On Wednesday we will have been serving here in Guatemala for 3 whole weeks. My team and I have finally settled into a rhythm for life here in Petén and it is starting to feel like home. Life here is different but in a lot of ways it isn’t as different as I thought it would be. Getting to be a part of this community here, even just for the month we are here, is such a privilege. God has blessed me abundantly.

The ministry we are working with is called OneWay Community and the heart behind this organization is to build up communities in Guatemala by meeting needs through education, health, sports, and relationship building. They do an amazing job of pouring into each of their communities and being the hands and feet of Jesus to the people there. If you want to know more about OneWay or see more about what my team is doing with them you can follow OneWay on Instagram @owc.gt and you can follow my squad’s story on Instagram @worldrace_zsquad.

My team gets to help with three communities. On Mondays some of us go to Light of the World ministries in Poptún, Monday-Wednesday we go to a village called Villa Hermosa and then Wednesday afternoons and all day Thursday we go to a village called Saboneta. At Light of the World ministries, we work with an American man named Harry who puts on a kid’s program every week. We help them prepare food to hand out to the kids and parents after they finish with their games, songs, and lesson upstairs. In Villa Hermosa and Saboneta, we typically spend our mornings doing home visits, and then in the afternoons, we help with tutoring and the soccer program.

At home visits, the main goal is just to get to know the families in the community. Many of the families we visit have children who come to the programs with us in the afternoons so it helps us know the kids better too. In the villages, the people only speak Spanish or Mayan languages so our hosts help us talk with the families by translating for us. Through these visits, we have had incredible opportunities to hand out water filters so they can have clean water and pray over many people, some of whom are suffering from severe illnesses.

One man we prayed over was suffering from cancer. My team was able to pray with him and his family three times and during these visits, his family told us that for most of his life, he had been practicing witchcraft, but when he got sick he gave his life to Jesus. On Saturday one of my teammates and I were talking about him and as we talked we shared that we had both had visions of him in heaven, no longer hungry or in pain, with a huge smile on his face. When we went to visit this man and his family on Thursday we were told that he had passed away on Saturday night. It was sad to see the heartbreak this family is experiencing, and I am so grateful they let us share the peace of Jesus with them. I am confident this man is now in heaven, forgiven through Christ, and healed of his cancer. Praise God for His goodness and healing!

To finish up this blog I wanted to share some prayer requests from some of the families we have been visiting. A woman my age who had a stroke and is praying for her face to go back to normal. A man who, a year ago, was stabbed by a drunk man trespassing on his property and his abdomen is still healing. That man’s wife and their 3-week-old baby.  A woman who has abdominal pain and can’t go to the doctor. A family whose young son just passed away after being hit by a motorcycle. Many of these families have been through a lot, but I am inspired by the faith many of them have and I pray that I can have faith like theirs and hopefully share their stories to inspire others as well. Pray also for the country of Guatemala and their government. As I sit here typing this, there are nationwide protests, which have shut down all or most major roads in the country. Pray for safety during the protests and for wisdom for the government officials.