Hello friends! Welcome to my first blog. It is currently the end of week 1 of my three month stay in Guatemala. For the first month, we are staying in a town called Chichicastenango. It’s a beautiful little mountain town that is rich in Mayan culture. We flew into Guatemala City on Monday, January 30.
From there we had a four hour drive to Chichi. We got in a big van and tied our luggage to the top, and unfortunately it started pouring rain. When we arrived that evening in Chichi, all of our clothes, pillows, sleeping bags, etc. were wet. With everything smelling like mildew, we learned how to hand wash our clothes very quickly. It was a somewhat rocky start with the mildew and our only toilet getting clogged on the first day, and the ice cold showers, but we persevered.
On our first full day in Chichicastenango, we went on a walking tour of the town. First we went to the cemetery. It looked exactly like the one in the movie Coco- bright and colorful.
Then we walked through the beautiful Mayan market where people constantly yell, “Good price for you, my friend!” There are dogs everywhere but we’re not supposed to touch them.
The ministry we are working with is called New Generation Ministries. It was founded by a man named Juan and his wife, Emily. They have an adorable 14 month old son named Isaac.
Juan and Emily are very passionate about their ministry. Their home doubles as their church. Juan ministers to the local police and teaches children English at the schools. We’ve been helping out at the schools a lot. One thing I learned is that you should not start giving out stickers in a classroom unless you want to be mobbed by a pack of children! On Friday nights, Emily cooks dinner for the local police and we have worship and a message from the Bible. After that, we go out to the hospital, pray for the people there, and give them food.
Something I’ve noticed is how God has used my love of cats to create ministry opportunities. I like to call it cat ministry. The shop next to our home is run by a man named Julio. He has a cat named Aslan and I go see them every day.
I found out that Julio is a Christian and invited him to come to Juan’s church. He came to the service with the police on Friday and really liked it. Another cat ministry moment happened when I saw a cat tied to a tree and I went to go see it. The family who owns the cat showed up and said the cat’s name was “gato” (lol) and that they needed food for him. I bought some cat food and brought it back.
After I fed the cat, they asked me if I could get some shoes for their two little girls- Kimberly and Adelie. I noticed Adelie, who is three years old, had outgrown her shoes to the point where her toes were sticking out of the front. I went and bought shoes for both of the girls, and they were so happy.
Everyone here is so friendly. It reminds me of Texas because complete strangers always smile and say “hola”, but maybe that’s just because I’m a gringo.
Please pray that my team would demonstrate Christ’s love well, and for our health and safety.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
In Christ,
Elisabeth
