Missions have a way of impacting individuals in a unique way. Therefore it's hard to find the words to sum up what each individual is going through, how they're experiencing God, and what they believe their impact has been. So, we asked them. Straight from the kids in the field, here's some of their experiences so far:
God has been pouring so much into our entire team; it’s been exciting to see everyone changing, and growing closer to Him, and to each other. I’ve loved seeing the impact we’ve made on people. One of the most amazing things is the fact that we went to a Christian wedding that happened because of how God used us, and we were in church when they welcomed two new families that had joined in part because of our ministry. We love it here! ~Grace
It has been fun, we got to help out with little children, and play with them. ~Teagan
One of the things that has stuck out to me on our trip was during one of my Crew’s ATL’s (Ask The Lord). We were walking down a street and I felt like we needed to sing a song. The first song that popped into my head was “Jesus loves the Little Children”. So we started to sing it, and by the time we finished, we stopped walking and realized we were in front of a school. We flagged down a nun nearby and asked if we could pray for her and the kids. She said we could. Afterwards we gave the children candy. It was a neat experience for God to use us in that way to demonstrate His love. – Elizabeth
During this trip, God has been showing me how to be selfless and fearless. Also, it has been defining my identity in God – that I am loved and useful to God. God has been using us in AMAZING ways. Everyday the mission work we do expands our faith and tests us in new ways. We have to trust and depend on God, and our leaders, and each other. Our team has grown closer to each other, and worked to encourage each other in Christ. – Katherine
I’m going straight to the point. I washed some strangers feet in the streets today, and prayed for them, then bought shoes for this one lady. Pretty awesome, simply experiencing God’s presence in such cool, new ways. This has been so fun, its gonna be very hard to go home. – Deborah
My time in Guatemala has been amazing. God has worked through me, and in me, in so many ways. Yesterday we went to the Mayan Ruins and prayed over the land. God opened my eyes to so many realities that I hadn’t ever seen before. On this trip God has reminded me over, and over again, how good he is and how he will always provide. I am so thankful for my team and how close we have become. God put us all together for a reason and I know that these relationships we have built will be ones that we remember. –Molli
Guatty is where it’s at. The people are all very calm, and kind of quiet, but they love talking with us when we approach them. I talked to a little ten year-old girl and it seemed like she loved it even though I can’t say much. My Spanish is improving so much. I love the kids here, and they absolutely love us. It’s so cute. It’s been cool being able to pray with some of the people here, and they have some interesting stories. God has some great things going on here. We also are very blessed to be sleeping on legit beds in the pastor’s house. I’m going to miss San Pedro. – Jazzy
The Guatty Squad has been making such an impact on the towns of both San Pedro and San Pablo. I’ve never, ever had this type of emersion experience before. Today, actually, I had a very amazing experience in finding a Baptist church with my small group. We went inside, and found that the sanctuary was closed, but then we went in a little further to find another entrance to the sanctuary, we eneded up at the top of the spire praying over the city of San Pedro — unbelievable.
So it doesn't matter if you're playing with kids, praying for strangers in the street, or having a radical encounter with God — San Pedro is changing people. It's the true beauty of missions when you discover the God we serve isn't bound by borders, denominations, or even language, because at the end of the day, God is so much bigger than our perceived limitations.
