What pure joy it has been to be a part of the very first
missions team from Wilson Community Church! I'm so thankful that the Lord has
allowed Caroline's Promise the opportunity to share this experience with
them. In just a few days, these men and
women have their eyes opened, hearts
broken and spirits set on fire with a passion for the work God is doing here in
Guatemala City.
In just 2 days, this team has painted classrooms and worked
on lighting at Casita Adonai, shared testimonies and helped with children's
ministry at church and worked alongside local youth workers from Iglesia Adonai
to minister to children at Herona (a church plant of Iglesia Adonai). Those are all wonderful accomplishments, to
be sure. But the greater
accomplishments, I believe, have been the things that cannot really be
quantified, qualified or checked off a list.
These are the accomplishments of the Holy Spirit in each one of our
lives.
For example, one woman has shared that she has always been
the kind of woman who had to be busy all day long. She could not stand to be “unproductive”.
However, due to an unavoidable delay in getting painting supplies to the
school, there was a lengthy span on Saturday when the team had nothing to
do. During that time there were some
kids at the school and several team members started playing with them. She said she realized that had we been busy
painting, those precious moments interacting with the kids would have been
missed. This has taught her a valuable
lesson in being still and allowing God to work.
A man from our group shared that he has been very disturbed
to see God's children living in such extreme poverty. He was reminded of how, in Genesis, God
created man as the crown jewel of creation and he also made us caretakers of
Eden. He feels deeply convicted
that, as Christians and caretakers, we
are responsible to reach out to those in need.
We cannot be content to live in such abundance while we allow God's
creation to live in such a broken, impoverished state.
Another man on our
team said he thought we were coming to teach the children at Casita Adonai new
things. But, he now realizes that God
has sent us here so the children could teach us new things.
As you can see, the Holy Spirit is at work in the hearts of
this group. Please pray for our
continued safety and health, but even more, that lives will continue to be
deeply impacted.