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It was our last day of ministry. We spent the morning doing home visits. We started as a big group, and crammed all 27 of us into a small room to pray over a man afflicted with cancer. After that, our team split into two groups to make the rest of the home visits less chaotic. The group I was in went to about 10 homes that day...praying over families and singing songs to them. We were in a community where they spoke a lot of Kaqchikel, an indigenous language to mesoamerica, so it made talking with them hard. At some houses we had the translation going from an English speaker, to an English/Spanish speaker to a Spanish/Kaqchikel speaker, to who we were ministering to that spoke Kaqchikel. It was a really good last day of ministry, and it made the idea of our ministry days being done a lot harder. Sydney, Christy, Heather, Maggie, and I still got some french-fry ministry in that day, so it was okay. Later that day a handful of us were playing volleyball (with some beach balls that we later gave away to kids on the street). It was right before we left for dinner, so the majority of the team was congregating near the gate of our hotel. I noticed someone stop on the street and he was looking, quite confused, at all of us playing around, laughing, and having fun. I was talking to him (he spoke really good English) and explaining that we were missionaries. His name was Yonoton, it sounds like "Jonathon"...but that's not to be confused his name. I asked. It turns out he's from Israel and is traveling alone exploring Central and South America. His primary mode of transportantion was by foot, and he had been walking 20-30 kilometers a day (reminding us that the whole world is on the metric system, besides the US). I asked if he was a Jew, and he said that yes, by descent, but not by practice. He believed that there was a God...but didn't really have any sort of formal religion that he followed...and it was evident that he was hungry for truth. Yonoton was a very curious and inquisitive young man. He kept asking more questions about our mission trip and Christianity. At this point Sydney, Gavin, and Maggie had joined in on the conversation and the rest of the team left for dinner. We talked to Yonoton for probably around 20 minutes...explaining the different ministries we had done...but mostly explaining Christianity to him...by his own request. Once he understood that we were missionaries sharing the gospel with people, he asked if we tried to convert the people we minister to. We said, while still emphasizing that making disciples is super cool, that no, we don't focus on conversion...we focus on sharing the love of God with the people we come in contact with...and we trust that in that seeds are planted. Gavin explained, "It's not about getting a certain number of conversions every day...like 'oh, I got 3 people to accept Christ today so now I'm done'...it's about loving on them and sharing the gospel with them, while still allowing them to make their own decision whether or not to follow God." After sharing some good truth with Yonoton, we asked if we could pray for him. He reminded us that he was not a Christian...and he was surprised to find out that Christians can pray with non-Christians. Even though he was somewhere between 5-10 years older than us...his naivety was very fun to interact with. I asked his prayer requests, and then began to pray for his family and safe travels. I remember that it felt weird to pray for someone who could understand the prayer, because I was so used to praying for Spanish speaking people. Near the end of the prayer, he asked if we could pray for his friends too - and that was a really cool sign that he knew there was some substance to our prayer. Because as we prayed, he wasn't waiting for us to finish so he could move on with his journey, he genuinely desired the same power that was being prayed over him to be prayed over his friends...and that's really cool. When we were done praying, he thanked us, and we said that we would keep praying for him. He said, "Thanks, but I won't be praying for you...not that I don't like you...I just don't really do that." We left for dinner, us and him with happy hearts and happy faces. It was really good timing, because it made it clear to me that even though it was our last day of ministry...the ministry and the mission trip never really stop. We had the opportunity to continue pouring into people as a team, and all 4 of us were assured that God has so much more in store for us in the future. All people, like you and me, were created with a desire to love and know something way beyond ourselves. All people, like you and me, have a God-shaped hole (or vacuum, rather) in our hearts...longing to be filled and satisfied. Only God can fully quench the thirst in our hearts...the same thirst that Yonoton had for something more. Christ is enough for me. "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ." Colossians 1:27-28
When we first arrived in San Pedro there was a rainbow waiting for us! This photo was taken on the roof of our hotel. Left to right: Sydney (Alberta, Canada), Logan (TX), Seth (MS), Gavin (MI), and me. Looking back on the trip, there's so many things to miss. I miss my teammates, of course. From the first night of training camp in Georgia we were noticeably the closest team (WOOOOOOOO!!!). And by the end of the trip we were undoubtedly a family. A month living together makes you close to people, sometimes closer than you'd like to be. But now I miss all the quirks of my teammates, from the idiosyncrasies to oversharing about bowel movements, and beyond. I miss the things that we did, like riding (standing up) in the back of trucks on our way to and from ministry, walking half a mile uphill just to get breakfast and dinner, and french-fry ministry (get excited for a blog on this soon!). I miss playing speed, sleeping outside in hammocks, and singing Spanish kid songs with the kids. I miss encouragement circles, prophesies, and worshiping together as a team every night. I miss always being able to see the mountains and volcanoes wherever I looked, and now I'm in Wisconsin where it is FLAT. One morning a few days after returning, I was really missing the Guatemalan way of life. The 2 1/2 weeks that we spent in San Pedro (where we practically hiked to get our food) we were served coffee at breakfast (praise the Lamb). They served the coffee with sugar, but no cream...but for the coffee connoisseurs on the team, that didn't phase them. I got used to drinking my coffee black, with an ungodly amount of sugar. I decided that I wanted to start drinking my coffee like that at home, so I ground up some of the coffee beans that I brought home, and I brewed myself a cup. I added my liberal amount of sweetness, and after one sip I decided that I didn't miss black coffee all that much after all. Cream is a luxury that I'm willing to embrace. That being said, there are some things that I don't miss. I don't miss the odd smells that linger in different parts of Guatemala. I don't miss clogged toilets, or needing to throw my toilet paper in a basket...and fishing it out of the toilet when I forgot. But there are still things that I miss, even if they aren't the most pleasant. I miss the scorpions, and the stray dogs roaming the streets, and cuddling in bed with Sydney when we both had intestine infections. I even miss the time when Maggie had to pay 3Q to use the bathroom on our way to dinner, because she was about to blow (she survived, I was a witness). It's sad, sometimes, to look back and realize that all those things are merely memories now. Yes, memories that I will hold onto for the rest of my life...but it's sad to know that I'm not living in those memories anymore. I am way beyond grateful to have had all of the experiences that I did, and it's fun to be home and to share all of my stories with my friends and family. If you'd like to see some of our crazy Guatemalan shenanigans in action, I encourage you to subscribe to Sydney Ruether on YouTube. She vlogged the entire trip, and the first two are up! I'll post more on here as they come, but for now...check them out! It's a fun way to see how our team interacted as we got closer and closer as the trip went on! First off - this blog post will be a continuation and addition to my blog that was posted on the Adventures in Missions website, titled "Inside and Out".
Please take a look before reading further - ambassador.adventures.org/post/inside-and-out1 |
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AuthorMy name is Alyssa Guzman, and I love to write. That being said, this blog isn't only to ease the curiosity of my supporters, I created it to benefit me...and to reflect on my experiences and build on the knowledge that I gained while serving in Guatemala...and to share the deep and meaningful stories with you, as well as the silly (and embarrassing) ones! |