Ministry Weekends

For the past two weekends, Discover in their two teams: H'onward {honestly awkward} and iPoc {in Pursuit of Christ} have done 'ministry weekends'. Ministry Weekends give us the opportunity to live in host families and work alongside a local church. Both weekends have proved to be extremely valuable.

I had been feeling confused as to why exactly I was in Guatemala, what purpose it held. We had been doing a lot of learning about the culture here and not much ‘serving’. My view of what ‘serving’ is was different from what we were doing. Time after time I said I wanted to ‘get dirty’. In my journal February 1^st I wrote that I had been wanting to :

see poverty

smell hopelessness

touch brokenness : people and objects

provide smiles

offer a hand to : touch, play, express, and pray

listen to pasts, presents and potential futures

experience another’s life

LOVE

While living with my wonderful host family I have had the opportunity to truly live life alongside a Guatemalan family. From the time my host mom picked me up at the church and those initial moments walking down the path to her house my previous feelings of dIsConTenTmenT started to evaporated. As my pumas got dusty, the smell of tortillas filled my nose and while my hands got dirty with tamale ingredients a smile crossed my face and a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment was in my heart.

Through the last two weekends I have enjoyed my time living with this family and have begun to learn just how well off I have it. Through broken Spanish, I’m learning the family; their ways, their lives, their pasts. Hopefully in the next two weekends we will continue to go deeper in our relationship.

‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.’

-John 15:7

For the first part of February I was upset, discontent and generally didn’t talk to God, but rather at God. I told him numerous times what I really wanted and although I wasn’t faithful in my discontentment and anger, He was. How faithful and loving a God we serve who gives your desires to you, even when you weren’t faithful? Lesson learned. Abide in him for He is faithful.