As you have read about our journey in Guatemala this week, I hope you've thought to yourself, "The word joyful has been used a lot in these posts." I hope when the students get home, you ask them about it. I hope they describe to you what they got to see with their eyes this week, moment upon moment of joy. Each and every moment we got to witness the Joy of Christ in each person we interacted with this week.
I'm not even sure how to explain the joy today, but it was there and it was beautiful. And Jesus' presence was there too. We did a kids' ministry event in the morning. I say event, but we walked around the neighborhood near the church we were at and invited everyone we saw to come. And they came. And it was amazing. We played, we laughed, we sang, we hit beach balls in the air with kids, and every single moment was full of laughter, smiles, and hugs of gratitude. This afternoon, we had the opportunity to do teen ministry on the basketball courts right in the heart of San Lucas Toliman. We shot some hoops, played a few competitive games of basketball, and ultimately got to share the love of Christ with each person we interacted with on and off the court. It was beautiful. It was full of joy.
For our final porch time, we shared communion together. We considered what the communion table represents to us. We shared that it represents sacrifice, love, compassion, promise, welcoming, and joy. Tonight, as we considered how Jesus poured himself out for us, we considered how we can pour ourselves out for others. Jesus tells us that we must lose ourselves for us to be saved. Following Jesus requires us to follow Him to the cross. We ended our time with serving each other communion. It was a holy moment for our team and was a moment that reminded us of why we continue to serve.
Tomorrow morning, we will rise bright and early to begin our journey back to the States. We will take one last walk through the town that has become familiar to our team. We will greet the people of San Lucas Toliman with one last "Buenos Dias". We will share one last breakfast in a room that has become a place of comfort and fellowship. And we will do it all with joy. We will then head to Antigua and then to Guatemala City to catch our flight home late tomorrow night. Our team has been preparing for our return home. We have talked about how bittersweet it is to leave a place that we have found great joy in serving. But our team is ready, eager, and excited to continue serving with joy and living on mission with God in Williamsburg. We are tired, but have hearts that are full of gratitude for what we experienced this week.
We will be back at the Chapel on Saturday. We will text travel details as the day unfolds. Your students are eager to tell you of all they witnessed and experienced this week.
Tired and as always, joyfully yours,
The Guatemala Team
