Guatemala

Hi readers :)

It's been a while... I think that's probably my most commonly used "opening line" on our blog and in my emails. However, I write that line with the best of intentions to be a diligent blogger, and today's post is meant for that purpose - to restart our Tuesday/Thursday posts.

As I write this, I have a couple of things coming to mind that I really want to share with you all. I don't think I can say everything I want to say in this one post, so I'll probably say everything over the next few posts, and you might not hear from Byron on here for a little while.

Being Prayed Over at Calvary Aurora

Of course, the most important thing is to update you about what's going on in Guatemala, and I dedicate today's post to that. The next couple posts after this one will be about some pretty serious stuff that the Lord's been working on in my life.

Last Wednesday, we were prayed over by our sending church, Calvary Aurora, and then headed to the airport. We had a redeye flight to Fort Lauderdale, which is where we slept for the night. Sleeping in the airport stirred up a lot of emotions for me, because it reminded me of the night we slept in the Istanbul airport, the night that we evacuated from Donetsk (In case you missed that blog, click HERE to check it out).

A Ten Minute Walk From the PFM House

Despite all of the emotions that I was struggling with while in the airport, the Lord really encouraged us. He gave us good sleep (so good, we almost missed our flight to Guatemala City, even though we were sleeping in the Terminal!), and an easy flight to Guatemala City.

When we arrived in Guatemala City, we were picked up by the sweetest guy named Juan (He was holding a sign for us at the airport that said "Emily Johnson y Byron"), and he drove us to Antigua in his taxi. Knowing absolutely nothing about Guatemala, I was shocked by the scenery. From the drive, I was able to see numerous breathtaking views of a high altitude jungle, equipped with dormant and active volcanoes - definitely different than what I'm used to seeing in Ukraine.

Kids' Club

After a short drive (maybe an hour or two), we arrived at the Potter's Field Ministry house, which is beyond breathtaking. The property is situated between two volcanoes and has everything you could need to do the type of ministry they do here. They even have a soccer field on the property, which is perfect for the kids' club outreaches that they do, both weekly and as special events.

Jump Rope Fun at Kids' Club

We've been incredibly blessed to be here for the last week. Our main role is to get to know the IGNITE interns and go to their classes with them so that we can understand how to continue their discipleship once we get onto the field with our group of interns.

Our Friend, Scott, and Our Precious Cooks

I've especially been blessed over the last week just getting to meet with the Lord so regularly. The schedule here is pretty rigorous, but definitely Christ centered. We get up around 5:50am to work out (this isn't required, but controlling my diabetes is easier if I'm working out regularly), then, we read the Bible from 7-8am. Breakfast is from 8-9am and then classes until noon, which is when we're fed lunch (We have the sweetest little Guatemalan ladies that cook all of our meals for us!). In the afternoon, there's usually time scheduled for us to be reading the Bible again and to read Christian books (I'm reading On Being A Servant Of God right now by Warren Wiersbe), and then we get together for worship and prayer in the evenings. We also get to work in the community by cleaning, building things, and doing outreaches. Byron even got to learn how to mix cement and make a sidewalk this week!

Learning how to make a sidewalk

This extra, uninterrupted time with God has been crucial for me. For those of you that spent time with me while we were back in Colorado over the last two months, you were probably around me at least once when I would burst into tears. And although the Lord is healing my heart, I am still completely broken over having to leave Ukraine, and I still struggle with having deep waves of emotion wash over me that cause me to cry, and sometimes weep. The absolute best thing for me right now is to heavily lean into the Lord, and here, I'm able to do that. I feel like I spend most of my time praying, reading the Bible, or worshipping, and it's ministering to me in a way that I never could have imagined.

Team Uganda (Michelle, Paige, Alyx, Byron, Emily, Kendra, Joe)

We've also been really blessed to hang out with all of the interns here - precious young people that are totally sold out for the Lord. They have willfully chosen to give up everything and to set one whole year apart for the Lord. We're so encouraged by them and are blessed to be a small part in their journey with the Lord. Please be praying for them as they prepare to go onto the mission field after they finish their training here in Antigua.

We will remain here to continue learning about our role in Uganda and to be trained until mid-September, and then, we'll be off to Entebbe, Uganda :)

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support! Please continue praying for us, the work that the Lord is doing in our lives, and the people we meet here in Guatemala that we're sharing Jesus with.

Also, we ask that you continue to pray for Ukraine. Ukraine is always at the forefront of our minds and hearts, and that country desperately needs prayer during this time. Please keep lifting it up to the Lord.



Next post will be on Tuesday :)




Blessings,
Emily