Morning of Day 3

The Beauty of Guatemala

By Colson Drake

     The most beautiful aspect of Guatemala is her mountains. Scattered across the country, you will find them in every direction you look. These towering landforms inspire freedom and power. They are covered with trees and fields of various fruits, giving them a look of patchwork. They seem to be stacked one upon another, as they reach as far as the eye can see. Should you be lucky, you will find civilization creeping up the mountainside until it finally reaches the top and spills over the side. Within these cities are these tiny houses so tightly knit together, they seem to simply meld together in a complex system of concrete and mortar. Like a blanket, they coat the valleys and hills to no end. Connecting each blanket is a network of long and winding roads and highways, stretching out across the country, criss crossing the valleys and traversing the mountainsides to create unity and connection with one portion of the world to another. Above all the beauty of the earth can be found the open blue sky, dotted with clouds of such magnificence, they capture the eye for minutes at a time. Even the many camera clicks and endless loops of video cannot capture its beauty as it is captured through the naked human eye, creation’s greatest camera. Then, all of a sudden, without warning, the skies would seem to converge. The clouds will roll over in their endless lumber, and pile one on top of another, producing the heaviest coating of gray bleakness you may ever see. The earth will be shrouded from light, and the air will chill, and then the heavens will break loose. The heaviest pouring of our most necessary substance will be released like racehorses storming out of their stalls in pursuit of championship, all of such magnitude it can only be compared to God’s downpour of love to those who seek Him out. Once you settle in, and find the time to quiet yourself in response to the heavenly race, you will find it creates a brilliant sound of millions of bullets of water racing to punch their hole into the earth, which then meld together to make a symphony so soothing, it simply entices the listener to sleep and rest, inspiring comfort and ease of mind. At the end of the day, should you still be watching and listening, you will observe the splendor and perfection of God’s creation as the sun rolls down in slumber, releasing stars not from the heavens, but the earth. The city then shines as it musters to keep alive the bright flame of light it had gotten so used to, only to be vanquished by sleep and exhaustion from the day’s activities. The deep, dark and vibrant colors expand across the sky in the sunlight’s wake, colors of deep red and purple, hues of orange and blue, and hints of blue and gray. Stacked upon one another like layers of the earth, they seem to draw themselves out for their observer, as if to coax him to pick favorites. Finally, the final lullaby the grateful ear may take in will be the gentle songs each cricket, beetle, and bug plays in harmony with one another, as if to tell the listener to drift off into sleep, and depart with contentment into the safety of their homes, in reflection of the beautiful blessing of creation.

The Night of Day 3

     Today, I feel what it means to be immeasurably blessed. Today, I know the ever-reaching extent of God’s love for His people and His blessings upon them. Today has been a roller coaster of a day. The morning was tough, for exhaustion has begun to set in. This caused the devotional to be hard to focus on and be intentional in; from there, it seemed to not want to get better. I did have an important, individual prayer time with the Lord afterwards, however, but what ensued was a sense of a heavy and thick air in spirit and emotion, as if any cold breeze were quickly and quietly tucked away by a humid blanket of heat and confusion. In traveling to the mission, I often like to spend that time writing or continuing a morning letter, yet I felt this uncomfortable blanket settle deeply in me, and found myself unable to do so. Through the mission, I felt exhausted and fatigued, and again found it hard to focus on what I was doing in spreading the Word to the people that God offered to us, people that we may serve. It wasn’t until we, as a group, met on the top floor balcony of the complex to debrief what had happened during the mission under the night sky. There, I found my wandering thoughts looking up and snatching at different memories from the day; a boy with pain from his eyes, for whom we prayed so fervently; a woman who seemed so reserved and timid to our questions and speech, yet positively broke down through our prayer for her; a man, the father of the pastor of the church in which the mission was held, who exuberated such faith and loving manner like that of Coach Sandman, yet cried for minutes when we asked him how we could pray for him. These thoughts began rushing through my mind, and as I contemplated them, the Lord led me to share them. Soon after the meeting came to a close through prayer and supplication, I found myself by Ayden, my twin, on the small cushion she had kindly laid out for the both of us. How I got here is now a mystery to me, come to think of it, for I do not remember the time between the end of the meeting and the beginning of the events that were to take place. Yet there I was, listening to my friend Tripp talk with my sister about the mission this day, and about family and Guatemala. Then Tripp did something I didn’t quite expect, and he asked Ayden if she would tell him her testimony. She heartily agreed, and I was quite fascinated at what was happening, for any chance I can get at understanding the person whom I love the most in this world is an opportunity I will take. Ayden began her story-telling fashion of her testimony, and I easily followed along, as I was present for quite a bit of it all to begin with. However, as she continued on, revealing that this story of hers, her story, would take quite a bit longer than a few minutes, I began to anticipate an element in her story of which I have taught myself to avoid quite wrongfully in my own story, which is the role that our mother played in our journey of faith. At first, I considered myself okay, confident that I would be able to hold my own, and keep my composure, but that was not the case. Slowly, surely, as Ayden went further and further into our relationship with our mother, I began to lay back, eventually closing my eyes to the tears I knew I could not avoid. As I lay there, I began to think in a type of out-of-body context, and sat thinking, ‘How wild, how strange is it that the Lord brings to you the most secretive and seemingly irrelevant elements of your life to you in places where you least expect it?’ If I were to add onto that now, I would say, ‘How wild, how strange is it that the Lord brings to you the most secretive and seemingly irrelevant elements of your life to teach you that which you never could have expected?’ Ayden, being the one to never leave out a single detail, continued on with her vast story, and began to tell the group gathered before us now of the events that took place leading up to the death of our mother, our family relationships and the roles that each member played in each of those trying months, and of every good, comical, and sad part the journey that our family battled out through the fall of 2015. By this point Mrs. Pierce and Mrs. Vaughn had joined, and were listening quite intently, with Coach Sandman earnestly watching and observing all he could. These two God-fearing women, as Ayden came to a close on the magnificent picture of her testimony she had painted with a little over a thousand words, began to talk with us, alongside Coach Sandman and Connor, Mrs. Pierce’s son whom I pray to grow close to, and Tripp, the very catalyst for the powerful conversation that took place there today. As we talked, I found myself more able to share about my experiences in the process of losing the member of my family whom I most loved than I had ever before, a surprise to me, and gift from God. As I was able to talk over the next few hours, I felt such a release of built up emotion that comes with taking the pain from hard life experiences and placing them so deep into your mind and heart that your unspoken prayer is that it may never hurt you again, yet will without fail come back to sting, no matter how large or small. This release of pain and feeling was needed more than I could have thought; since the death of my mother 3 years ago, I have not been able to fully and freely talk about the process of losing my mother like this, ever before. This was very much needed. I thank God for the experience that I was able to be a part of today, for the people that I was able to grow closer with, and for the ways God is changing me to come closer to His heart every day.

 - Colson 

The Night of Day 2

     Today, I was able to serve the people of the church of The Holiness of God in the Guatemalan mountain range, over an hour from Guatemala City. Wow. I am speechless. Today, I not only witnessed again the beauty of Guatemala, but also the beauty of the people within. I’ve been able to be a part of prayer groups praying for those who were sick, I’ve been able to administer aid in dentistry clinics for the young and the old, and I’ve been able to watch as miracles were performed in front of my very eyes, miracles of healing and health. I’ve heard the Word being spread, and people coming to Christ. How great a joy it is to be a part of it all.

     Today’s theme for many members of the team was Honor. What Honor meant today here on the mission was based on how we interpret Honor, our perspective of Honor. In true form, Honor is either our giving God Honor through our daily lives, or Honor is God Honoring us for what we have done to either further His kingdom or otherwise. Now, what both I and many other members of the team have struggled with is seeking Honor in the wrong places; from friends, from family, from co-workers or fellow students, or from those above or below you in any given form. We, through our sin nature, often fall to seeking Honor in these ways and not seeking Honor from God by doing what He has asked of us. Furthermore, when we are seeking out false Honor, and that Honor fails us as it so often does, we are then hurt; we are hurt by that which could have been avoided and used for good. We are hurt, and are sometimes led down something called the Pit of Despair, where you feel empty and broken and weak, all from that which could have been avoided and used for good. Today’s team lesson was on Honor, and how we should forever be seeking to both Honor God, and then seek His Honor, and only His, for in the end, all other Honor will fail us: yet God never will.

     Finally, I believe today’s message to me from the Lord was a revelation of the ease of access to our connection to God through prayer, as well as the limitless extent to which prayer can be used. These two days, I have found myself praying more than ever in my life. This is not by anything from my power, but only from God’s perfect planning and purpose for me these two days. Yesterday, I participated fully in aiding the dentistry clinic that we hosted during the mission. Being simply the aid, and with little to no Spanish fluency under my belt, I had nearly no interaction with the Guatemalan people that entered the building that day, a slight 180 from what I was expecting. However, the Lord showed me that He still had purpose for me, and took me to the front of the stage in the building where we worked. There, i worked the entire time, yet I had a view of the entire mission going on. The Lord then put it on my heart, and led me to pray for the people of the mission throughout the next 5 hours. What an honor and blessing; my prayer life has been forever changed. This trip is a true blessing to be a part of. What a blessing to be able to bless.

 - Colson

Morning of Day 2

‘Whisper, whisper, whisper in my ear,

Tell me words I thought I’d never hear,

Show me, show me, show me what you see,

Illuminate what’s right in front of me.’

     This is the song that Herman gave us today, and my song for the day. This song is the believer asking the Lord to show him what He has in store, what the Lord has planned for his life, and even more so what He has in store for that very day, asking God to show him how to love and serve what is right in front of him. That is my prayer for today.

     Today I feel immeasurably blessed. I am blessed to be able to bless the people of Guatemala. I am blessed to be led by leaders of such great knowledge and wisdom and loving nature like Bill Sandman and Herman Alb. I am blessed to be part of such a great group of people to serve alongside with. I am blessed to be able to come to such a beautiful country with such strong and tenacious people. I am so blessed to be coming from such an environment of such safety and comfort that we so often overlook. I am so blessed to be loved by a God so immensely that He chose me to be a part of His eternal family; what a blessing. Today, I will look to honor that blessing and to bless others with it as well.

Colson

Romans 1:20

The Night of Day 1

     Wow, what a day. This morning, we were able to participate in going to a worship service in Antigua, the ancient capital of Guatemala. It was such a special time, and even more so for myself as I realized it was my very first communion ever, now that I am a part of Perimeter church; first ever communion in Guatemala, wow! From there, we ate a hearty lunch in top of a mountain, and a place called Fork-in-the-Rock. We toured the place after, sight-seeing the surrounding volcanoes and valleys and mountains, it was so special to be able to do that. Guatemala is simply beautiful.

     Today, after the day’s events, we were able to all sit down and listen to Dr. Alb speak to us in preparation for the week. After taking 5 pages of notes on everything he said, I began to think, and have been thinking about particularly my role in the mission here. I’ve been very caught up in performance, and how I serve in this experience. I want so deeply to love and serve the people here, but then I will get so caught up in preparation for what will go down, I will stop and often find myself finding the exact things to say to each person, or how I can best communicate to the people we interact with, or going over every possible detail about what will happen within the reconciliation groups we will lead; in summary, I’ve been spending too much of my time trying my absolute best at succeeding, relying on my own strength and knowledge to change the hearts of the people of Guatemala instead of doing my part and trusting God to reveal Himself through our actions. Shorter yet, I’ve got a trust issue;)

     After contemplating all of this, through prayer and the book of Romans, I have resolved to trust Him. I believe that it is He who does the work in the hearts of those we touch, and all we are as servants of the Lord are the hands, feet, and mouthpieces of God, laying down groundwork for God to make beautiful in the lives of these people.

I am so blessed to be a part of what is happening here on this trip to the country of Guatemala. What a world-changing experience it will be.

May God Bless You All,

Colson

Romans 8

The Night of Arrival

      We have arrived!! Wow, through the delays at the airport, the long flight (of a mere, yet weary 4 hours), and a bus ride through Mexico City that proved more tiring than expected, the team and I have finally arrived. Upon entering the complex in which we are staying for the duration of our trip, we immediately were met by the famous Dr. Alb, of which I personally have heard so much about, and have met only once before. Dr. Alb is the missions leader here in Guatemala, responsible for the partnership with his team in Guatemala and Perimeter Church (along with Bill Sandman) and let me tell you, he exudes wisdom and knowledge, yet is so jovial and kind. I cannot wait to serve alongside him. We as a team shared a quick meal of sandwiches after we unpacked, and spent the rest of the hour playing games, and settling into the complex. 

      I lay here, in my bunk-bed above my teammate Ryan writing this, and I just can’t go to sleep, I am too excited. I am excited for what God will do on this trip, how He will show up, how He will use me and my team, and how He will transform the lives of those we touch, I just know it. I have recently met with a friend and mentor of mine, who, as we were talking, discussed with me the power of the Holy Spirit within us as believers pertaining to foreign missions. He told me stories of healings and come to Jesus moments, and the different ways that God presents himself to each and every member of the missions team, and I’m so excited because I can’t help but see just that occurring on our very own trip. I really believe God will present himself to me and my fellow team members this week, and when He does, I believe that it will be so transforming and powerful to each of us here, and I cannot wait. Thank you all for the prayers, again, thank you :)

   - Colson Drake

Romans 4:7-8

The Night of Arrival

      We have arrived!! Wow, through the delays at the airport, the long flight (of a mere, yet weary 4 hours), and a bus ride through Mexico City that proved more tiring than expected, the team and I have finally arrived. Upon entering the complex in which we are staying for the duration of our trip, we immediately were met by the famous Dr. Alb, of which I personally have heard so much about, and have met only once before. Dr. Alb is the missions leader here in Guatemala, responsible for the partnership with his team in Guatemala and Perimeter Church (along with Bill Sandman) and let me tell you, he exudes wisdom and knowledge, yet is so jovial and kind. I cannot wait to serve alongside him. We as a team shared a quick meal of sandwiches after we unpacked, and spent the rest of the hour playing games, and settling into the complex. 

      I lay here, in my bunk-bed above my teammate Ryan writing this, and I just can’t go to sleep, I am too excited. I am excited for what God will do on this trip, how He will show up, how He will use me and my team, and how He will transform the lives of those we touch, I just know it. I have recently met with a friend and mentor of mine, who, as we were talking, discussed with me the power of the Holy Spirit within us as believers pertaining to foreign missions. He told me stories of healings and come to Jesus moments, and the different ways that God presents himself to each and every member of the missions team, and I’m so excited because I can’t help but see just that occurring on our very own trip. I really believe God will present himself to me and my fellow team members this week, and when He does, I believe that it will be so transforming and powerful to each of us here, and I cannot wait. Thank you all for the prayers, again, thank you :)

   - Colson Drake

Romans 4:7-8

The Night of Arrival

      We have arrived!! Wow, through the delays at the airport, the long flight (of a mere, yet weary 4 hours), and a bus ride through Mexico City that proved more tiring than expected, the team and I have finally arrived. Upon entering the complex in which we are staying for the duration of our trip, we immediately were met by the famous Dr. Alb, of which I personally have heard so much about, and have met only once before. Dr. Alb is the missions leader here in Guatemala, responsible for the partnership with his team in Guatemala and Perimeter Church (along with Bill Sandman) and let me tell you, he exudes wisdom and knowledge, yet is so jovial and kind. I cannot wait to serve alongside him. We as a team shared a quick meal of sandwiches after we unpacked, and spent the rest of the hour playing games, and settling into the complex. 

      I lay here, in my bunk-bed above my teammate Ryan writing this, and I just can’t go to sleep, I am too excited. I am excited for what God will do on this trip, how He will show up, how He will use me and my team, and how He will transform the lives of those we touch, I just know it. I have recently met with a friend and mentor of mine, who, as we were talking, discussed with me the power of the Holy Spirit within us as believers pertaining to foreign missions. He told me stories of healings and come to Jesus moments, and the different ways that God presents himself to each and every member of the missions team, and I’m so excited because I can’t help but see just that occurring on our very own trip. I really believe God will present himself to me and my fellow team members this week, and when He does, I believe that it will be so transforming and powerful to each of us here, and I cannot wait. Thank you all for the prayers, again, thank you :)

   - Colson Drake

Romans 4:7-8

The Night of Arrival

      We have arrived!! Wow, through the delays at the airport, the long flight (of a mere, yet weary 4 hours), and a bus ride through Mexico City that proved more tiring than expected, the team and I have finally arrived. Upon entering the complex in which we are staying for the duration of our trip, we immediately were met by the famous Dr. Alb, of which I personally have heard so much about, and have met only once before. Dr. Alb is the missions leader here in Guatemala, responsible for the partnership with his team in Guatemala and Perimeter Church (along with Bill Sandman) and let me tell you, he exudes wisdom and knowledge, yet is so jovial and kind. I cannot wait to serve alongside him. We as a team shared a quick meal of sandwiches after we unpacked, and spent the rest of the hour playing games, and settling into the complex. 

      I lay here, in my bunk-bed above my teammate Ryan writing this, and I just can’t go to sleep, I am too excited. I am excited for what God will do on this trip, how He will show up, how He will use me and my team, and how He will transform the lives of those we touch, I just know it. I have recently met with a friend and mentor of mine, who, as we were talking, discussed with me the power of the Holy Spirit within us as believers pertaining to foreign missions. He told me stories of healings and come to Jesus moments, and the different ways that God presents himself to each and every member of the missions team, and I’m so excited because I can’t help but see just that occurring on our very own trip. I really believe God will present himself to me and my fellow team members this week, and when He does, I believe that it will be so transforming and powerful to each of us here, and I cannot wait. Thank you all for the prayers, again, thank you :)

   - Colson Drake

Romans 4:7-8

Hello all!!

     Thank you all so much for the support, it means more to me than you can think! All of you collectively have contributed to help me raise over $2,200 so that I may go on this trip, and I cannot thank you more. Thank you for all of the prayers over the last month and the promised prayers for this next week, I have felt so loved and supported by all of you. Your generosity is so great, and I appreciate it.

     Today, I will be leaving from the Atlanta International Airport with my team to travel to Guatemala, and begin the trip. We will be providing medical and spiritual aid to the people of Guatemala in villages and churches around the country, as well as contributing to the life of the various churches we visit. Again, I thank you all for the prayers you have promised for me as I look to serve and grow throughout this missions trip. Your generosity is great, and I appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Colson Drake

Romans 8:38-39

Hello all!!

     Thank you all so much for the support, it means more to me than you can think! All of you collectively have contributed to help me raise over $2,200 so that I may go on this trip, and I cannot thank you more. Thank you for all of the prayers over the last month and the promised prayers for this next week, I have felt so loved and supported by all of you. Your generosity is so great, and I appreciate it.

     Today, I will be leaving from the Atlanta International Airport with my team to travel to Guatemala, and begin the trip. We will be providing medical and spiritual aid to the people of Guatemala in villages and churches around the country, as well as contributing to the life of the various churches we visit. Again, I thank you all for the prayers you have promised for me as I look to serve and grow throughout this missions trip. Your generosity is great, and I appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Colson Drake

Romans 8:38-39

Hello all!!

     Thank you all so much for the support, it means more to me than you can think! All of you collectively have contributed to help me raise over $2,200 so that I may go on this trip, and I cannot thank you more. Thank you for all of the prayers over the last month and the promised prayers for this next week, I have felt so loved and supported by all of you. Your generosity is so great, and I appreciate it.

     Today, I will be leaving from the Atlanta International Airport with my team to travel to Guatemala, and begin the trip. We will be providing medical and spiritual aid to the people of Guatemala in villages and churches around the country, as well as contributing to the life of the various churches we visit. Again, I thank you all for the prayers you have promised for me as I look to serve and grow throughout this missions trip. Your generosity is great, and I appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Colson Drake

Romans 8:38-39