We’ve had an amazing first week settling into our first project in rural Guatemala!

After meeting at Heathrow at 2.30 am, we managed to arrive safely in Guatemala City, where we were welcomed by Maddie, our Short-term Coordinator.

The next afternoon we set off for our first project, staring out of the bus window with awe at the multitude of mountains. We even managed to catch a glimpse of one of the towering volcanoes.

We were warmly welcomed by the pastor and other members of the church and were struck by how joyful and kind they were, and how excited they were to see us.

Expecting to set up camp in the church hall, we were surprised and grateful to learn that a family living behind the church had offered to take us in. We are so thankful to them, and it was a reminder to us of how God puts people where they’re needed to fulfil his will.

The next day Pastor Moises enthusiastically showed us around the local area, and we even got to see a school football match (much to the guys’ delight).

Sunday was long awaited, and we attended the church service in the afternoon. We sang a couple of songs up at the front, led by Hannah on the guitar, but the energy and passion with which the congregation sang their own songs was beyond anything we were familiar with from our own churches. We loved their way of praying as well: one person might lead it, but everyone joined in with their own prayers, until the whole room was filled with prayers to God – many of us found it very powerful.

We were blessed with Carrie (the only one on our team to have A-level Spanish) to translate the service for us, so we actually managed to understand a little of what they were saying!

On Monday we started construction work at the church, where our goal is to plaster and tile some rooms under the church hall.

Work started off a bit slow as we tried to figure out what we were doing, and at times we found that a few of us were in need of a job, as there wasn’t enough for everyone. After a few days it has gotten better, with more people being able to get involved, but we would still appreciate p

rayer that there would be more opportunities for us to help.

On Tuesday we finished construction an hour early so that we could lead an English lesson with some of the kids from the church. It was great interacting with the children, even in our limited Spanish, and it was good practice for us to find out some fun games!

So far we’ve been getting along with each other really well, and our devotionals, worship sessions and games have helped with that too. We hope that, going into our second week, we would be able to get involved even more, and that God would be at the centre of all that we do.

Things we’ve been grateful for:

• Generosity of everyone. The family we’re staying with is so kind, bringing us fruit and snacks and even making us some meals.
• Construction progress. It’s so exciting to see how much we’ve done, even in just a few days.
• Our health. Amazingly no one has been ill yet!

Prayer requests:

• Language barrier. That we would be able to communicate well and make connections with the people here despite our limited Spanish.
• To continue to get along well as a team.
• That God’s love would be shown through us.
• That we would learn to rely on God.
• Opportunities to do more.
• Continuing health.

Answers to prayer:

• Being welcomed joyfully and living in a comfortable (if simple) way.

Thank you for everyone’s prayers and support!

Emily, Theo, Carrie, Hannah, Ben, Ella H, Ella S, Charlie F, Charlie P, Charlotte

(Written by Ella S)

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