My first country of The World Race is coming to a close. Next week I am saying yet another goodbye to yet another incredible place. For our last week in Guatemala we are doing a squad debrief, time as a group to rest and reflect on everything the Lord has done and all He is going to do during our next season. This week has brought a lot of time to sit on the questions of:
“What has the Lord done in Guatemala?”
“What has he taught you during the past two months?”
“What are things that have marked this season of Guatemala?”
“What are you choosing to continue carrying with you after we leave?”
I have put a lot of thought to these questions and the things still swirling through my mind are “how in the world could I ever carry all of these things into a new season while still being ready to receive more from the Lord?”.
More importantly, “how could I possibly communicate everything I’ve learned to anyone else?”
The Lord is showing me so much grace in transition and through it all I am learning how to give myself that same grace. I don’t have to do it all perfectly and walk out everything I’ve learned perfectly for the rest of my life. I get to rest in the simplicity of life with Him and just wake up every day wanting more of Him and His love and pouring it out to others.
With all that said, there is one extremely important lesson I’ve learned in Guatemala that I know will change the way I walk out the rest of my life. I had heard and “known” about the idea of ministry being a lifestyle. It’s easy to experience the truth in this when you are on a ministry schedule during the World Race—even when plans change or schedules shift, you know that you have hours each day set aside to go out and look like Jesus. I found a lot of comfort in this over the past two months because I knew that even when I didn’t intentionally choose it, opportunities to see the Lord move would fall in my lap almost every day.
It wasn’t until the last few weeks of Guatemala that I began to see the Lord shift my circumstances in order to teach me a big lesson. The holidays came which brought lots of inconsistency with our ministry schedule, and then sickness and traveling entered the picture as well. Soon, I realized that this comfort of a plan and expectations for ministry each day were gone and I would have to choose it. I needed to make sacrifices if I wanted to continue to walk in the works the Lord had for me and see the signs and wonders that were beginning to become almost expected and mundane.
I want to tell you some stories from the past few weeks of times I have seen the Lord move in lots of different ways—and all of them were outside of normal, scheduled ministry time. My hope in this is not that you would see me or what I am doing right/well, but that you would see the Lord’s goodness in the way he uses us to reach and speak to His children, even when we least expect it. I have tasted and SEEN the truth that The Lord is always moving and working, and I THANKFULLY have the choice to join Him.
-Last week I was on the bus on my way to Antigua for coffee and lunch with my team. A man and his son sat down beside me and I noticed the way that the father was extremely loving and affectionate with his son—something that is unfortunately fairly uncommon here in Guatemala. I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit to give this man a piece of encouragement in the way he was parenting, so I gathered up my broken Spanish and began to speak life over this father and the way he loves. It was an honor to simply be a mouthpiece to speak what the Father was already saying!
-Later that day, one teammate and I found ourselves being the last ones left at the coffee shop. As we allowed the Lord into our conversation, “ten more minutes” turned into an hour and then another conversation over lunch right after. We were able to encourage each other and bring perspective to the things we were struggling with. It was such a sweet time and we saw and heard the Lord so clearly through each other that day!
-Guatemala has brought a lot of physical sickness to our squad and this week I fell victim to a lot of the symptoms we’ve been seeing. A squad mate, who was also sick, and I headed to the doctor during our free time and I ended up translating for the appointment with her and sitting through lots of waiting for both of our tests and results. After some frustrating news, we headed home in a tuk tuk (tricycle with a motor). I heard the Lord ask and I was obedient and got to pray bold prayers of healing over my sweet friend and her physical sickness but also the mental battle that comes along with it. Praise God that He loves us so much and wants to see us healed!
-During a teaching this week we had the opportunity to wash each other’s feet as a squad (with baby wipes and picnic tables, world race style). I was able to wash the feet of some friends that I love so deeply and tell them about all the ways I see the Lord in them and have felt loved by them. It was a time of edification and such deep unity and love—coolest opportunity, and again getting to see what He is seeing and say what He is saying!
-Last night I was walking back with a group of about 15 from dinner. We were about a block from our hostel and a few guys stopped to say hello to a homeless woman they met earlier in the week. I stopped and began to speak to her in spanish, asking her questions about her life and translating for others as we got to know her. Eventually I asked if she needed prayer for anything and after she gave me a list of needs, we all simultaneously prayed over her and I offered to close the prayer. (side note: the Lord has been SO gracious in giving me the ability to learn and retain a large amount of spanish in the past two months. I’ve had the chance to serve my team and squad by translating in certain settings, but I still am not always super confident speaking in Spanish and I had only ever prayed in Spanish once). I apologized to her before we started and let her know that I needed to pray in English since my Spanish was limited, and she was understanding, of course. Then, during our prayer as a group I heard the Lord telling me to pray in Spanish over her. I felt so unqualified but I decided to lean on Him in obedience and I did it. Despite my lack of eloquent speech or expansive vocabulary, I looked up and the woman was weeping. She held my hands and hugged me and thanked us over and over for simply talking to her and listening to her. In that moment I realized that when I put limitations on myself and my abilities, I could be missing a person and their needs. The Lord wants to use us and so often we are quick to disqualify ourselves when He calls us able and complete.
-As I was sitting in a church service here in Antigua I watched a family with two young children walk in and sit down a few rows ahead of me. I was watching this couple worship with a baby on their hip and a toddler stopping them with questions every few minutes. Then I saw their young daughter looking up at her mother worshipping and she started to mimic her movements. The Lord reminded me of my childhood and the way that my parents poured into me from such a young age and always invited me into their space with God. I was so grateful for this reminder and the Holy Spirit led me to talk to this mother after the service (who was a total stranger). I shared with her what I had seen and how it encouraged me and she began to share their story of taking a step back from ministry to focus on raising a family and how discouraged they had been in that. The Lord was so intentional in encouraging this mother in her obedience through a random 18-year-old World Racer that she will probably never see again! PRAISE GOD!
I am so grateful that World Race or not, our life with the Lord is so full and sweet and abundant. We get to live in adventure with Him and walk each day pouring out a love that brings hope to the hopeless, freedom to the captives, and inclusivity to the outsider. We get to give and never run out because HE never runs out. This life is so sweet and so simple—its walking and living and loving like Jesus did. Free of schedules and expectations and pressure, just knowing love and being love. Be encouraged and take that step of obedience this week, no matter how strange or uncomfortable it seems. The Lord wants to use you to love His kids!!
His love + mine,
Bree
Your ability to see others is a reflection of your heart. The small “yes’s” of each day grow our faith and grow the Kingdom of Heaven. Moving others into closer intimacy with the Lord. Thank you for sharing your testimonies.
Love these stories, love you! Praying for you, your team, your squad these first days in South Africa; I’m certain God has many more places for you to bless and love in His name. Can’t wait to hear them!