Buenas tardes friends!
This past week honestly felt like the fastest week of my life. It flew by so quickly, and I think it’s because the Lord did so much in such a small amount of time that I barely had time to process it all! That’s why I am particularly grateful for cloudy days like these in which I can use my Sabbath to process the week.
We completed the library we had been working on the week prior. We finished painting and cleaning it out. We sanded and re-stained all the old furniture and dusted off/ arranged the books. Together, we transformed the abandoned building into a place for new hope and enjoyment for families in the community. On the opening day last Thursday, the roughly 75 families in the community were invited to come to the library, where they each received a large jug of clean water for their household. We were able to pray over each family, and my teammate Payton did a fantastic job translating for us.
Evangelism last week looked like a lot of different things. It looked like divine encounters with an atheist at a coffee shop, who we just so happened to see at a different coffee shop days later all the way across Lake Atitlán in San Marcos, where my teammate was able to share her testimony with him. It looked like a teammate and I walking through the streets of Panajachel and allowing the Spirit to guide us, to discern between good and evil as we prayed and spoke to people. It looked like randomly meeting a missionary downtown who connected us to a different ministry from the one we’ve been serving with here, and God allowing the two to come together so beautifully (that was so totally random and very, very cool).
Evangelism also looked like just talking to our favorite baristas here and getting to know them deeply, as well as offering to help wash dishes or serve them in any way we could. It looked like playing soccer with a local team of young men who just valued having fun with my team. It looked like speaking with a little boy selling toys on the street out of a basket around his neck, buying him a slice of cake, and getting a glimpse into his world, if only for a few short minutes. (We saw that boy again later on as well, and he was still sporting the bracelet our friend gave him that described the Gospel for kids).
Really, evangelism here has looked like asking the Lord to lead me wherever He wants me throughout any free time I have. Sometimes that means resting, like today. Sometimes that means treating myself to a coffee because there’s someone there for me I’m meant to speak with. And sometimes it means taking a walk and interceding as I go! And it has been unbelievably sweet to look back at every day of this past week and see what God did in orchestrating perfect little interactions for myself and my entire team. If I ever doubted that I could heard the voice of God before, I doubt it no more! I can hear His voice. And He’s faithful to speak. I am working on always being willing to listen, and to obey!
Although I can’t share them all here, one highlight of this past week was definitely “naked night”. This was just a chance for my team to be vulnerable and go deeper with each other. It led to confession, prayer, prophesy, tears of joy, worship, and lots & lots of breakthrough. About 4 hours into this night, we felt led to shout the name of Jesus from the rooftops, so we did from our own rooftop where we are staying. We ended up singing and shouting on the roof in the pouring rain like crazy people, absolutely FILLED with the Holy Spirit, and letting go of anything and everything we had been holding onto coming on this trip.
Unfortunately, what we didn’t realize was how time had escaped us and that it was about 11:30 pm when all this was happening.
Unfortunately, what we didn’t realize was how time had escaped us and that it was about 11:30 pm when all this was happening.
Long story short, the police showed up and told us about the noise complaints they’d received, and even played back a video they had recorded of us to poor Payton, who was trying her best to translate at the door. Looking back, we were for sure causing a disturbance. But God was there with us, revealing Himself in each drop of rain that night. And there’s nothing I’d rather have the cops called on me for than praising the holy name of Jesus!
And who knows, maybe someone really needed to hear us, and to hear His name. And we pray that those policemen translate our video and hear & understand everything in it. God used that night to break chains off of me that I can look back on now and just smile with a joy and abandon that only comes from submitting to the Spirit’s will.
Thank you, as always, for supporting me on this journey.
I Love you all,
Cayla
Photo: My teammate Bri and I in San Marcos yesterday, where we went cliff jumping and were able to talk with other English-speaking tourists passing through. Behind us is one of Guatemala’s many volcanoes! Our teammate Kalei-Grace was re-baptized here yesterday as well, Praise God!
I love reading how you’re finding ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus even during “unscheduled ministry time.” You’re living life as ministry!
“If I ever doubted that I could heard the voice of God before, I doubt it no more! I can hear His voice. And He’s faithful to speak.” Wow, thanks God! This fills my heart to read this. John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Yay! Thanks God is right :)) And thanks Lauren for all of your encouragement!
And people think Christians are stoics and Christianity a bland bunch of rules and regulations designed to keep anyone from having fun. You all are having a blast and doing it while being the hands and feet of the gospel. Just when I think I couldn’t possibly be more proud of you, (which happens about once a week), you find a way to make my heart burst with even more pride than before.
I love you!