These first few weeks in Guatemala have at the same time felt both long and short. It feels like I’ve known my teammates for years, and it seems like we’ve been in Chichicastenango for only a short time. If one thing is for sure, it is that God has blessed us with relationships and opportunities.
One thing that God has been working on in my heart is my perspective. During our time this far, we have had to be very flexible as well as ok with plans falling apart. Some days our ministry opportunities don’t work out, and we are left with little official schedule. This can very easily be frustrating, especially since we are here solely to serve. But, the cool thing about it is that God is using it to teach me something new. He is teaching me that ministry is not something you do, rather it is something that you are.
During my time here, I’m often reminded of a radical evangelist named Todd White who I’ve listened to many times in the past. He founded the ministry “Lifestyle Christianity”, where their mission is to teach how Christianity is not just a belief system, rather it is a relationship that fuels us to live completely different. Ministry must be who we are. It must be what radiates from us regardless of how our day is going. It must me in our hearts, not just our heads. It requires a heavy change of perspective.
I’m learning to not just look at the world differently, but myself differently as well. I don’t need a schedule to do ministry. Actually, that should never have been the mindset at all. I’m learning that God can use us regardless of what’s going on, and that often times that’s when He wants to use us in the biggest ways.
