Visiting a New Town, New Friends, Frog Poison & A God Who Speaks!

Hola!! I just couldn’t wait- I really wanted to get back on here and share an awesome testimony from this past weekend with you all! (If you can, stick around until the end!)

So, as described in my last blog, my team has gone through some changes in the last several weeks and we knew that our time in Guatemala was soon coming to an end. So we decided to do an adventure as a team that would provide a space for Sabbath and recharging for our hearts and minds. God has been teaching me a lot about the importance of true, purposeful rest (and perhaps, that will be the topic of another blog!) and so my awesome teammates helped to organize a trip to a place called San Pedro La Laguna, about three hours from where we are currently staying!

The town of Panajachel was the first place we visited on our way to San Pedro! We went to a a café called Flor de Café, where we had coffee, overlooked the volcanoes, mountains and great landscape that God has created by the lagoon in Guatemala. We then took a boat ride over to the town of San Pedro La Laguna. What an experience that was! The waters were rough, the company was sweet, and the laughter was plentiful! On this boat ride, we got to know various people who were traveling across the water for different reasons.

Ponder Break:

God has been showing me just how sweet it is to be spontaneous in the realm of forming friendships! Striking up a conversation with a stranger is pretty sweet and lends itself to deeper connections and heart talks that not only help to create memorable moments but also has potential to change the entire course of a person’s life on Earth and eternal destiny. 

And so that last “ponder break” brings me to how beautifully orchestrated our time has been here in San Pedro! Just to give you an idea of the town we were in- it is a very hippie town where many people have a mixture of catholic beliefs about God and Mayan spiritual beliefs, that there are many gods in the forms of nature, emotions, spirits, and senses. We had been warned of the spiritual warfare that goes on regularly, especially being that we were visiting on the weekend of the Day of the Dead (Dia del Muertos).

So, we found the hostel that we were staying at with the help of a guide through the bustling narrow streets, multiple tuk tuks, and vendors selling experiences and products. Once we got there and settled in, we prayed over our room and over the experiences that we would have that Saturday night.

As I sat in that hostel room, with no idea of what the night would hold, my heart was tempted to fear the unknown and the uncomfortable environment I found myself in. But God impressed a word on my heart for my team and me being here at San Pedro, as well as a Scripture verse.

The word He gave was REFUGE

I have been trying to hear the voice of God better and so I was worried I wasn’t really hearing from the Lord but, rather, from my own thoughts. Until I sat with this word throughout the weekend and realized how meaningful it was. Just by being in a place of unknown territory and thrown into more uncomfortable experiences, it caused me to depend on Jesus even more than the average day. He truly became my safety, my shelter; and I experienced the freedom that came with walking in the confidence of Jesus being my refuge. I became confident in the fact that I don’t have to retreat to what makes me feel temporarily comfortable but I can walk in a constant state of REFUGE and SAFTEY because the Lord lives inside of me. I truly experienced that peace that Christians talk about all the time- the peace of God that surpasses understanding!

Scripture Verse: Galatians 2:11-14

This part of Scripture talks about how Cephas (Peter) had essentially been ashamed to be around non-Christians because he was fearful of what other Christians would say to him about him not doing certain religious duties. Paul corrected Cephas and basically told him this was hypocritical. And in combination with this message, the Lord reminded me how we are supposed to be “in the world but not of it”- an encouragement to walk differently because Jesus has given me a different mission and purpose, but also a challenge to not separate from other people who do not know Him. Although, there was so much uncertainty for me about how the night would go, there was no fear because the KING lives INSIDE of me. The Holy Spirit is God, and He has taken the most important place in my heart- He is my Lord.

 Alrighty… here comes s’more good Lord content!!

So, we went to dinner as a team, had split some meals, drank mint lemonade (that was interesting…) and had intentional conversations with each other. We then weren’t quite certain where the Lord wanted us to go, so we wandered the streets a little, looked through thrift stores and decided to head back to the hostel to regroup (at this point, it was only 8 pm, so many people hadn’t even started coming out on the streets).

After regrouping, we decided to go up to the rooftop to overlook the town. Upon walking up there, we met a 25-year-old guy named Daniel from Finland (or El Danny, according to us lol ). He was very open with us and was intrigued as to who we were, how we got to Guatemala and how we met each other. Shortly after starting introductions, his friend walked up on the rooftop. His name is Jorge and he, too, was interested in having a good, quality conversation with us. As we just casually talked for some time and not explicitly saying anything about missions, they became more intrigued with our stories. Hours went by. The four of us girls talked with these two guys for hours, while they also smoked weed and other drugs. I realized how in these moments, the Holy Spirit was giving me peace, boldness, and comfort even when I normally wouldn’t have those securities in a situation like this. We talked about so much; ranging from their favorite things about Guatemala, reasons why they were traveling, what they do for a living, the benefits of music, and how they could afford to travel, to what they want to get out of their experience around the world, what they have learned about themselves over the years, what their definitions of joy and happiness is and who they think God is.

Daniel’s & Jorge’s Beliefs

In talking with them, I learned much of Daniel’s beliefs. In summation, he is still discovering but is fairly confident that he believes everything is a god. His beliefs align with more of Mayan spirituality. He has experiences of being heavily under the influence of death-defying drugs (frog poison, to be exact) which has led him to experience heightened senses, blackouts, and out of body experiences. He believes this has drawn him close to his god, which is the unity of all the spirits in the environment.  Jorge shared his exposure to Catholicism as a child but how he never had a chance to make his own decision about his faith. He shared that now in his 35^th year, he is not certain of what he believes but is trying to figure out that out.  

Through listening and us asking them questions, they in turn wanted to dig deep into our hearts and how we had such a “peaceful vibe.” We each shared about our favorite things about Guatemala which inevitably, led us to deeper spiritual conversations about how the God of the Bible has changed our lives. And God began to show me how to speak to them in ways they’d understand (ex. talking about how creation showcases the Lord but is not a god to me, since Mayan beliefs are heavily rooted in spiritualizing creation and the environment).

PAUSE!

I just need to say how incredibly proud I am of each of my teammates. I truly felt like each one of us had the heart of the Father. We pursued these guys with the intention of knowing them and hearing them- not converting them. And that’s a HUGE takeaway that God has been showing me. So often, I think I subconsciously counted conversations a loss when I would share the Gospel with someone, but they would not believe. In combination with this experience and others throughout my time in Guatemala, the Father has shown me His heart for RELATIONSHIP. That one conversation could be a seed planted, watered, further watered, or harvested. That I’d rather pursue HEARTS and leave the outcome up to God, not pursue a result and in turn, neglect the very thing that Jesus did when He came to Earth: pursue relationships.

What God Showed Me

Later in the night, we walked through the dark alley ways and streets with our new friends, searching for a place to eat. We landed at a little restaurant called Tacomex, which turned out to be a sweet experience. And, as we walked, I had this image in my minds eye- that we were literally lights walking in the darkness. That the light in us, the Holy Spirit, was so bright in us and the darkness could not overcome it! 

At the end of the night, we took polaroid pictures to remember that night. We almost convinced Daniel and Jorge to stay another day so that we could just talk with them but, unfortunately, they already bought their boat ticket to leave the town. But I left that night feeling so full of love for people that God created! He really gave me a heart for them and my team and I believe we were really able to express this to them.

 Why did I write a blog THIS treacherously long??

I share this testimony to encourage you to step out in boldness to share the love of Jesus with someone today. Pursue PEOPLE, not outcomes. God is faithful to finish the work that He has started! Trust Him in that! 

 I am continuing to pray for Daniel and Jorge’s hearts, that they would know truth and experience the call of God on their hearts and I hope you will join me in that! God deeply desires relationship with you, me, and all of the people who push past you in the store, those who you pass on the streets, meet at work, school, or in your realm of influences.

Y’all are seriously a tremendous blessing to me. Every time I think of you, my heart is filled with gratitude! I love you!

Keep pursing God, wherever you’re at. He will meet you where you are. Just keep moving forward, no matter the size of your steps!

Prayer Requests 

–       That God would bless the time each team has left at their current ministries in Guatemala. Debrief will begin with the entire squad of around thirty of us on Saturday, November 5^th until November 17^th

–       That we would all be able to be diligent to process and decompress with the Lord over this next Debrief time.

–       Prayers for some squamates who have parasitic infections (Elijah & Jordan), and others who may also be physically unwell.

–       We plan to hike a volcano (Acatenango) during our time together as a squad. There are some interesting stories told of how difficult this hike is, so prayers for physical protection and endurance (and spiritual growth throughout the experience too!)