Life on the mountain!

We’ve been in Guatemala for three weeks now and the word I would use to summarize this time is GROWTH. 

When we landed here, our whole squad (25 of us) went to the AIM (Adventures in Missions) base for a couple of days. We got to spend time there enjoying our last days together before we split off into our teams. We divide into teams of 4-7 to better serve the community, and grow in a more intimate relationship with one another. 

At the base, we had a couple sessions to learn about the culture, our ministries, and how to best serve the community. We got to play a lot of basketball, soccer, and had a TON of belly laughs all together before we said our “see ya laters” that night.

Let’s do a little meet the team, shall we!! 

Riley: Some call her smiley Riley because this girl STAYS beaming with the joy of the Lord. 

Elora: A bucket of wisdom; she is so confident in who the Lord is. It’s an honor to get to learn from her.

BODIE (Rachel): This woman SERVES, and gives so freely, it’s such an encouragement. Her and Amanda are the brains and hands  behind every meal we eat. Without them, we’d be starved on the mountain. 

Amanda: The chef of our kitchen. She cooks, provides laughter, and steps out boldly in what the Lord is calling her to do. 

Fran: Oh Fran. Haha, this girl makes me belly laugh daily. I’ve learned more of what it looks like to be selfless in every area of my life because of who she is. It’s an encouragement to know she’s only like this because of the role Jesus has played in her life. 

Madison: Madison’s friendship feels like a piece of home and I’m so happy she’s a part of our team! She leads our team well and cultivates a space for us to be vulnerable with each other. 

Once we split off into our teams and ministries we got to meet our host. Chako and Kelsey! It has felt like we have a mom and dad on the race with how well they take care of us. They both follow Jesus so closely. They overflow with the fruits of the Spirit. Chako made it very clear from the second he met us, he’s far more interested in making sure our relationship with the Lord is priority rather than the work we can do for him. He told us to rest when we need to, because the end goal of this trip isn’t how much work we can get done, it’s about Jesus. If we are pouring from an empty cup, we won’t make it too far. 

(Here they are with their cute son, Nathaniel) 

Monday – Thursday we live on prayer mountain in our tents!! Woohooo, back to tent city. We are helping Chako build a small town on the mountain. Some days that means painting a cabin, sanding doors, painting houses, moving dirt or bricks, planting grass, etc. It’s whatever he needs help with! Fridays we hike to another village and do kids ministry! That’s filled with teaching the kids sports, and then demonstrating a small bible story for them afterwards. 

Here’s our home for 6 weeks!!

You guessed it. Since we live in tents, we also don’t get showers for the week. Don’t fret, we all take huggie wipe baths every night. 

You would think we would be moaning and groaning with how little we have on this mountain, but the lord is showing me what it looks like to find joy in Him alone. I’m learning He is far more interested in my character development than my comfort. 

Saturday and Sunday we live in a small Airbnb in Antigua. We spend one day sabbathing, and another is our adventure day. (These are our shower days. The city gets to see a whole different version of us than the mountains do lol.) 

We’re here until the end of October and then we’ll have a debrief. The squad will come together and we’ll have teachings, and discuss how these past couple months went for everyone. We’ll get to rest and enjoy each other’s company before we head off to ROMANIA!!!!

ALSOOOO, praise report: I have been fully funded for this trip! Thank you guys so much for all of your support financially, and prayerfully. I am so grateful for you partnering with me in what the Lord is doing, in my life and those around me!