16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. —Colossians 3:16-17
This past Xposure Xperience to Guatemala in October was fraught with great learning moments and experiences. While on the trip I was reminded that we as humans are each created differently for different purposes, and yet each of those purposes (when glorifying to God) is very valuable. We can feel more successful though, if we can see tangible results.
As we had the privilege and blessing of ministering alongside Paradise Bound Ministries in Chimaltenango, Guatemala we found ourselves serving with a large team from Michigan, that was finishing up their time there. They had been out in a village building homes for the many who do not have homes, and were allowing our team to join them as they finished up.
Our first full day was a Saturday and, though I had anticipated a day of holding and loving on the children in the orphanage, there was a need for me and my teammate to build a needed gate piece for the property to be secure. It was a lot of work getting that fence put together, but was very rewarding when we got to see the final product.
The next day we participated in a one day medical clinic to a remote village. We were able to distribute lots of medicine and had people that could tend to medical needs. As that is not an area of expertise for me nor my teammate, Don, we spent a lot of time playing with the kids as parents sought the medical attention.
While on this trip we also got to travel to Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala and serve with an InnerCHANGE team there; working to reach out to and impact the lives of children living in the streets there. Here we made our mountain top journey up a prayer mountain to spend time in prayer for the city of Xela and the children so in need there. We also got to share testimony, preach the gospel, and spend time just loving on and playing with the kids.
