I didn’t know what to expect when they said that our ministry host was on the way to pick us up for the first time. I assumed One Way would come in a bus, but when they arrived, they were in a bunch of their cars to pick us up. As we got separated into the cars and drove off, we tried to make conversation with the people we were going to be doing ministry with over the next two and a half months, but the language barrier was too strong. We didn’t get past the names and some simple facts about each other. We ended up riding most of the ride in silence. Two and a half months later, I find myself in a gas station parking lot at 3 in the morning having a dance party, singing songs, and celebrating my birthday, over 6 hours away from our base with the same people that had picked me up that first day of ministry. The same people that made me ball my eyes out as they drove away after we said our final goodbyes as we finished up our time in Guatemala.
So what happened in those two and a half months that changed from awkward silent car rides, neither of us being able to speak to each other to both Guatemalan and American singing our hearts out to all of their favorite Spanish songs on our 15-hour car ride through the night.
Going into our first day of ministry, I had no idea what to expect. Meeting the One Way Community was a little overwhelming because there were so many members. The problem was only 2 of them knew how to speak English. At first, this was a little annoying trying to talk to people but then realizing that they do not know what I am saying. After a quick introduction, they split us up into groups of two, to send us throughout the little city of San Lorenzo. Zach and I were put into a group together to go teach English to 4 kids that were between the ages of 4 and 9. The problem with teaching these kids was they didn’t speak English, and the One Way member we were with didn’t speak English either. Somehow, with the help of some google translate and God, we were able to teach these kids English words for shapes and names of animals. We also managed to play games with them to teach them their times tables in math. Even though we weren’t able to communicate very well with our ministry host, we were able to grow close to the people of the One Way community because we had a common goal. This common goal was to spread the love of God to the kids and their families throughout San Lorenzo and eventually all over Guatemala.
One Way has poured so much into the city of San Lorenzo. They have built multiple houses for families in the community who were running out of space in their growing household. These houses can hold four kids and One Way even provide each of the kids with a bed to sleep on. One Way has donated numerous micro-businesses such as taco stands, tortilla stands, and hot dog stands to help families struggling to make ends meet through Covid.
On a day-to-day basis, we spend most of our time in house visits asking the families how they are doing and teaching their kids English. For most of the kids, this is the only way for them to learn English. English is almost a necessity for them to learn to help them to get more promising jobs. In the afternoons we usually teach more English, deliver food bags to families, run soccer camps, and do VBS with the little kids. On Tuesdays, we have a feeding day where we provide a healthy lunch for all the kids in San Lorenzo.
One Way doesn’t do ministry just in San Lorenzo. On Wednesdays, we got the opportunity to go up into the mountains about an hour and a half drive to 2 different cities, one called Comalapa and the other is called Palima. In both of these places, we teach the kids something about Jesus and then we play games with them for a couple of hours. Last week we gave the kids there a Christmas dinner and had a Christmas party as well. We were also given the opportunity to go to Chichicastenango to help start up a school there and run a soccer camp with the kids that are living there.
One Way was also selected to give out over 2,500 meals from Pollo Campero this year. This was a major accomplishment for One Way because they were chosen out of every other ministry in Guatemala. We gave out 1,750 meals in San Lorenzo and then another 750 in Palima. With these meals, we were able to hand out food bags to each of the families in the community. We also were able to give out a Christmas meal to all of the families in San Lorenzo. This dinner also included a new pair of shoes, hair cut, food bag, and discipleship for the parents and the kids.
As you can tell those two months were jammed packed with events, teachings, games, and lots of bonding between us. The impact the One Way Community has had on the community of San Lorenzo is something that I have never seen before. A group of people my age giving up a job that they get paid to do to share the love of God to kids who might not ever see what it’s like to be loved like that. I am honored to have been able to have a small part of this impact on this community and be a part of this amazing organization. The relationships that I have created there are relationships that I will cherish for the rest of my life and memories that I will never forget.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me financially to fund me for my race!!!!!
If you are interested in supporting me financially please send me an email at [email protected]
