Love Never Knew a Stranger

Guatemala has truly left me speechless lately. This place has taught me so much in such a short amount of time. I don’t know if I really knew what to expect walking into ministry here, but I guarantee it wasn’t at all what it has been. 

The last two weeks have been filled with a variety of work, but each has been encouraging in its own way. We have prayed and fasted with pastors in indigenous villages surrounding Chicamán, spoke to Guatemalan missionaries that are about to be sent to Honduras, spent time with women in the villages who recently received bibles in their Mayan dialect (Pokomchí), preached the gospel on the side of mountains, taught and provided teachers in the villages with materials to teach kids about prayer, taught English classes here in Chicamán, and even got to home school our ministry hosts kids a few times! 

The heart of the ministry we’re working under is to help establish and equip churches in the indigenous villages a few hours outside of Chicamán as well as equip local leaders with the gospel. We have spent many of our days riding dirt roads hours into the jungle/mountains to meet with pastors, share our hearts, and encourage the work that is being ignited in their villages. Ironically most times I have left more encouraged than when I arrived. Some churches in the villages are made up of 10 or so people and others have close to 100. However the number is not what matters, rather the hearts of the people that fill each church. These people are passionate about Jesus and the Bible and have seen God work in miraculous ways. 

After sitting in rooms with countless individuals one thing has become increasingly evident to me. I could not have grown up more differently than these people yet they love God just the same. My words may have to be translated from English to Spanish and then Spanish to Pokomchí to communicate with them, but the heart language of Jesus is love, and that transcends every language barrier. 

One day in the village of Santa Gertrudis we spoke at a small church where maybe 8 people showed up to the service. The typical village church has a cement floor and wood slat walls with several wooden pews and barn doors that open in the back. We left the barn doors wide open this day so that people could continue to trickle in as we started. But as we worshiped children poured into the church. By the time we started there were probably 20 kids or so, ranging from the ages of 2-12, that came to join the 8 adults.

Many of the kids looked like they had just gotten a bath as they walked in with wet hair and clean clothes. However one little boy, who was probably about two, was covered in dust, wearing clothes much too small for him, and looked a little more unkept than the rest of them. He sat a row behind the rest of the kids and during worship he repeatedly turned to look over his shoulder and smile at me. So naturally I’d smile back and wave. Without fail he’d smile bigger and shyly cover his face. 

While one of my teammates was speaking I felt this warm little body slide right up next to me! Sure enough, it was the little guy that had been smiling at me the whole service. Sitting next to me he curiously took one of my hands in his, flipping it over, back and forth, inspecting it. Then he turned it over, palm up, and set it on his leg quickly intertwining his fingers into mine. He looked up at me with the brightest eyes and a the biggest grin. Laying his head against my arm he continued listening. Not two minutes later he reached across my lap and grabbed my other hand, again intertwining his little fingers into mine. He snuck his head under my arm and stayed there holding my hands, and feet dangling off the bench for the rest of the teaching.

This is a picture of what I mean when I say that the love of Jesus transcends every language barrier. Sharing Jesus with people isn’t always standing up and preaching, it’s often best expressed in the way we love others. It’s established in the simple moments. This little boy had never met me before, and even though I looked different, and dressed different than anyone he had likely met before, he took my hands and sat with me.  

John 3:16 tells us that God so LOVED the world that he gave us his only son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life. And 1 John 4:12 explains that no one has ever seen God but if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is made perfect in us. There’s something so profound about the simplicity of a loving heart. No major productions needed. No grandiose circumstances required. Just Gods people loving all people with a sincere heart and the hope that God would meet the next person in the same relational way He met us! 

Mikahla