GraceWay Church has so many groups coming and going to Guatemala, that it is possible to overlook the frequent reports and announcements. But significant things are occurring throughout these endeavors. On June 22, a team of youth and leaders will fly out for a week of ministry in Antigua that will likely include: conversation clubs, local home visits, touring ministry centers and seeking out opportunities for impromptu service. I’m personally excited that this team of students is going to get an up close look at beautiful people, in a culture very different than ours, that God loves deeply.
Childhood can be a very nationalistic experience; our education, traditions and holidays are very centered around our immediate ethnicity and community. And yet, God’s love for people is so much wider! In 2 Kings 5, Elisha is used to bring about a healing of a commander of a foreign army (that at times attacked Israel). In the book of Jonah, a prophet is sent to the metropolis of Ninevah. In multiple Gospel accounts, Jesus heals gentiles, even someone from a Roman soldier’s household. The book of Revelation declares that heaven will be filled with worship of Jesus Christ from every tongue, tribe, and nation.
Please be in prayer in the weeks ahead that God will use this trip in a beautifully formative way to expand the world view of those on the trip, even cultivating or widening the group member’s understanding of how vast God’s love for people is.