By Leah Martin:
I have enjoyed my time here in Guatemala for the ways that it has brought me joy and that it has been challenging me. I found myself relying on God‘s strength in moments where I’m challenged. There have been many moments that have brought me out of my comfort zone. Two challenges for myself in particular have been my lack of Spanish and trying to figure out how to serve “all in” with a broken arm. Even in these struggles, I found God‘s strength to help me find ways to share his love despite the challenges. I had no clue what to expect when I came here to Guatemala. Many things are different from what I expected.
Throughout this week, my classmates and I have been starting our mornings off reading parts of 2 Timothy. Today we read through 2 Timothy 2:14-26, which personally challenged me to serve with the heart of kindness and patience.
We got to the school with a crowd of children giving us hugs (kids we’ve never met before to add)! It has been amazing to see the way that God’s love prevails despite language barriers. A smile and laughter are things that are understood in any language. I feel God‘s love even in the moments where I try to communicate in my less-than-amateur Spanish. The way that these children are willing to teach us even though we came to teach them has been one of the ways that I’ve seen God‘s love this week. We came to teach at the school here, I found that the people here have taught us so much more. After school was over, we spent time with different families of Pacaya. We gave them food packages, talked with them, and prayed with them. In those moments, I felt God‘s love pouring over us in prayer. Spending time with these families has been my favorite part of this trip so far. I have been so encouraged by the love, faith, and hospitality of these families. We’ve come to help them, but they have welcomed us so much more.
Later on, we worked with the people of clubhouse Guatemala to sort out shoes that we will be giving out on Friday. Pray that as we continue through this week that God would continue to strengthen us to serve and give us the humility to learn. Pray that God’s word would go forth through us as we serve.
God bless!
By Jadeyn Hamilton:
Today was probably my favorite day so far. The first thing the kids did when they saw us was give us hugs. That was something special because none of them knew us. They just gave us hugs. During one of the classes, I was sitting with a student, and I was helping her learn colors in English. She was so sweet. Every time she got a color correct, she would smile this adorably proud smile. It has been a great day.
LC Senior Go! 