Hello Sunday! This morning we walked about fifteen minutes to attend an English speaking church here in Antigua. It was great to be able to understand and have the opportunity to learn! My favorite part of the service this morning was the two different languages being spoken. The worship was sung in both English and Spanish, prayers were translated and so was the sermon message. I was awestruck by the beautiful continuity of the body of Christ. It was amazing to stand among brothers and sisters this morning and each worship in our own tongues – knowing that to God, it is not about the language we speak but rather the state of our hearts and our willingness to surrender and worship Him in fullness: “ . . . at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Philippians 2:11-12.
We were also able to spend some time perusing the marketplace again today. There is an incredible amount of markets in Antigua. I am sure the few we have visited have only skimmed the surface of the multitude! Since before we left I really wanted to buy each of my kindergarten kids something from Guatemala. God had put this idea on my heart for a while, and today I purchased them each a little homemade bracelet that says either “Guatemala” or “Antigua”. I want to be able to go back to my job at the school district in Lethbridge and tell these five year olds about the beautiful country of Guatemala and hopefully inspire them to one day look past themselves to serve others. I can’t wait to see how God will use these 50 little bracelets now stowed safely away in my luggage!
At the market we also ran into Otto. He is a sweet Guatemalan man who works for the mission organization that we are here working for called AOJ (Arms of Jesus). Otto informed us that his cousin passed away last night – he was travelling with some friends in Guatemala and got pulled into the ocean by an unexpected riptide. He was only 35! How tragic. Apparently in Guatemala, it is a requirement of the law to bury the dead within 24 hours of their passing. That meant that Otto’s cousin’s funeral was later this afternoon. We decided, as a team, that we wanted to support our brother and attend the funeral – we wanted to do all that we could to show him how blessed we are to know him and work with him. The pastor at the funeral reminded everyone that life is so short. He reminded us that Jesus tells us to not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6) – and there is a reason for that! Otto’s cousin probably had plans for tomorrow, the next day, and many days down the road. Do you think that he didn’t think he wouldn’t get to even experience his plans for tomorrow? No. Death is inevitable and unexpected. Death comes to us all. What a great (and yet sad) reminder to each of us to live in the present: “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink, and to enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward” Ecclesiastes 5:18. Praise be to God we have hope in our Lord Jesus Christ! As a team we would appreciate prayers for our friend Otto. He has much to do with us this week – including translating for me tomorrow as I teach AND building two houses with us. Pray that God will give him much peace, much joy and even more strength.
Today was a day filled with mixed emotions here in Guatemala. I would say even the weather portrayed that quite well – as we moved from a steaming hot thirty-three degrees to a chilly rainstorm in a matter of hours. Even still, we can’t wait for tomorrow and ALL that it has to bring.
Refined Joy 