A Little Rusty

Buildings of every color are gliding by outside my window. I crank it down so that I can get a better look. I’m in love with the architecture here. Joy is bubbling up and over in my heart as I take it all in. My taxi driver laughs as I laugh. “Es muy bonita!” I exclaim, my tummy twisting a little as I realize that I’m not totally sure if I said that right. We trundle along, yet another fearless foreign driver weaving in and out of traffic like he’s got eternity promised to him already. Before I know it, we’ve come to a stop in front of a large wooden gate. I look at the building in awe, and then people are pouring out of a doorway that I hadn’t noticed at first glance. I spring from the car and into the arms of the teammates I get to join for the month.
At first I’m a little nervous. I feel kinda…rusty. It’s been a while. But before I know it, I’m submerged in love and belly laughter, and candle lit dinners and wells of joy. I know my faith has changed quite a bit in the past few months. I went through a burial. A tender time where the Lord and I sat together in a dark and quiet place. I was being nourished and protected, but sometimes it felt stuffy. Uncomfortable. When I got to Guatemala, I began to see the fruit of that time with Him.

There were headaches and stuffy noses and little attacks that egged me on. “The Accuser musn’t be very happy with us being here.” It sent me straight to prayer. I have seen too many healings to count now and it is still my knee jerk reaction to hear “I’m sick,” or “I’m in pain,” and ask if I can pray. I got rejected a lot this fall when I asked, which shocked me. I assumed that moving to the bible belt would mean that everybody would be down for prayer, HOW WRONG I WAS!!!! What’s that about, I wonder? I love that I got to experience that form of rejection so often. It’s broken off much more of my fear of man.. Everybody fully recovered after a little bit of battle. God is faithful. It’s good to not be thrown into a cowering, sniveling panic because I know the Rock, I know who my Refuge is.

There is a witch that lives in the neighborhood we’ve been doing ministry in. Her husband has been bed-bound since a bad fall that seemed to cause poor circulation in his limbs. We were invited in to pray over him. She woke him and he sat up on his bed, placing his feet on the ground. Lindsey and I came on either side of him and laid hands. I felt electricity zipping up and down my arms and had a distinct moment where it seemed like heat was being pulled out of his body and into my hands as I prayed. The Holy Spirit makes life fun. The rest of our team joined us to pray after we saw one of his four limbs improve. Our ministry host shared the gospel with him and we all filed out.

Two days later as we gathered up the kids in the neighborhood to do Vacation Bible School, our friend popped out of his gate right on time for us to see him beaming and walking around with a bounce in every step. He was completely better. The Holy Spirit. Makes Life Fun.

There is a little boy who I can’t help but love. He’s kind of naughty. I kind of love naughty kids. When he comes to rough house with me, I wonder who’s touching him like this? He doesn’t have any gentleness. I can tell he’s pretty mean to the other kids. We play a game with my water bottle where he breathes on it then shakes it up and I pretend to have a Jekyll and Hideian reaction everytime I open it up and take a sip. It delights both of us and more kids come to watch. Soon afterwards, he pulls me down next to him on the curb and he lets me hold him and rub his back. It’s the first time I’ve seen him sit still since I got here. Now every time we see each other he lets me give him a bear hug, and he’s not as rough with me as he used to be. God loves to give the Kingdom to little ones such as these.

At feedback every day, the team pours out what they see in each other when they look with Jesus’ eyes. I’m being reminded of things I’ve forgotten about myself. I’m being told things I didn’t know and couldn’t have known unless someone said them aloud. We’re all longing to see the fullness of the promises of Christ come to completion in each other, knowing that everybody’s got blind spots to fill. God wants to use His people to minister to His people. Then God uses His ministered to people to minister to people. These are precious times to be reminded, reformed, renewed into the image of precious Jesus.

This team fights it’s battles with laughter. When the enemy comes sniffing around to see whom he may devour, he finds no one. I see a group of people who love sacrificially. I see a part of the body that does not live in offense, and when it becomes offended, it does not steep in it, but overcomes it by forgiveness. I see a part of the body that seeks to outdo one another in servitude. I have been most blessed to be a part of it. And it’s proven my theory once and for all that to live like that is WAY more fun than anybody is talking about!!!

My time here in Guatemala thus far has been so special. Nothing less than living my whole life on mission for Christ and His kingdom will ever cut it for me. I don’t know what that will look like later, I give God the right to tell me and direct me and show me at every step. For now, this is a little snippet of what it looks like.

It starts at the core with a God who sees me, who loves me, who made me, who knows what’s best for me and what’s not best for me. It expands to a group of people knit together and coming closer everyday as they press into Christ at the center. It overflows into the people we brush past everyday, little hands that cling to your arms and legs as they ask to be picked up. Half smiles of awkward teenagers feeling just as vulnerable practicing their English as I do practicing my Spanish. Mama’s beckoning their kids home, eyes lit up at our clunky pronunciation of greeting and parting words. Yes, this is what following Christ looks like lately. I can’t say I’m one bit disappointed or unfulfilled.

I’m getting washed by the word and the spirit every day. Stay hungry. Stay humble. Stay Holy. Stay His.
Jesus loves you.
Jesus te ama.

Ari