Guatemala!

New country alert!! We made it to Guatemala! And I love it here! As some of you know, I came to Guatemala with my family last summer, and I absolutely loved it!! Coming back now, Guatemala feels like a piece of home, and it’s been so nice to be back in a familiar place. But anyways, here’s a bit about our journey to Guatemala. About 4 weeks ago, my squad arrived in Guatemala. Our journey here was a bit crazy, consisting of 5 travel days, with pit stops in Greece, Egypt, New York, and Panama! But one perk of our crazy journey was spending a morning exploring Athens! Here’s a picture of me and some of my friends at the Acropolis! 

PVT and Debrief Week!

Our first few weeks in Guatemala have been a bit of a whirlwind! During the first week, we had orientation, our first activation day (which I’ll talk more about later), and our first days at ministry. The next week was PVT, which stands for Parent Vision Trip!!! This is a week where our parents come to Guatemala to serve alongside us in ministry, join us for worship and teachings, and spend lots of quality time together. So, I got to see my parents in Guatemala!!! It was an amazing week! Here are some of my highlights from the week!

Doing crafts with kids at VBS! And a puppet show at VBS!

A soccer tournament and field day games!

Going to Prayer Mountain with my mom! (I’ll also talk about Prayer Mountain more later on!)

Lots of coffee dates!

Bus rides with all the parents!

Adventure day with my parents, spent going to a macadamia nut farm, riding horses, and hiking up to the cross!

Saying goodbye was hard, but so much easier than the one back in August! It really is so crazy that I will be home in less than 2 months! 

The next week was debrief week at the lake. We debriefed our time in Albania, and had time to rest and to explore the lake. One day, we even went cliff jumping, which was so scary but so fun! Here are some pictures from the lake!

And the view from a gorgeous sunrise hike!

After debrief week, we came back to the base, which is where we’ll be for the next 5 weeks, and have started to settle into a little bit of routine here. Last week, we had our first full week of normal ministry. We’ll be following the same weekly schedule for the rest of our time in Guatemala, so here’s a breakdown of what a typical week looks like.

A Typical Week in Guatemala!

Our ministry week is Monday – Friday, with adventure day on Saturdays, and sabbath on Sundays!

Mondays and Wednesdays, my team goes to the Antigua House of Prayer for the day. The Antigua House of Prayer is a prayer room with three sessions of prayer and worship throughout the day. At first, I was a bit intimidated by three sessions of prayer, each between an hour and a half and two hours, in one day. But, even in just our first few days at the House of Prayer, God has been teaching me so much about prayer, worship, and intercession, and it’s been such a sweet time to draw near to God. Each day, we focus on a specific character trait or attribute of God. For example, our first day at the prayer house was focused on the God who sees – El Roi. Another day, we focused on God as an everlasting and eternal God – El Olam. At the prayer house, we also have a teaching each day about the purpose of the house of prayer, and why prayer and intercession are so important. My biggest takeaway has been that intercession is simply coming into agreement with God’s promises and trusting that He will remain faithful to them in everything life throws at us. So, by coming into agreement with God’s promises to us, like that He is always faithful, we are His chosen people, He cares for us, and He is always with us, we are interceding, on our own behalf, and on behalf of others!

On Tuesdays, my team goes to different villages to do house visits! We start by spending time praying over the villages, and then we start our house visits. During house visits, we talk with families, get to know them and their stories, and pray over them. I love how willing people here are to let you into their home and talk with you, regardless of their beliefs. 

On Thursdays, we have activation day! Activation day starts with worship and a teaching from the leadership here at the Guatemala base! Then, we have some processing time and time to talk things over as a team before going into the local cities to talk to people and apply what we’ve learned! This past Thursday, my group had an amazing time meeting and hanging out with a Guatemalan family! As we were walking around the city, praying and looking for people to talk to, Lauryn spotted a music store and said that we should check it out! So, we decided to go in, and immediately started chatting with the women who were working at the store. Through our “poquito español”, we found out that they were mother and daughter, and it was a family business. The older woman’s husband was the pastor of a Christian church next door to the music store. After talking for about 45 minutes, her husband – the pastor – showed up and they took us next door to the church, which was a parking lot used to make money throughout the week, and used for church on Saturday evenings. They sat us down at a table and were so kind to us, giving us coffee, soda, tostadas, and pastries. They were so generous to us! They kept telling us that it was such a blessing to meet us and get to spend time with us, but being with them was the true blessing for us! My favorite part was their laughter! They were constantly laughing, and it was contagious and brought so much joy! It was such an encouraging day with so much laughter and smiles! 

Heading out into the local cities for activation!

On Fridays, my team goes to Prayer Mountain! Prayer Mountain is a mountain with a couple of cabins, with the purpose of being a place for people to go and spend time resting and in solitude with Jesus. It’s modeled after how Jesus would go to the mountain to pray and spend time with the Father. At Prayer Mountain, my team spends time praying, of course, and also doing manual labor to build more cabins.

The truck rides to Prayer Mountain are quite the adventure!

So, that’s what a typical week looks like for me here! Guatemala already feels so much like home! Here are some pictures of some more fun things that I am loving here!

Chicken buses! This is our main form of transportation here! The chicken buses are crazy!! They usually fill up to about 80 people in a 40-person capacity bus, and the drivers drive with no fear of crashing! With the Guatemalan music blasting, riding the chicken buses is quite the adventure!

Sunsets at the base! Our base here is such a blessing! We have a soccer field, a basketball court, and lots of grassy areas to hang out! 

The sheep at Prayer Mountain!

Prayer Requests!

• Pray for the people in Guatemala who don’t yet know the Lord! Pray that the Lord would draw them to Himself and would encounter them!
• Pray for the Christians in Guatemala, and that they would have boldness to share the gospel, both in Guatemala and beyond!
• Pray for my squad! Pray that we would remain present in what the Lord has for us here, not focusing too much on the future as we have less than 2 months left on the race!

Abiding in Christ!

I want to leave you all with a verse that I’ve been loving lately!

John 15:4-10

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. 

Alrighty, that’s all I have for today! Thanks for reading, supporting me, praying with me, and loving me! I love you all! 

Much love,

Alia