Beauty for Ashes in Guatemala

One of the special things we did for the people of the Villa Hermosa community was a Beauty for Ashes event. 

Some of the girls on my team had been meeting with the older sisters and mothers that showed up to the daily kids ministry. We would sit in the back and teach them English and learn about their culture. Most of the time it was working with one to three women. 

On the few days when we had more than enough team members and an extra translator, we would do house visits. Two or three of us would step out of ministry to walk to someone’s house and get to know them.

One of the first houses we visited was Anna’s. We got the chance to talk with Anna and her mother El. (Anna’s kids were probably the most well behaved and the cutest in the group.) El shared about her personal physical pain and community’s societal pain from injustice in the past few months. 

It was a beautifully emotional conversation. I am thankful El trusted us with her emotions and experience. 

Short tangent about El and her family: Talking with El over the span of three visits was very special. One of those times was right after I watched a sermon from The Grace Place (my home church) about the power Jesus’s name holds. John 15 tells us to pray in Jesus’s name. The pastor in Poptun also said “En el nombre de Jesus” very often in his sermons and prayers. I keep hearing it, and it’s a reminder for me to not use my own efforts and strength. In addition to the sermons, I have also been learning about obedience. Every chance I got to pray over El, I would practice being obedient and intentional with using our Lord’s name. God has given us authority (Matt 28:18). El is a little bit better now, but still has pain in her body. She has such incredibly strong faith and she shares it. God used El to teach me the power of His name. 

Anna and her good friend Valory wanted to gather as women of the village, which works out perfectly because my Beauty for Ashes materials is for that specifically! My team and I planned a simple session about finding our worth and identity in the Lord as opposed to from the people around us or the lies we believe from the enemy. 

We usually have between 1-5 ladies show up to ministry, but for the session we had 25! Praise the Lord!!! There were snacks, ice breakers, toddlers running around, scripture, testimonies, and even more testimonies. I didn’t understand most of what was shared after I gave the message, but I could see a lot of emotions. Ice breakers were essential because the women were sooo quiet and shy. But by the end they were all sharing and praising the Lord as they found restoration. We were glad to see them practicing trust, being vulnerable, and carrying each other’s burdens.

I would have liked to do another event, but we ended up focusing on other aspects of ministry. We prayed that this gathering of women starts healthier godly relationships within the community. Support systems that can point each other to Christ, not to loneliness. 

Our last day in ministry was also sweet. I spent a lot of time with Anna and Valory. Communication was still difficult because of language, but we used brother google translate to the best of our ability. I really wanted to give them a good goodbye, so they received it through google translate. It has been a few weeks, and I’ve still been able to communicate with them over whatsapp, although the conversation is not as deep as in person. I am glad I had the privilege to minister to them and be a listening ear. They also taught me how strong women can be for their families. These ladies have a place in my heart.

Not my will, but His,

Sarah