Story of God at Work in Guatemala
By Hannah Lewandowski
“For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.”
Psalm 72:12-14
We are so often entangled by what is before us, what we see in front of us, the circumstances of our day-to-day. In being caught up with our problems, celebrations, and commitments, we forgo pursuing God’s view of the world and His people in pursuit of our affections. Our Heavenly Father cares deeply for the nations and the injustice present amongst them. For many of us, in our Americanized ways, we think often of our own needs, ultimately building our kingdom over that of Christ’s, ignoring issues because they’re not in front our faces or blasted on our social media feeds. God cares about His people of all nations, tribes, and tongues, and so should we. He is on a mission of reconciliation, and we must join.
In March, a group of people was sent to Guatemala to explore a potential partnership with an organization focused on ministering to women and children affected by trafficking locally and globally. Consisting of people from various Resonate Churches, Dakota, Vivian, John, and Ashton were sent to explore a potential partnership. This nonprofit organization, Dare for More, focuses on creating sustainable change for vulnerable women, sharing the gospel and skills to give them opportunities for work beyond sexual exploitation. Dare For More operates out of the United States but ministers from a safe house, women’s training centers, and a medical clinic in Antigua; their facilities are intentionally designed to align with trauma-informed care practices, providing a safe and minimally triggering space for the women and children who have escaped trafficking. In these places, they are counseled, cared for medically, receive the gospel, and are taught marketable skills such as leather working, baking, coffee roasting and production, and much more.
Antigua, Guatemala
While the team was there, they got to interact with four to five moms and each of their two to five children, make home visits, and learn about the mission of Dare for More from the beginning of its creation. Despite not knowing the ancient Mayan language of the people there or Spanish, Vivian, one of the team members, shared that it was beautiful to experience God’s love made perfect in community. God revealed to her how His love and design transcend cultural differences and language barriers, solidifying the truth that He didn’t make man to live alone; we need one another, which is something to celebrate.
During one of the home visits the team made, they traversed up the mountains outside of Antigua to an impoverished village, where they brought groceries to a class being taught by a woman named Terry. Growing up impoverished and unable to go to school, Terry started working at the age of seven and has been ever since. Being unable to read for most of her life put a barrier between her, scripture, and other job opportunities. When she got married, her husband was unusually supportive of her desire to read, and she then was permitted to learn through reading the Bible, giving her a doorway to know and share the gospel with others. Loving to bake, Terry started her own business, as well as created new techniques to cook things without traditional stovetops or ovens. Baked goods weren’t found in abundance throughout Antigua and the villages in the nearby mountains, making Terry’s business quite successful before the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this success, Terry had a thought that if one day she were to come face to face with God, He would say to her, “I’ve given you these gifts, how have you shared them?” to which she realized she would have no response. The tenacity and independence God had gifted her was something she was using to build herself up, and in turn, she decided to effectively take a pay cut to use her gifts to minister to younger women through teaching them to make a dollar and build a life for themselves. One team member, John, shared that Terry’s story was incredibly convicting, prompting the deeper questions of what God has specifically gifted you and me with and, more importantly, how we can use those gifts to build God’s Kingdom over our own.
Following this interaction with Terry and her baking class, the team headed back to the safe house, where they spent more time with the women and children present. A form of trauma-informed care is allowing space for child-like play, a type of unstructured fun that is freeing and takes one’s mind off of the trauma they constantly wade through as they process each day. That evening Vivian, John, Ashton, and Dakota got to show God’s love to these women and children through positive interactions, that frankly they aren’t used to from most people in their lives throughout the past; this reality is equally heartbreaking and beautiful to see God restore both women and young children’s relationships with other women, and specifically other men through the teams presence in Guatemala. Continuing to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the people they encountered, the team went to a newly acquired medical clinic in a village outside of Antigua called El Dorado. Amidst people speaking a native Mayan language and Spanish, they worked to help clean and paint the clinic so that Dare for More could see more patients. Increasing the quality of care and sharing the gospel being the primary goals, God was at work amidst the labor of the team in the clinic.
“The tenacity and independence God had gifted her was something she was using to build herself up, and in turn, she decided to effectively take a pay cut to use her gifts to minister to younger women through teaching them to make a dollar and build a life for themselves.”
During their time in that village, the team did more home visits, bringing families in need groceries and praying over them. Up the street from the first house they went to, they came across a home with 12 children, one of which was in a wheelchair after having his legs run over in December. Astonished that he had access to a wheelchair in the first place, the team praised God for His provision and petitioned Him to heal this young boy. Bringing groceries and good news to those in need is essential, but we must believe that prayer is the greater work, that no matter what we say or do, God alone can bring them true, everlasting freedom and redemption.
On their last day in Guatemala, the team got to go to a coffee farm that partners with Dare for More, who employ and trains women who are transitioning out of the safe houses the organization offers. This business isn’t inherently Chrisitan, but are supportive to those who are and are helping to redeem another business that is commonly exploited, reutrnin alot of the profits to those doing the hard labor. From there, the team got to visit an old convent built by Spanish colonizers. Ashton shared that this place was representative of the country spiritually, as there were images of Jesus on the cross all over, yet most of the people gazing upon these images have never heard the story of Jesus or don’t believe in Him at all. Many people, including the International Mission Board, view Guatemala as a reached country, but despite this truth, there is evident brokenness that the team witnessed firsthand, telling a different story than what one would assume. Although Guatemala has access to the gospel, there are continued efforts to be made to aid in addressing the injustice present. People across the globe are facing horrendous realities, and through the work of nonprofits like Dare for More, there are tangible opportunities to minister to the deep brokenness faced by women longing for restoration. There is hope to be brought to dark places.
The beauty of the landscape in Guatemala reminded the team of God’s love and care for His people, but also that God is in the business of restoring, making all things new, and one day, every nation will bow before His throne, praising His mighty name above all names. His heart breaks for the injustice faced by His beloved creation, and ours should too. Would we be people who long for that more than we long for temporary comfort and momentary satisfaction? We can’t commit to being everywhere, to reaching everyone, to fighting every ounce of injustice in this world, but we most definitely can be people who pray without ceasing.
