Go with the Flow!

Happy Sunday!

This morning we had a lovely breakfast of eggs, muffins, and bananas before we headed off to church. A short ten minute walk through the streets of Guatemala City brought us to Santidad A Jehova, a small church full of welcoming people excited to worship and praise God. When we  took our seats, an elderly woman came to each one of us and greeted us with a hug, a kiss, and told us 'God's Peace'. The service was unlike typical liturgical Lutheran worship that we are used to at CUC. Upon entrance, it was clear there was no set start time and many people were coming and going throughout the entire service. It was immediately apparent that we would have to go with the flow. In fact, one of the lead praise team members was taking a phone call, so the music couldn't start until he was finished. The church was designed in a very contemporary style with two screens on either side, three columns of stackable chairs, and the praise band was on a stage in the front with a center podium that had a miniture Ark of the Covenant in front. The music was very up-beat but with simple words that many of us could easily pick up on. During the 30 minutes of worship music, many of the women became very emotional, crying out and even falling to the floor in adoration of the Lord. There were several women, who Kevin described to us as being similar to Deaconesses, who went around to these women to comfort them and pray over them. This personally spoke to the two of us specifically since we are studying to be deaconesses. Along with the music, the service was embelished with a team of liturgical dancers. This week there were about 8 young boys, varying in age. Once the music was completed, the children came out and performed several songs and a skit to honor their mothers. In Guatemala, they celebrated Mother's Day on the 10th. One of our own team members, Christian, is serving with us instead of being home with her son for Mother's Day. Because Christian is fluent in Spanish she was able to follow the service and went up for the blessing that they gave for all of the mothers. It was a joy to see her immersed not only in the culture here but also being recognized on the day that we celebrate in the US. After all of the announcements that followed the commencement of mothers, the sermon began. Kevin explained to us that the pastor of the church isn't paid for his job and instead has another job to support himself; therefore, the congregation has to have a high level of participation throughout the service. In fact, one of the elders was the one who gave the message on 1 Samuel 1:1-8 about Hannah and Penniah. Though we couldn't understand most of what he said, we gathered that the main point was that we should ask God for our own blessings and not covet others' blessings. The service concluded with the presentation of two new babies to the congregation. Kevin told us they do this every 2nd Sunday of the month and it acts as a precursor to Baptism.

After church, we took the short walk back to the house and enjoyed a lunch of grilled cheese, chips and salsa. Next, we sorted out all of the supplies and donations we brought along with us. There were so many supplies that it covered the entire kitchen table and took 16 of us almost an hour to sort. We then had free time, which most of us used to take a nap. The rest of the evening consisted of planning our faith lessons for the week, eating lasagna for dinner, and playing several intense games of Dutch Blitz.

We would like to wish all of our mothers a very happy Mother's Day and God's richest blessings.

God's Peace and Goodnight,
Michelle & Haylie