Once Upon a Month in Guatemala: Post Two

Last Friday finished the three weeks of Spanish classes! Some days I felt like my brain turned to soup, but we pushed through. Although I am nowhere near where I would like to be in my Spanish language skills, I can see some growth because of this experience. This has been incredibly helpful when communicating with my host family, in particular. I feel less tired during a given day when listening to people talk in Spanish, because now I can pick up on at least the topic of the conversations around me. Progress is good!

This week I started working with the Child Sponsorship program with my Crown teammate, Ashley. We have spent about half our time in the office, organizing things and becoming familiar with how the program works. The other half of the time we have been visiting a couple of the elementary schools in Magdalena and the nearby town of El Gorrion. It has been a great mix of seeing the background administrative work that goes into such a program, and seeing the cheerful faces of the children of whom the work effects. Yesterday I had the opportunity to go with our site leader, Rebecca, on a home visit. The sponsor of a little girl bought a Barbie doll for her sponsor child, and we got the privilege of bringing it to her. On our way to her house in a poorer section of town, we got poured on with rain. Seeing the girl’s face light up as she held her first doll was well worth the wet trek (and jeans that won’t dry for probably a week because of the humidity here).

I am currently healthy! Most days here I cannot say that, but I seem to be getting over the various stomach issues and colds that come up relatively quick. Maybe I’ll have an incredibly strong immune system by the time I head home! It’s a nice thought. As for my mental and emotional state, I am having a better day today. Some days are difficult, I won’t lie. Some days I don’t trust God’s faithfulness as well as I would like, and also doubt myself. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself (2 Tim 2:13)”. Whenever I find myself mulling over doubts, He always shows up. Whether in a kind, unexpected word from someone, a timely scripture, moments of rest, or physical protection from iffy situations, God has been giving me His mercies. Some of them I really have to pay attention, so not to miss them; others are blatantly obvious. I’m thankful for both. 

Greetings From Guatemala! Post One

I've been here for about a week and a half, and the time has been full of new experiences! Flight travel went smoothly and the van travel from Guatemala City to Magdalena went bumpy; literally. There were speed bumps everywhere on the windy road up the mountainside. Once we reached the 7000 ft altitude, our Crown College team of 6 met our host families and split off for the night. The next day, we met the other internship group, Global Bridge, which is apart of the Students International Organization that we are here with. They are a group of 5 students from California, Michigan, and Indiana.

The next few days were spent getting to know each other and the newness of being in a different culture. We spent a couple days at our respective ministry sites. Me and the other Sarah on our team are helping with the Sponsorship program. Our days were split between visiting sponsored kids at the schools, and some filing work in the office. Some of the other sites are healthcare, education, agriculture, special education, art ministry, and women's ministry. On the weekend we visited Antigua and did a scavenger hunt, which brought us all over the city, dodging cars and motos in the street. 

On Sunday we went to the Mt. Sinai Church up the hill, which was a pretty interesting experience. We worshiped with incredibly loud music for about an hour and a half. I found that your hands become very sore from clapping that long. This was followed by a message in Spanish, and then a handful of people were baptized.  

This week started Spanish classes! For three weeks we meet one on one with a Spanish tutor from Antigua at the Church, and study with them for 4 hours. We have the afternoons off to do homework from online classes and rest. Once these three weeks are completed, we will go back to our ministry sites and continue online classes. Hopefully all the time spent diligently studying Spanish will help me to better communicate during my time here. At least it will help situations to not be as full of awkward silences. 

I was staying pretty healthy... until the end of last week. I got a stomach bug, and missed the first day of Spanish class. Now I'm on some kind of antibiotic for the week and feeling great! I had a lot of time to rest and think that day, which I think God purposefully used to help me with my attitude. The first week was a difficult transition in saying goodbye to so many familiarities and loved ones. I found it hard to want to be where I currently am at times, and continually had to give it over to God. After being sick, I'm finding that I really do want to take hold of this opportunity, even though it can be hard because of so many changes. I believe that God has His reasons for me being here. Each day I ask Him for His mercies, and He gives them in abundance. 

Thank you to everyone who has been diligently praying for me, our team, and the people of Guatemala! I so appreciate your support. Please pray for the health and protection of our team, as sickness seems to be a reoccurring theme. Also, pray during this continued transition time as we get used to all the new things around us, and learn to lean on each other as well as God. 

Until next time!