As our final day in Guatemala comes to an end, we are all heartbroken, but at the same time uplifted. Going into this trip, we all had different thoughts and expectataions of the experiences we would have. The overall idea that we had was that we’d be serving children in an impoverished area. What we didn’t expect was the impacts, relationships, and the hearts of the kids and familys that we met.
The first day begins, we begin to prepare for the tidal wave of kids running out to meet us. Before they even entered the cortyard, we could hear their high pitched yell. GRINGOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSS!!!! There were so many kids that just wanted to hang on our arms and be tossed into the air. At the same time though, there was a deeper emotional level that was being touched. Over the next few days, we each began to build deeper connections with the kids in the school and in the Clubhouse program. As we began to learn their names and more about them, we also began learning about their families and their home situations.
Another way that we were able to serve was by delivering food packs to families with children inrolled in the Clubhouse program. This was not only something we experienced physically, but even more so spiritually. As we talked with the mothers and grandmothers of the children, we found things out about their spiritual lives and how they get through everyday life. It isnt an easy task for them, and any one of us would be praying to be in a better position. As we asked them how we could pray for them, we were suprised when every single one asked for prayer for their family. Prayers of love, faithfullness, unity, and good health were all requests from these families living in less than ideal situations.
From these interactions, we learned so much about being content and trusting that God will provide. These families who had nothing still had an undying love and faith in the Lord. We saw the true presence of God in the communities we walked through. In both small and large ways, these towns and vilages were being changed in supernatural ways.
Durring one of our group powwows, we sang the song “build your kingdom here” by Rend Collective (hense the title). This song is one that we have sung more times than we can count. in the context of our location though, the song seemed to take on a whole new meaning. Gods kingdom was being built and shown right here in Guatemala.
-Nate Yager & Logan Coolbeth
LC Senior Go! 