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Contributed by: Michelle Lester, Participant
My
alarm sings as I lay in bed while praying about the day and the ministry ahead
of us. Today, Lindsay and I would
be presenting a new opportunity for the teams to be Christ’s hands and feet to
the people of Guatemala. This
opportunity wasn’t children’s ministry where we sing songs and play games with
kids, or evangelize on the basketball courts, or where we go door to door
praying for those that will accept it like the rest of this week. Today was the day where the
participants could see and feel the effects the mud slide had just a month
before on the people and the surrounding cities of Lake Atitlan,
Guatemala.
After a morning of
prayer and devotions with the teams we went out in the Spirit ready to
serve. Nine participants loaded
the back of the pick-up truck, the typical mode of transportation and headed to
one of the church members houses that were affected by the mud slide. We were told that we would be helping
with cleaning the house but after turning the sharp corner and seeing the
ravaged houses and land it was apparent cleaning was only one step in the
re-building process.
Apprehensive,
over-whelmed, and wide-eyed the participants slowly stepped out of the
truck. Two men greeted the team
and already started expressing their thanks for our help. We were directed to back of the house
where the team was moving boulders and dirt to prepare the land for
farming. Our tools were limited as
we used an old rickety wheel barrow, a broken pick axe, a shovel and our hands. While digging in and getting dirty the
translator the pastor’s daughter Nancy shared how the family of this house lost
their 10 year old daughter in the mud-slide and still had yet to be found. Later that morning, one of the
participants found a doll that had belonged to that girl. At that time it became more real for
the team that this family had not only lost a home but their precious little
girl and yet this family still had hope.
While ravaged and broken the Guatemalan’s had joy. They didn’t complain about the
work that needed to be done or the things they lost. Instead they repeatedly
thanked us for our help and most importantly these two men thanked God for
giving them a group of people to help speed up the recovery process.
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John 12:24-26
24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel
of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it
dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose
it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal
life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant
also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
