The Land of Many Trees

Hello friends! It has been way too long! I sincerely apologize for my lack of updates! Here in Guatemala I have to go into the city to connect to the internet, and between that and a busy schedule, I’m still figuring out how to keep everyone updated!

That being said, there are so many incredible stories to share and powerful ways that God has moved that I am so so happy to be able to finally share!

Base Life:

My whole squad lives at the Adventures in Missions base outside Chimaltenago, Guatemala. Getting to live with everyone has been such a blessing! We eat breakfast and dinner as a squad, which is a sweet time to get to know our squad better and get to fellowship before and after long days of ministry! On base there’s a soccer field, basketball court, hammocks, and even a sweet cat named Pantera (panther in english!). Living in constant community is such a blast as there’s always a game to play, conversation to join in, way to help serve, and just love the people around us!

The base staff here are absolutely incredible! They love us so well and are very intentional about seeking relationship with us. They lead us through a careful examination of scripture which we call “deep dive” on Tuesday and Friday mornings. They have so much wisdom to offer, and it’s incredible to hear their perspective! They also lead us in a time of worship, teaching, then application of teaching through service that we call activation every Thursday. God always shows up in incredible ways and I learn so much from this time.

Ministry:

My team works in our village ministry teaching english and doing house visits with some of the Adventures Guatemala staff on Tuesdays, which has been so much fun! The kids in the village are so eager to learn about the Lord and are always so full of joy! We’re teaching them about the armor of God, and spend our afternoon making crafts to help them remember the pieces of armor, playing Simon Dice (Simon Says), going over English vocabulary and just getting to know them! The kids are so full of joy and love, and are a blast to be around. The base staff is so intentional about building long term relations with these families, and it’s incredible to learn from them and see them be the hands and feet of Jesus.

One morning, a few of us were traveling with Aderque, a staff member at Adventures. He pulled over to talk to his friends that he saw working in their field on the side of the mountain. We ended up having a great conversation with her about her family and what the Lord has been teaching her, and got the opportunity to pray for her and her son. We were absolutely mesmerized by the views from the field, and she told us where we could see something really cool. We then spent the next hour trekking down the mountain through her land into one of the most incredible rivers I’ve ever seen. The trek was almost straight downhill, and I was not dressed for the occasion, seeing as I was wearing my Birkenstock sandals, which kept sliding off my feet and provided me no traction, but lots of entertainment for my team, who could not hold in their laughter when I ate it a few times. One we reached the bottom, we entered a jungle oasis unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Hanging over the river were all sorts of vines, luscious plants, and waterfalls. It was truly one of the most incredible places I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing, and it was made even more special as we were able to get to know the sweet family who owned the land! Such an incredible experience that I will truly never forget!

Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, my team works at a Montessori School owned by the sweetest family! The city of Itzapa has an extremely high poverty rate, with many families of 8-10 living off of $2 a day. This school provides high quality education to many kids who may never have the chance of schooling, including children with special needs who are not welcomed into the Guatemalan public schools. The family, Colleen, Luis, and their two kids, Nupe and Josiah are some of the most incredibly loving people I have ever met. Although they don’t have much, they are wildly generous with what they do have and are always finding ways to bless us. Luis is an incredible teacher with a heart for the word and an immaculate sense of humor. Colleen is a loving and gentle mom with a gift for teaching.

Our time at this ministry is so so sweet! We spend the mornings gardening and prepping for class, and then students come in the afternoon! Teaching english is actually one of my favorite things ever! Our students are so eager to learn and so full of love! They are always so quick to give hugs, tell us about their lives, and remind us how much they love us. Nothing fills my heart with more joy than hearing the sweetest voices call me “teacher Kayla”. We teach the kids through hands on activities, songs, crafts, conversation, and games. These kids are some of the smartest ones I’ve ever encountered, and it’s so cool to see how they catch on and make connections between the two languages. I have a spanish background, which has been so helpful throughout my time here. I’ve been able to translate for my team and communicate with our students and people we encounter in their language which makes connections more personal and meaningful. I’m so in love with this country and it’s people, and it breaks my heart to think about leaving in just three short weeks.

Adventure Days:

Once a week, our team has the day off to explore Guatemala! We’ve gotten to see some incredible views, and see so many amazing things! We had the opportunity to spend a weekend at the lake with one of the boys teams and take a tour of cities along the lake, learn about chocolate making, how traditional clothing is made here, and see a honey farm! We encountered a man at the lake who had a radical encounter with Jesus that changed his life and ours forever – the full story to come in the next blog! We’ve also gotten to explore Antigua, interact with locals, hike, and experience what makes this land special. Everywhere you go in Guatemala is a masterpiece of nature, with trees and mountains setting the background for streets filled with colorful buildings, and beautiful people.

Well that’s a flyby of Guatemala so far! There are so many more stories to share, lessons I’ve learned, ways I’ve grown and ways that God has shown up that I’m so excited to share! I’m working on incorporating this time into my schedule more, so from here on out you can expect more consistent and frequent updates! Here’s a few ways you can be praying for my and my team!

• There has been an insane amount of illness within our squad (mono, bronchitis, flu, strep, dengue, lung infections, salmonella, bacterial infections, all the works). Pray for full healing over our people and that illness will stop!
• Pray for continued unity within our squad and teams so that our ministry will be most effective
• Pray for the Adventures Guatemala staff to be encouraged in their ministry and that our presence would be a blessing to them and their ministry.
• Pray for the Hineni program, a program that equips Guatemalans to be sent to the nations, a program that just launched a new group into discipleship for a month!
• Pray for the people of Guatemala to see the Lord’s goodness more and more every day!

I am so incredibly thankful for each and every one of you! Praying blessings over each and every one!

~K