Forgive me if this blog post isn't as organized or as timely (it's a week late) as my others. I don't know why, but I have just struggled with finding the motivation to right this blog. It's not that God isn't good, or I'm not excited, I would just rather be doing ministry than writing this week. Which is why it has taken me so long to write this. Anywhos, over this last week God has REALLY opened my eyes to intercession, and how we are all called to intercession.  So what is intercession? According to dictionary.com, intercession is "an interposing or...

*Boom-chick, boom-chick, boom-chick, boom-chick* There it was again, that song we had sung every Sunday and Wednesday night for the past few weeks. Sitting strategically in one of the back rows of what our teams has come to lovingly call "Loud Church," I could easily see the entire room change before my eyes. The shoes were coming off. The song was starting. This wasn't just some worship chorus that you could passively participate in if you felt so inclined, this was an anthem, and an epic in every sense. It seemed to be a hybrid between a polka and the soundtrack from...

If you have ever spent time in Central America, you know what it's like to truly live in the moment. Unlike in the U.S., where some people make a conscious decision to focus on the present, in Central America you have no choice. At first it was alarming to not have each second of the day laid out on a schedule, handed to you a week in advance. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the idea that when I asked what we would be doing during the day, the response was more often than not "I dunno, we'll see!" But as we've spent the last week in ministry, going from...

"Desayuno, mi hija". Confused looks. Dramas. God has gifted us as humans, and especially this Guatemala team, with so many ways to communicate, and he is teaching me some powerful things through the resulting relationships.   "Desayuno, mi hija"      I don't know why (do we ever really know God's reasoning?), but God has really given me a heart and a love for Naomi. Naomi is the woman who bicycles twenty or so minutes each way to Casa Verde to cook our three meals every day (except Saturday) and help with cleaning around the...

     It seems the resonating theme of this week, pertinent to Guatemala’s independence day being today, Saturday September 15th, is freedom.      Freedom was the overarching refrain that graced Sunday sermons these past few days. It was the underlying axiom that appeared in testimonies and freedom was the profound blessing that needed recognition in my life this week.      I tend to conceptualize freedom as a mandated, apportioned right, like everything the Constitution enumerates. But in fact, true freedom is not the right...

One hazy afternoon, we walked into one of the most serene places I’ve ever been. The courtyard of the elderly home we had come to visit was filled with cacao trees and flowers in full bloom. It was incredibly quiet in contrast with the chaotic streets outside. Clothes lines were strung at random across the paths. The faded shirts and dresses appeared to be flags upon first look, moving gently in the cool breeze. Upon entering, we were directed to a pagoda where several of the residents were sitting quietly in the shade. Many of them struggled to rise and greet us. We tried to assure...