Gautemala....
When I think back I remember all the colours and the atmophere and how God is busy there, working through different people. We started of with two days of physical work. We helped a church to build a new church. We had to get big stones and rocks for the building of the church. The first day I think we were just to many for the work, so the second day we split up into two groups.
The boys got to do the physical work and the girls went to do the washing in the lake.
This was really very hard for me, because I feel I minister to people by doing the hard work and by helping others. So when I was told I can't help, it was very hard for me. I still don't know what I had to learn through that???
After the two days there, we went to another town, to work with a pastor there. Well he was a very intresting guy and he really inspired me and I learned a lot from him. The first day he gave us of and we rested and chilled for most of the day.
Then for the next few days he had a scedule planned for us and it sounded tight, but I was actually ok. We helped him to build and finish a house for a widow and her children. Here again I got confronted with the same thing. There was stuff to do, but the girls couldn't really help with it. So again it was a hard pill to swallow, that I can't help. And still I don't know yet what I had to learn through that.
We had church services we had to attend and Ben ( the pastor) also shared his testimonty. He challenged me a lot through his story and I realized that the Lord can use any one. God usaully use the people, that we don't want to use or the people we wouldn't chose. It is really amazing how the Lord can work through people.
At his church it is also amazing how you can feel the Lords' presence there and see how the Lord is working through different people. The Lord even use the kids there. Age is definately not something that stops the Lord to do His work. That I also learned on this trip. Age is just a number and doesn't prevent the Lord from doing His will.
So he challenged us to invite people to church. That was quite hard because normally I won't go to people and invite them. Well the one night I did, and I was rejected by people. With being rejected I learned that the people don't only reject me, but they reject God too, and it one thing that we shouldn't do (Like Luke 10:16 says).It was sad to see how easly people do that. I also learned this the hard way, because the Bible say you should wipe the dust from your feet and just go one and continue your journey.
We, the red team and Anita, invite a bum to church. We just said he sould follow us, and he did. At the church Ben read his little board and we got to know the guy can't speak or hear. That is when I knew that the Lord will heal him and do a miracle. But that night God didn't heal him. Through this I learned, that me wanting to see a miracle doesn't mean that, that is God's will. But him giving his heart and life to the Lord is the biggest miracle the Lord can do and what the Lord want!!
We got our flight changed and a few of us decided to stay two days longer in Gautemala. The one day a lady from South-Africa invited us for lunch at her house. She also owns a coffee shop in the town and she have two dauthgers. She cooked us a traditional South-African meal and it was definitely the best meal of the trip. It is just amazing how the Lord provided that for us to, since we were on a tight budget there. And how a strange lady, we don't even really know, gave us food.
That is really something I learned on the trip so far, that people we don't know will give us food or give us a rid or just be so hospitable. I want to do that to any people that visit our town or our church. I will look out for them in the future and I will now start noticing them.
So in Gautemala I lrealized stuff, but still don't know what I should learn from them. I am fine with that, because maybe the Lord will use it later in my life...
Love Elsabe