I'm laying in the hammock at my house reflecting on my time spent in Guatemala. All I can say is that the Lord is so good. To say the least, last week was a whirlwind of an adventure. But it was a whirlwind that I will never forget.
Saturday: we loaded up in the church van and headed to Atlanta airport. From there, we flew straight to Guatemala City and drove immediately to our hotel. (I didn't take my DSLR camera for theft reasons but it ended up being a huge blessing because I was able to focus more on why I was there. The downside is that I don't have very many pictures but I will share some of the ones I have!)
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| inside our hotel
As soon as I walked into the hotel and saw the colorful hammock and the open ceiling I knew I was going to love this place. This space was perfect for spending time with Jesus each morning and having fellowship and prayer each night.
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After getting settled into the hotel, we walked down to a park in our neighborhood. We played soccer for hours and hung out with the kids and students there. Little did we know that God had already been preparing the hearts of those people, but we were able to have a pizza party that night and share the Gospel to the people we had already met that day. God is good.
Sunday: Okay, the breakfast in Guatemala is legit. Like pretty sure we should implement their breakfasts in 'Merica. Coffee cookies to dip in my amazingly smooth coffee each morning? Yes please. Anyways, we split up into two groups and went to church Sunday morning. We prayed, sang, and listened to the sermon in Spanish, but you could feel the Lord's presence in that tiny room nonetheless. It was such a blessing to be able to see some of my brothers and sisters in Christ and know that God is moving in people's hearts all over the world.
That afternoon, we went to a park called Las Americas where they have a festival and hold horse rides every Sunday. We carried around signs that said, "Abrazos Gratis" (Free Hugs). While I felt like most of the time we were being made fun of, we made connections with some people that we were able to see later on in the week. God always has a plan.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: These days were my favorite. We were able to go to Universidad del Valle each day and meet the students there. We played soccer (sensing a trend?), had even more coffee (always a good idea), and had picnics on campus. The Lord kept opening up doors to have conversation after conversation. We made tons of friends at the university and were able to welcome new brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as encourage Christians that are there. God is faithful.
Thursday: We hiked 3.5 miles up a volcano. Obviously we had to hike down too but that wasn't nearly as bad as the hike up. While most of our group chose to rode horses, I was feeling tough and decided to walk the whole way. I would regret that decision later, but I survived. We roasted marshmallows in the volcano (Yepp, you heard that right) and listened to Scripture as we stood in awe of our beautiful surroundings. After conquering the volcano (Lord of the Rings style), we drove over to Antigua and shopped at the markets there before heading back to the hotel. God is infinitively creative.
Friday: After a long delay in our flight, we finally boarded the plane and headed home. I am so thankful to have spent a week with people who lived out the Gospel. I already miss the wonderful people I met and I'm pretty sure I left part of my heart in Guatemala.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. -1 Corinthians 3:6-7
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