of us all day because they have confidence that the Lord will take care of them. 

Then the grandma told us to go visit the other house (remember Brenda and Paula live in two different houses) while she made some beans for us. So we walked over to visit the other house. When we walk in this other aunt immediately hands Olivia her 3 month old baby to hold. We all sit down in their tiny bedroom and talk some more while Marly, Olivia, and I are passing around the baby. The kids sang songs for us and Brenda gave us some chocolate. Then the aunt starts telling us about her wedding and how Brenda made the wedding favors for her. Then she pulled out extras that she had and gave them to us. Then the kids came in with a coconut and asked their mom to cut it open and give us the coconut water to try. Then we walked back to the first house, Grandma gave us the beans, and we ended our time circling up and holding hands to pray. 

It was such a special day; we found a home of peace, stayed there, and the Lord provided so much for us! 

As I reflected on our time at Beats and Books in South Africa  I think about how much my heart breaks for my kids and the stories they shared with me. Those kids have gone through so much and continue to experience trauma every day. Please pray they can experience comfort in Jesus and that His love, peace, and protection would be abundantly evident to them. During our time there we pressed into talking about Heaven and the absolute wonder that there is no pain or hurt there. Pray that they would be able to understand this joy and yearn to experience the peace of Heaven. 

As we are in our final 2 months of the race I ask you all again for continued prayers for health and safety here on the field. I miss you all and can’t wait to be able to share so many stories in more detail when I get home! 

Praying for you all at home! 

Anna