¡Bienvenidos a Guatemala!

01. Our first glimpse of Guatemala! // 02.The view from our front porch

So. We’re in Antigua, safe and sound. We are staying in a house (with TWO bathrooms and a kitchen! Wooooo!) that our host Louis, his wife and twin girls have graciously allowed us to use for the next two months! They’re so great… we absolutely adore them! They’re our “mama y papa” for our time here and have welcomed us into their lives!

03. Our side porch // 04. Some really gorgeous flowers in our yard

Yesterday was a really awesome day – we toured 3 of our 4 ministry sites, learned how to use the bus system and began to brush up on our Spanish.  The part that was the most impactful for me was after we got back. A few of us decided to take a walk around the town we’re staying in and check it out a bit!

05. Sweet girl from one of our house visits today // 06. Melissa dancing with the abuela at a house

We walked probably a mile down the street, browsing shops and taking pictures when an English-speaking Morman missionary approached us. She invited us to visit the Morman church in town and we began to have a conversation with her about her faith and ours. Obviously, there are a few differences (like a whole other book that they take as truth), so there was lots of things to talk about.

07. Music and dancing were happening 🙂 // 08. Steph and I with some of the family

We talked with her for a solid 30-45 minutes and I was really encouraged by the conversation. Not because she agreed with us but because I really enjoyed having a civil conversation with her and showing her love. I was also challenged because she knew her Bible back and forth as well as her Book of Morman. She could easily explained what she believed and had all sorts of verse references memorized. It was impressive and I realized how much I didn’t know.

09. Ashton and the cutest baby ever // 10. A little boy showing Daniel and Hannah family pictures 🙂

It’s not that I think we need to have a slick sales presentation, but because I want to know my Bible inside and out and know exactly what I believe and why I believe it. It was so cool to see and I was challenged to read my Bible all the way through in the next year and really delve into my Bible classes in Seminary, seeking understanding.

11. Team playing with kids in the square // 12. Empty coke bottles and coffee plants.

Anyways, today was our first day of ministry and it has been a super encouraging day! We split into two groups for the second part of the day, one going to a “grandpa house” and the other going to a mountain village. I went to the mountain village and I loved every second. We visited two homes to pray for sick people and got to interact with their families. They were absolutely precious and it was so neat to see how our team worked together to communicate – many of us know Spanish to some extent, but we have really been working together to understand and speak.

13. Praying for healing in Spanglish // 14. Some more of our team with family we visited

Basically I am in LOVE with this country and it’s people. They are so loving, easy to talk to, joyful and beautiful.  I am so thankful to be here with this AWESOME team (seriously, couldn’t imagine a better group of people to spend these next two months with) in this amazing country.

15. Melissa after she tied her hair traditionally // 16. Me with some cute kids I met in the park. They were making fun of my Spanish hahaha 🙂

¡Hasta Luego!