Be Immersed

I am excited to say that I am officially in Guatemala. We got here a few days ago and we are getting settled and learning about the ministry and city we will be working in. During this time we had the opportunity to explore the city. Traversing the cobblestone roads and seeing the historic buildings display their colors was nostalgic of being here before on my World Race. This time was different though. I am at such a different place than when I was here before. I am ready to take the intentional steps to put myself into the culture here in Guatemala. I saw it all start today during our excursion through Antigua.

We were split up to do a scavenger hunt, mostly to see various locations around the city. I knew a few of the places we needed to get to from before, which is impressive to remember my way around, but some places I was clueless about where they were. This meant asking people for directions. At first, I was thinking about just finding people who spoke english, since I am still new in learning Spanish. That is what many of us tend to do, we wander about trying to seek help in our own comfort zone. Asking people to speak english to us was that comfort, but something hit me as we started. Spanish is their language, so I’ll meet them there. I was going to only speak Spanish to people when asking for directions. This was my challenge to myself.

We got through the locations I knew pretty quickly. We didn’t have to ask anyone for directions really. Then we got to the ones I didn’t know. My heart rate rose and I was nervous, but I was sticking to my plan, only Spanish. Speaking to people in short, broken sentences I asked where locations were. I think all the people we asked were greatly entertained by my terrible Spanish, but they were gracious and kind. They all gave us directions, pointed down roads and mentioning landmarks. One of them thought I spoke fluent Spanish (I was a little proud of that) and I couldn’t understand a single word. Talk about speaking at the speed of light. Still, we got to all the locations and finished our task in under a few hours. Scavenger hunt complete.

After finishing, the staff here took us up to an overlook of the city. We sat in a chapel and were taking a break, then Gabe Sanchez asks us for a 2 minute sermon. After a short awkward pause I jumped up. I started sharing about how I chose to only speak Spanish to people for directions. Then God just showed up in my words. It was as if my choice was just the beginning of something greater. I went on to speak about immersion. Choosing to take a harder route for our activity meant trusting the Lord in where He has placed me. It was diving into the ocean God has lead me, trusting the He made the water deep enough to keep me safe. Intentional immersion is a choice and missions has to call for it. If you are not going to step out in faith, immerse yourself in culture and where God has you, you may never see the fullness of where the Lord has placed you. I know for me, this was the first step of intentional immersion into culture here in Guatemala.

While here in Guatemala, it will be a day to day choice to keep diving deeper. It will not be a quick dive and then bob on the surface. It is going to be diving deep and not even thinking of coming up to the surface. I know that will take increased faith and trust in the Lord. It will be a challenge, but I believe the fruit from going in head first and continuing deeper will be great. It all starts by immersing yourself in where the Lord has you. The question is: are you choosing to dive in or are you sitting on the surface? I’ll tell you that choosing the latter will make all the difference in the world. Step out and be immersed.

Thanks for reading my blog. I am excited to be blogging while down here and also starting some video blogs for people to view. First one to come soon. Also, I am still in need of funding for my time here in Guatemala. Your support will help sustain me as I help reach and mobilize people here in Guatemala. All donations are tax deductible. Thanks for reading and supporting me, you all rock!