Beginning of the Journey

Hello everyone, 

I just want to start off by saying thank you to everyone who has supported me through this journey so far. The past month has been filled with so many emotions. The struggles of feeling like I am not good enough or feelings of anxiety. The tough goodbyes to my families and friends and facing the reality that I won’t be coming back home for a whole year. But through it all God has remained so faithful. Each time I feel afraid or anxious, He reminds me of his perfect plan for my life. Not only do I have peace from God but the support from my leaders and squadmates has made the transition even easier. The next 11 months will be filled with so many ups and downs but I could not be more grateful for this opportunity to travel to so many new places where I get to share the Good News!! Now let’s get to the updates. 

Our first week in Guatemala has been quite the experience. It started when we all got up at 4:00 am to catch our flight out of Atlanta. We made the mistake of listening to the song “I’m so proud of you Katherine” on our way to the airport and it has been stuck in my head ever since. When we got to the airport we had to check our bags and of course mine was 5 pounds overweight. Shoutout to Brittany for letting me cram some of my stuff in her bag. For breakfast Jack, Colton, Maria and I had our last American burger from Five Guys before they went out of business (not sure if that is true or not). After we all ate breakfast, we boarded the plane and started making our way to Guatemala. I slept for just about the entire flight but towards the end I had a great conversation with this guy named Jorge who was sitting next to me. He told me how he moved to Atlanta from Guatemala about 12 years ago to start a printing business. I told him about the ministry we all would be doing here in Guatemala over the next couple of weeks. It was a short conversation but I could already feel God moving and placing people in my path. I even got the chance to pray over him later that night. When we finally landed in Guatemala we had to go through customs and meet up with the people from AIM who would be hosting us for one night. We all loaded up in this super cool bus and grabbed Wendy’s for lunch before getting to the base. When we got to the Adventures in Missions base, we all settled in and then played a big game of soccer. It was so surreal to look around and see the mountains in the background as we all played soccer in the middle of Guatemala. Like WOW!! The moment we had all been waiting for was finally here!! After dinner we all played silent football which was not fun for me or a lot of other people due to the punishments. I had to lick Jose’s armpit, Emmery had to put Colton’s sweaty socks on her hands, Joey had to sit under a coffee table for a couple of rounds, and Jose and Maria had to drink water through Katherines socks. Not sure why we chose to play this game but it made for a funny night for sure. When we had finished playing we all gathered for some worship time which always makes for an awesome night in my opinion. I remember sitting there, arms open praying and singing to God as the rain fell on the tin roof above us. This was an awesome way to end our time together before all the teams spread to different parts of Guatemala to serve our ministry over the next month.

Me and my team had a 2 hour drive to our host out in Chichicastenango. For ministry this month we will be doing home visits, leading church services, teaching children about Jesus, and going into indigenous communities to share the Gospel. When we first arrived, Pastor Juan and his family gave us the warmest welcome.  He showed us around our site and prayed over us before we began the month. Oh and just to give you guys a glimpse of where I will be living, this month we will be staying on top of a mountain which consists of bucket showers, sleeping on the floor of the church, lots of good homemade food and many cold nights. The next two days looked like visits to the market and lots of ATM trips for me. For those who may not know I am lucky enough to serve my team as the treasurer for the next couple of months. This means budgeting and being in charge of our funds each month. And for anyone who knows me you may be a little nervous but don’t worry, I don’t have enough room in my pack to go too crazy with shopping. Oh and let me say I absolutely love the way we drive around town here in Guatemala. Here is a picture of us in the back of a truck before driving into the market. 

While we were in town we got to visit the churches. Here in Chichi there are two churches, the Life church, and the Death church. There were a lot of people doing rituals out front which was something I had never seen before. Later on we had the opportunity to walk through this super interesting graveyard and we met a lot of the locals here in town. We met a sweet little boy who was selling bananas and there were a few other children who walked around with us all day while we explored the market.

 

We also got to pray over Pastor Juan’s friend Mateo who had lost his wife about 5 months ago when she was giving birth to their daughter. On Monday we had the opportunity to help Pastor Juan lead a local church service. We spent the day cutting vegetables to help his wife prepare dinner for all the people who would be at the service that night. And no mom this does not mean that I can cook every meal when I come home. I made a huge step in my confidence by choosing to share my testimony in front of about 100 strangers.

For anyone who knows me I absolutely hate public speaking, but I really felt that the Lord was leading me to share with the people in the church that night. The service was so much fun and it was super cool to see the ways people here in Chichicastenango worship.? On Tuesday we had childrens ministry.

 

Me, Allison, and Jacob led the group of 7-11 year olds. When they arrived, we started learning names and handing out books. The language barrier has been super hard for me but the children had such great patience as we all tried to communicate with each other. We helped them color, taught them a new bible verse, sang some songs, and played a few games. The children’s laughs were so contagious and their energy instantly brightened my day. It was so amazing to see the way the Lord was moving in these kids’ lives already. Watching them all pray and have fun with the biggest smiles on their faces was so moving and made me so excited for what the Lord has planned for them. When we finished with the childrens ministry me, Allie, and Lindsey went to this amazing cafe that is about 5 minutes from our host home. I wanted to order literally everything on the menu but since I have a volcano to hike at the end of month I settled for a cup of coffee, a cup of horchata, a huge crepe with chocolate strawberries, and bananas, and a cinnamon roll (don’t judge haha).  The view was absolutely breathtaking, I probably could have sat out there all night long. But while we were up there we had some awesome conversations, I attempted to start my blog, and we listened as the rain fell over the mountains. Here is a photo of the view from where we were sitting.

 

Now here I am, it’s Wednesday and we are all back at the same coffee shop. I got another cup of horchata and I am finally finishing up with my first blog as I process my life over the past month. I can’t help but thank God for everything he has done so far. Even though I already miss my family and the comfort of my home so much, I am so ready to serve the Lord this next year.

As me and my squad continue to serve here in Guatemala I just ask for everyones prayers. Pray that we stay safe, and remain healthy. And please subscribe so that you can get notifications for my next post 🙂 

Also donations are very welcomed as I am still trying to reach my $18,000 goal 

Love you all see ya next time 

 

Colossians 3:17 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.