From Launch to Ministry

It was so nice to be back with everyone again. It was a bit weird to be so spread out at the hotel when everyone arrived on Friday. Our parents’ session started at 1pm while our final check-in didn’t start until 3pm. With 2 hours to kill we played a few different games while we waited. as we checked in we were given room assignments. My roommates for the night were Katie, Abbi, and Aleseya. We had pizza for supper and hung out enjoying our last real shower for who knows how long. Between super and showers we went and had worship with our parents and other family that came. I caught Jack telling the mountaintop tent story several times and I attempted to introduce mom as my grandma a few times just for a laugh. Parents and racers alike hung out for an hour or so before heading back to our rooms. The next morning we had $5 to go out and find our own breakfasts and be back for our session by 9am. After a long morning we split into squads and did a few scenarios where we answered the questions in our teams. Our team was pretty much in agreement on everything. Once that was done it was time for lunch. While we waited for parents to finish their last session we were invited into the holy invocation in the room next door and they prayed over us and prophesied over us and we sang with them. As we left our parents came out of their session and we grabbed the catered chick-fil-a meals and sat down to lunch. As lunch wrapped up people started saying their goodbyes. I took that time to finish introducing mom to the people I would be doing life with for the next month. Then it was time to go. Parents headed back to the airport for their flights and we loaded our stuff in the trailer to head to training camp one last time. 

How quickly we all set up our tents for launch! It felt like minutes compared to when we all arrived for training camp! The next several days were filled with much more specific trainings for our specific roles within our groups and what ministry might actually look like and how to do it. We did still eat some different foods each day. We did an eastern European day and another southeast Asia day and a day called coming home where we got American foods. Mostly it was a lot of sessions and a lot of information and not a lot of time to process it. 

We did one scenario this week. We had to buy food in a busy market with our team. The staff went all out. they had 6 different food options and 2 currency exchange points, “cars” driving through it all while more staff acted other roles including a mute beggar, 2 police officers, thieves, druggies, and prostitutes. We had to make our way around the market and purchase lunch for our team. We simply looked around to start with and no one really came up to us. It wasn’t until we had pretty much all decided on one particular food and bought it that things started happening. First the druggie came and asked us if we liked to party and then told us who had the drugs. Then someone tried to get us to give them our food. We needed to exchange money to get food for the last person and we sent Gwen and Lindsey to get the money. They came back and were fairly sure they had the wrong amount so Jose went back with them. Meanwhile someone tried to grab at what money Jacob had left on him but we blocked them. The other 3 seemed to be taking a while and when I glanced over a police officer seemed to be harassing them asking them for the money they had just gotten. By handing the money back and forth between them they made it back to us and shoved it in a pocket of Jacob’s backpack. The officer followed them and insisted on checking Jacob’s ID then he wanted the cash to check for fraudulent bills. We showed him the cash without handing it over and he finally went away. We bought the food and Lindsey wanted to look at something so Jose went with her and he got stopped by the other police and frisked to make sure he wasn’t wearing a wire. Lindsey was laughing so hard that she left him there and came back to the rest of us who had decided we had plenty of money left and got in line for tacos. We all laughed at the situation and reminded her we were using the buddy system and she had left him behind. The group in front of us didn’t have change and ended up ordering 20 tacos so we got ours for free from them. Except the vender ran out of meat when we had 3 tacos and then gave us the last of the tortillas. As we turned away a lady walked up to Jacob and asked him something and then tried to hold his hand. He was trying to tell her no when Jose and Lindsey got back and Lindsey immediately started flirting with her. So they linked arms and started walking away. Jose had to go and steal her back from the prostitute. We were all laughing so hard at the whole thing. At the same time the market was closing down so we headed back to our dining area to pass out the food and see how much money we had left. 5 orders of chicken and rice, 3 tacos, 4 extra tortillas, and 1 veggie and hummus. Lots of food. Then we checked our money. We somehow had more than what we started with. It’s official that we are sending Jose to all currency exchanges to barter for more money! We are also assigning someone to Lindsey to keep her from going off on her own with some random person.

A couple more days of training and there was a chance of rain those last two nights so I went ahead and packed up my tent. I am not starting my trip with an overweight pack because my tent is wet. Samantha and Katie joined me on a back porch one night and Gwen the second. It never did rain though there was a lot of thunder and wind one evening. The last night we were at camp M squad was having worship and invited us in with them and a few of us went and we prayed over each other and worshiped together before we went to sleep. We stayed up too late doing that, knowing we had to be up by 4am to get ready to leave by 5am for the airport which meant we had a long nap more than a short sleep. 

The vans pulled up and we quickly packed all of our bags into one van and load ourselves into others. Myself, Chanel, and Joey volunteered to ride in the van with the packs. It had quite the aroma. An hour and a half later we pulled up to the international terminal at the airport and unloaded all the stuff. Once they were distributed to their owners we headed inside to check in. And we met our first obstacle. The bags were supposed to have been paid for already but the airline said they weren’t so the team leaders had to drain their cards from WR to pay for them. We should get reimbursed for it eventually though. Then we made our way to our gate and a couple people volunteered to hang back and watch the stuff while the rest went to get breakfast. Jose was one of the ones that volunteered to stay behind. Meanwhile the rest of our team decided to go to Chick-Fil-A. The line was crazy long. Between getting to it and waiting in line we spent about an hour getting food. Then we had a few minutes left so we hopped in line at Dunkin’ for some coffee and donuts. Then we headed back to the gate. A quick stop to buy a micro usb charger for my speaker and headphones and then back to the gate to eat. 

the plane left at about 10am and 3.5 hours later we touched down in Guatemala City. Customs was much easier than I thought it would be. We had a slip of paper to fill out on the plane and showed a guard our covid tests and or vaccines and moved on to a line where they stamped us into the country. Then we picked up our bags and got in line for security. We showed our passports again and were simply waved through. no bag checks or anything. It was pretty nice and I’m sure it’s not going to be the norm for this year. One person did get held back because their covid shot was too recent but we only waited 15 minutes or so for them to catch up after doing a quick covid test. 

We moved quickly out to our bus while treasurers attempted to pull money out of the atm. Meanwhile the bus went around the block because we couldn’t stay where we were. We came back around to pick the last few people up and take off to get food. Turns out the atm wasn’t working so they were unable to pull out any money. For lunch most of us ate Wendy’s and a couple people went to Taco Bell next door. I’ve never seen a Wendy’s so nice. The hand sanitizer station took your temp as it dispensed and the space itself was just very nice. 

May from the AIM base in Guatemala helped us order. We quickly got back on the bus and finished our journey to the AIM base outside of Antigua. We unloaded and moved into our rooms. A couple of the rooms were short on a bed so the guys pulled a couple out of their room and put them in our rooms. Then we had free time for around an hour and a half and most of us played soccer while a few lounged the the ridiculously spongy grass and others swung in hammocks. After and friendly game of barefoot soccer we went inside for a quick introduction to the staff and how the base works.

Dinner was spaghetti. Not exactly what I was expecting for my first home cooked meal in Guatemala. It was good though. After dinner some people went into town to try and get sim cards for their phones so we could communicate between teams once we moved to our ministry locations but it was a bust because most of the credit cards had been deactivated somehow. Meanwhile the rest of us split up to play games or chat. 

After chatting for a while I went into my room and found Chanel. We then spent the next 20 minutes laughing so hard we cried. It was an emotional release neither of us had realized we needed. A quick shower and I went back out to join a group for worship. Yes, I said shower. A nice hot shower. A shower poor Chanel took before me and thought was cold water only. 

As we started to get ready for bed we were asked to go pray over someone in another room and that led to someone else also telling their story and us praying over them. It was a good night. 

Breakfast was pancakes with syrup and fruit; strawberries, cantaloupe, papaya, and watermelon. What an American way to start the day. After breakfast we started packing up our stuff and then went back for an orientation on Guatemalan culture. We learned some basic etiquette and some fun slang words to use while we are here. For lunch we had simple pb&j or tuna sandwiches with chips and apples. Then we finished cleaning and packing and just as we did the bus pulled up to take Team 217 and Treasure Seekers up into the mountains to Chichicastenango.

The 30 mile trip to our host took just over 2 hours. That tells you just how crazy the roads are. Juan was outside to greet us as we pulled up and I was super excited to step foot on the compound the my friends from my past group had been at just a few months ago. Jose is sitting next to me and said he was excited to see where our friends had been too. We unloaded the bus and stepped inside. It wasn’t quite how it looked in the last video update I’d seen. There was more furniture and things had been rearranged. As we took our stuff upstairs I already felt at home. All of the girls are in one room and the guys in another much smaller room. 

Evelyn, Juan’s wife, and Mira had already been hard at work on dinner. Spaghetti with meatballs filled with cheese. No one could complain about that. After dinner we all sat in the living room and just listened in awe as Juan poured out his heart for his ministry and told us stories about his past. Since tell his life story would take even longer for me to type than it did for him to speak it I’ll simply summarize. 

Juan has lived most of his life sold out for Jesus. He grew up on the streets of Chichi always wondering where his next meal would come from. He went to church and one day told God that if He gave him food he would make sure to give back the same. And He did. Juan ended up in the United states for a while and was restless going from church to church trying to find where he belonged. One day he was worshipping and in that worship he told God he would go wherever God called him. God called him to go back to Guatemala. He resisted. Eventually he went back and started building this ministry from scratch. Quite literally. He and his wife were looking for a property and met a woman that said she was told by God to only sell her property to a preacher and Juan is a preacher so she sold him the property for cheap and then he and Evelyn prayed for the money to build and one day he was talking to a man on the street and the man saw Juan’s heart and a week later a truck showed up at the property filled with construction supplies. A crew was hired and the building was built. For a while though Juan and Evelyn were living on the streets. To this day Juan doesn’t have any other job than working with the local kids. He lives every moment knowing God will provide. He also has a lot of plans for us this month and I can’t wait to help him with everything. What a place to start our ministry! Ho! Juan also told everyone that in order to learn Spanish we need to eat only tortillas and beans for a month!

Our first full day in Chichi we all rode in the back of a truck down into town to get sim cards for phones and pull money out of the ATM. In the process we got to walk through the market. It wasn’t the full market setup but there were still quite a few stalls. Apparently Chichi has the biggest market in not only Guatemala but also Central America. We walked around for a bit and a couple people bought things but mostly we just looked. Jacob ended up buying a wool blanket because our nights are so cold. I ended up using my skirts and sarong as blankets inside of my sleeping bag. Lindsey has several pictures of the market in her latest photo blog. Jose made some friends with the local kids as they went over the top trying to get him to buy stuff from them, even going so far as to fake cry. 

We made it back to Ministario Nueva Generacion and just spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting used to the climate. A lot of us have started sniffling and coughing. Most likely from the cold nights and dry air. 

Sunday, Juan led a service just for us in the living room while Jacob and I fumbled through leading worship in Spanish. Well I fumbled through it anyway. We were supposed to spend the rest of the day in sabbath but we were all really curious about the full market experience and someone on the team wasn’t feeling well so we took them to the doctor and the rest spent their time in the market. By the time we finished with the doctor and made it back to the group things were starting to close down for the night. Myself and one other person quickly made our way to a pastry shop to find a cake for an upcoming birthday (no not mine) and we also found a jeweled headband in place of the tiara that was requested and ran back to meet up with the group before our ride showed up to take us back. The rest of our evening was spent in sabbath although most of us agreed we probably shouldn’t have gone to town for sabbath since it wasn’t restful. A man named *Mateo knocked on the door that evening and we gave him food and a chicken. He told us his testimony which basically was that his mother and mother in law passed away from covid and shortly after his wife passed away giving birth to their daughter and he was struggling to make ends meet. 

Monday morning had more people feeling ill. Enough so that those of us that felt fine moved our stuff downstairs into the living room to sleep that night. We talked a bit about what we were going to do with so many people not feeling well and having ministry that night and tomorrow morning. Then we spent the rest of the day chopping veggies for the meal for 200 people that Juan was told were expected to be at the church we had been invited to speak at that night. The Nazarene Church was only 10 minutes away by truck. Lindsey immediately pulled out google translate and started talking with a group of young women, asking them their names and having them show us around. When the service started we got our first look/listen to the local Mayan language through their worship. It was quite unique. Then it was our turn. Juan introduced Jacob and then forgot my name as we moved onto the stage to lead 2 songs in Spanish. Once that terrifying task was over 3 other people went up and shared quick testimonies then Juan gave a quick lecture and the night ended with the local pastor thanking us for coming and giving announcements for the church. *Mateo was there and it was good to see him again and follow up with how he was doing. It was a cold trip back to our home and we attempted to eat our very late dinner quietly while those that didn’t feel well slept upstairs. 

Tuesday morning had us scrambling to put everyone in groups as the kids showed up for ministry here. Lindsey and I were in charge of the 6 and under group. It was like herding cats and it didn’t help that most of them only know Dialect and not Spanish. We attempted to play some games and sing some songs. Then we attempted a bible lesson. Attempted being the key word. They simply don’t have the attention span for the entire story of creation no matter how fun you try to make it. Those 2 hours were absolutely exhausting and yet so much fun. 

After they left we sanitized the main areas and ate lunch then cleaned up the rest of the yard. We spent an hour after lunch talking with Juan about how we can improve when they come again on Friday. Shortly after, Lindsey, Daliah, and I went to a coffee shop just up the road to work on our blogs. As you could guess I did not finish mine but I did get further than Daliah who simply read other peoples blogs. 

 We were all distracted by the view as sunset came and went. Then it started raining and we decided to wait it out and be late for dinner so that we wouldn’t get our laptops wet. Jacob and Jose had gone into town and we caught them on the way back and got to ride the last little bit back in the truck. Dinner was delicious. Evelyn is from El Salvador and made us basically corn tortillas stuffed with cheese with marinara sauce to dip it in. Then we settled down to watch a movie before going to bed. 

Wednesday was an easy day. Normally we would be doing police ministry but due to some things in the capitol most of the police are not around. Instead we finally had our first team time and everyone voted that I give my testimony first. I really need to figure out how to shorten it to a more manageable length so I can share it with people that have less than an hour to sit around and listen. We then cleaned up some more of the yard and then Jacob and I worked on some more songs and then after lunch I finally caved and took my first bucket shower. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Once I finished a group of us went back to the coffee shop to discuss what the plan should be for Friday and work on our blogs some more. I almost finished it before we had to come back for dinner. I’m writing this last bit while everyone else watches another movie. 

I think I’m gonna request some more time to work on the songs tomorrow. I still get tongue tied on at least one line in each song and there is one song that doesn’t have an English translation that sounds kind of like a love song and I’m not very good at getting the emotion of the song to come through. Maybe I’ll get it tomorrow. 

All of this to say I’m truly enjoying the start to my time here in Chichi. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us here. Please pray that everyone will start to feel better and that Juan’s ministry here will not be hindered by our illnesses and that we will be able to help him come up with a sustainable way to work with the kids after we are no longer here to help.