Guatemala: Week 1 in Review

I am in Poptún, Guatemala. Sitting at a desk, listening to the sounds of nature sing to me. It is peaceful and only one other person on the Base here besides me, which is rare. The sounds of life are always filling this place. The youth who are the crux of the ministry can be heard from 6:30am-7pm daily. Not to mention the live or piped music (which is usually 1 of 2 CDs). At dusk more sounds emerge: the neighboring dogs & chickens, resident frogs, birds, lizards, and bugs.

Above it all, God speaks. He is in our midst here, though few truly recognize it. I know He is not offended though, because we are all growing in maturity and discernment, but to me it is like music to my ears. I have been in a wilderness for so long, and now I am in a sort of paradise, physically and spiritually. Though the excitement of the first few days has worn off, I still sense Him near, wooing me, drawing me into His presence. Even just hanging around with the youth I feel Him. His eye is on this place. In the midst of a culture that has little understanding of a living relationship with Jesus, here is this little house of prayer, seeking the Lord and making incense arise before His throne.

These kids go HARD in this house of prayer. The full-timers preach in the mornings and have prayer in the afternoons. The part-timers, who are still in school, do either prayer or preaching in the mornings (depending on the rotation), then school in the afternoons. Friday evenings they all come together to celebrate Shabbat. I was so joyful to celebrate this with them, feeling the eternal significance of doing so, as we practice entering into TRUE rest. Afterwards, they usually spend time praying for Israel (in addition to a prayer set every day for her). This past Friday though, we just worshiped and the Spirit came upon us heavy, with groanings, travail, and other interesting manifestations. It is my prayer and desire that God would visit this house with His wine (joy), as He has in Kansas City & Atlanta!

The Lord has kissed me with this trip, that I was created to be a part of from eternity past, as Eph 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." I am excited, expectant for what the rest of this trip holds. It is truly a divine journey with my Beloved.