07/09/09
Hey guys! Allie and Sophia here. We had quite an eventful and blessed day. As Satan put obstacles in the way of our ministry, the team worked together to overcome him and restore our joy. Wie went to the rooftop of our hotel, surrounded by the beauty of Guatemala’s volcanoes, mountains, and of course, the lake. Our team used worship to beat Satan and his evil tactics.
Afterwards, we all felt much better, and our team piled into the beds of pickup trucks and headed to San Pablo. We met up with Pastor Antonio, our local ministry contact. Our plans of door to door evangelism had been deterred by the rain. However, this provided the opportunity to pray for people in the village as we sat in the church waiting for the rain to quit. Antonio used this time to tell us about the history of the church and its ministry. His story of incredible faith led the Holy Spirit to move in us. Soon after, Pastor Antonio led us on a prayer walk. He took us into the homes of people who desired prayer. Our team crammed into the small home of a woman hoping her family would start coming to church, a family struggling with the effects of alcoholism, a single mom, and a couple coping with health problems.
For each home we prayed over them and sang in Spanish. It was beautiful to see the hope in their faces. For our final stop, we returned to the church for our evening service. Soon it was quickly filled with smiling villagers, dressed in colorful fabrics of the area. Amanda worked with our favorite translator Luis to share how God has worked in her life and the positive effects that being here in Guatemala has had on her. The congregation seemed to be touched by the songs we sang for them with Jodie leading on guitar. Pastor Antonio had the congregation pray over us. It was powerfully reassuring to hear and feel their prayers for us as we knelt at the front of the church. The end of the night came with “Gracias” and “Adios” being heard around the room as we said our good-byes. Kids crowded around us and we handed out some Jesus stickers. We loaded ourselves back into the pickup trucks and rolled down the hill to the other side of the lake.
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The leadership team would like to take a moment to express to you loved ones back home just how honored and grateful we are to have led your daughters, sisters nieces, and friends these past two weeks. All three of us a agree that this has been one of the smoothest and worry free trips we have ever led (and between the three of us, that’s a lot!) and that is largely due to the fact that we have a team of young women that are passionate, servant hearted, and ready to jump in no matter what we ask of them. We thank God for them every day. And we thank you for sharing them with us.
Blessings,
Connie, Kristen, and Jessica.
(Kristen, Connie and Jess…not her best picture!)
Tomorrow we head to Antigua!
