Hogar de los Ancianos...literal translation: home of the ancients. :)

Yet another of our opportunities for ministry was to go to a "nursing home" in Puerto Barrios. It was a really nice home with a beautiful flower garden and a place outside where we could sit with the men and women and worship. We would go there and greet them and sit down with them before worship, and then after our Pastor might say a few words, then we'd close in prayer. It was certainly one of our more difficult ministries, because not only did none of them really speak English, but it was at times difficult to understand what they were saying in Spanish. But they loved our visits, and would often ask when we were coming back, so we went quite a few times, bringing attentive (if not quite understanding) ears and a joy that could only stem from God.

The first time we went to this home, we had been singing for a while when one of the men asked why we were so sad. This was a shock to us, because we had been singing some of our more "passion-filled" songs that we thought were quite meaningful. Granted, some of them were in English so it was understandable that they could mistake our emotions during that song, but the others? Well, one thing we quickly learned/realized from that experience is that is where our cultures differed. In our culture, we tend to find our most "intimate" or even "spirit-filled" worship times when we sing a slower, more building song. However in their culture, they mainly sing upbeat, fast songs that allow them to shout and dance for joy. So, it stands to reason why they thought that we were sad! We weren't clapping, shouting, or dancing! We ended up closing out our worship time with a few "children's songs" that were more upbeat (or upbeat enough to clap to). Then we proceeded to pray for each one individually. We too were blessed as one of the older women stood up, called a few of us over, and began to pray for us as well. So not only were we able to bless them, but they blessed us with an insight into their culture and with prayer.
One of the most difficult things that happened to me personally there was during prayer one day. I was getting ready to go walk over and pray for a man sitting off to the side when two of the girls from my team called me over, asking if I could pray in Spanish because the woman they wanted to pray for didn't want them to pray in English. Now, speaking in another language is difficult enough, but trying to pray in another language is even tougher. But, I was willing to give it a try and prayed God would give me the words to speak. So I warned the woman that it might take me a long time to say things because my Spanish wasn't the best. But, somehow God got me through it, not without a lot of stumbles and pauses, but it was Spanish! It was definitely a learning experience and God certainly used it to push me way out of my comfort zone, which I am grateful for.  One thing this trip has taught me is that God doesn't just call us to do the easy things, but he calls us to do the hard things as well. Yes, He calls us to play with kids and love on them, and sing/speak in front of churches (and that's not saying those things are always easy...); but he also calls us to walk into bars and trash dumps, and speak out the glory of His name to people that may or may not have heard it before, to people that don't know they have an all-powerful savior that loves them to the ends of the earth. And even though it is difficult, He is what makes it all worth it. :)

You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me,your anger turned away,that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 12: 1-6

Mission: Love the Unloved

One of the other ministry opportunities we were able to do while in Guatemala was to go to the bars and minister to the prostitutes. We would make little cards for them with bible verses and have a gift to go along with it. We went at various times throughout the day and would talk to the girls and pray for them. There were also three rules that we stuck to while there: never go anywhere alone, pray with your eyes open, and always ask for permission to enter the bars.
The first night of prostitute ministry I was not able to attend because a family had invited me and three other girls to eat dinner at their house, so in order to honor that request and their generosity, we stayed behind and had dinner with them and then prayed for the girls that did go. Now, if you remember, my team is all girls, and as such it wasn't very safe for us to go to bars alone, so we enlisted the help of our pastor, our "uncle" who was also our translator and comedian, and one of the guys that helped run the radio station where we lived. They would often accompany us to the night bar ministries, but during the day it was usually just our pastor.
So that night when the girls got back from the bars we asked them how it went. Even now, I clearly remember their faces, the looks of shock and sorrow, and how overwhelmed some looked. Even so, their stories were amazing: they were actually able to talk and pray with prostitutes, to show love to girls who might not even know what real love looks like.
I was looking forward to the next time we went, but was also nervous, but then again, if Christ is for us who can be against us? So a week later we went around 8:00 at night, running a little late because our uncle wasn't there yet and another girl had to run to the hospital quick. But praise God we were late, because as we were standing outside one of the bars towards the end of the night, a man walked up to us and shared his story. Apparently he'd been clean from marijuana use for ten years, but that night he was looking for a way to let loose and give in to the temptation. Everywhere he went, however, was turning him away. And then he saw us standing there, a group of missionaries. He told us he knew it was a sign from God that He was still with him, still protecting him. He wanted to grow closer to God, to form a stronger relationship with him. So we prayed that God would protect Him, and continue to lead him closer to His heart, and then the man went home, a thousand times lighter than when he first walked up.
Of the many stories of the girls that we were able to hear, many were eerily similar. Many were from either Honduras or El Salvador. Most still had families back there that they were sending money home to. All of them thought it was the only way. And even a few wanted a way out. It was amazing that some of the bars even let us in. In the past, our contacts informed us that some of the bars we walked into would refuse them in the past, even other missionary groups. So we knew God had a purpose for us there, and even when we felt discouraged, we held on to the hope that He was somehow moving. And he certainly was!
Our last night of prostitute ministry we headed out with the whole team plus three men to accompany us. We were armed with our slips of paper and bracelets for the girls, and a few of my teammates even had bibles as presents for a few of the girls that they had gotten to know over the two months. We split into two teams and headed opposite directions, the other team heading towards a strip club that had only let us in once before. And by God's grace they were allowed in again! After those first two bars we joined together again and headed to a larger bar.
I stood in the entrance with a few others, watching as one of my teammates broke one of the three rules: she went in alone. I didn't have long to think on this because then a girl pulled on her shirt and came up to me and one of my teammates. We started talking with her immediately and were able to pray for her and give her a paper and a bracelet before we stepped outside. Behind a group of three of us, another group was talking to a woman who was listening very attentively. I watched as another girl hovered around the outside of the group, and I was worried she was going to interfere, but then she came up to us and asked if we could pray for her too! So we did, and then a man walked by and asked the same! He apparently had been a Christian, but had fallen away when his wife left him, but he wanted to return one day. Then we found out from the teammate that had went in alone, that she had been asking about one of the girls she was friends with. But, the owner of the bar said she was gone, that she had just left and was never coming back!
At the next  bar we went to, a couple teammates had a bible for a girl, but she was busy stripping so they were going to leave it for her with another girl, but then she stopped stripping (something that is very against the rules to do!) and came up and hugged them and took the bible. At yet another bar, a few teammates were talking to a girl who was also very open to hearing about God, and actually knew that she wanted a relationship with him. Right before leaving she told them that maybe she wouldn't be at the bar the next day, that maybe she would just leave.
I praise God for the mighty ways in which he moved in the hearts of the girls, and men, at the bars that night, and the other nights. Our uncle told us recently that the girls had been asking about us, about when we were returning, so we know that God really used us to impact their lives. Thank you Jesus for filling us with Your love so we could pour it out on others and touch their lives!

Solo Dios Puede Salvar...

Well, we have all arrived safely at home now, but I thought I'd write a few more blogs explaining each of the main ministries we did, so... here goes! One of the ministries we concentrated on in Puerto Barrios was the orphanages. We visited two of them: one a Catholic orphanage with quite a few kids, and then one with only seven. In this blog I'll focus on the second orphanage.
 There was only one worker who only cooked for them, there was no one to stay at night. There was no electricity, and the ceiling was falling in in places.The kids were all older, about thirteen to seventeen, and a few of them had mental/physical disabilities. When we first got there there were eight kids: four boys and four girls. One of the girls had down syndrome, one was deaf, one just hadn't developed properly mentally or physically, and one had heart problems. One of the boys had severe autism, was confined to a wheelchair, and often hurt himself  and others by hitting, biting, or scratching; and the other boys were "normal" but had been abandoned there by their parents. The three boys would often just stay in their room when we visited, but I made it my goal by the end of the summer to be friends with one of the boys. I'll call him Marcos.
Marcos is sixteen years old and has a hard exterior, but I was hoping to break through to see what was underneath. It wasn't until the second month that we were there that we got to interact with him and the other two boys. One of the girls on my team had brought a soccer ball to the orphanage and we were playing with it outside when the boys came out and started playing as well. It was a huge accomplishment to even see them for that long, so I left that day hopeful. I prayed that God would give us more opportunities to talk with them, and He did!
The second to last time we went to the orphanage we took five of the kids (at this time there were only seven because the girl with heart problems had been adopted, and the other two boys were working) to a pool in Santo Tomas. I was determined to make sure Marcos felt included and that he interacted with us, and just to make him be my friend! :P

So I spent the day playing soccer with him and doing dive tricks in the pool so he would stay involved. A few of the other girls had the same idea as me, so he was always involved in something. As we were heading home that afternoon, I heard him talking to our Pastor that took us around, and ask if he could go to his church the next day. I was very excited for this, and that night during our team worship, I spent the whole time praying for him. I was so expectant that God would encounter him the next day that I was sure he was going to show up to church. So when he didn't I started to question God. I wondered what He was doing, why hadn't He brought Marcos to the church? I was focused all on what I wanted, what I thought should happen, and not God's perfect plans. And He certainly had better plans in store than I could have imagined!
We spent our last day of ministry at both the orphanages, and went to the seven kid orphanage that morning. We were going to do some songs and dramas for them, but it was raining so loudly they wouldn't be able to hear. So instead we spent the first hour or so praying for the boy in the wheelchair. As I and a few other girls were standing in the entrance to the hallway to the orphanage, Marcos came out and stood with us, just watching what we were doing and listening. God was slowly stirring a hunger for Him up inside Marcos. Finally the rain slowed down and we managed to gather all the children inside the orphanage and performed the "King of Hearts" and "Lifehouse" dramas for them. After the lifehouse drama, our pastor spoke a little and asked if anyone wanted to accept Christ. No one did anything at first, and so the pastor spoke a little more. And then Marcos raised his hand and stepped forward by himself. I almost started crying from joy as he stood there with our pastor's arm around him, and then again when another of the boys stepped forward. We prayed over them, and then a few days later got bibles for them and wrote a message inside. It was just so cool to see how God not only answered my prayer for Marcos, but showed that he had so much more in store! I praise God for bringing those two boys into His heart, and pray that He will use them to reach out to the other boy.

But also, the orphanage they live in is slowly being shut down. Marcos informed me that at one time there were a hundred kids, then just forty, then some escaped, and now there are only the seven of them. Soon they will all be moved to different homes, whether that means to their own family, to an adoptive family, or another orphanage. Please pray for those kids, especially for Marcos, that they would be placed in a safe home where they can continue to grow closer to God. I thank God for His wonderful plans, and giving us the opportunity to love on those kids.