Guat Sounds Ugly in Spanish

Hey! Sorry I haven’t written this week. I’ve been in San Jose with my entire squad at our debrief, which is really all about resting so I decided to take a break from blogging. I am now in Guatemala and about to start my new ministry, but before I get into what I’ll be up to for the next two months, I want to tell you a little bit about debrief. 

Like I already said, debriefs are all about rest. It’s a time we have to take a break from ministry and protect us from experiencing burn out. Usually our mentor and coaches fly out to meet us on the field to help us process what we’ve already experienced as well as usher us into the next month or two. 

The schedule consists of worship, sessions (during which leadership teaches us whatever the Lord has put on their heart), team debriefs (when we get together as a team with leadership to talk about what went well, what we might want to do better and goals as a team moving forward), breakouts (when leaders teach about certain topics and we get to choose which we want to go to) one-on-ones (a time to talk to leadership about anything you need or want to),  and lots of free time to rest in whatever way you need to. 

This specific debrief I spent a lot of time at a board game cafe we found here in San Jose. We went so may days in a row they ended up gifting us with a Costa Rican card game! They had so many games! From pandemic to throw throw burrito, I had a lot of fun hanging out with my squad mates just playing games together. We stayed at a hostel that was within walking distance of lots of things to do (like the board game cafe, yummy restaurants and Starbucks! Thanks God 🙂

We also had a day of “team wars” since we didn’t get to do squad wars at training camp this year. Normally we would compete in different challenges with the other squads, but because of covid we had to keep our distance from the other squads. Instead, we played different minute to win it games at our hostel and it was a ton of fun!! We got to bond with our team and the rest of the squad and just let go of any stress and relax for a bit. 

The slow mornings of debrief are probably my favorite thing. I don’t need to set my alarm, and there’s no rush to have quiet time before the business of the day sets in. This debrief was a time for me to re-commit to seeking intimacy with the Father and getting back into the habit of prioritizing quiet times in the Word. If I’m being honest, that was a struggle for me in Jacó, so it was really nice for me to have so much time to be able to choose that. 

Now on to the next couple of months… My team and I (along with one other team from the squad) will be going to Chichicastenango to partner with an organization called New Generations Centroamerica. The ministry will consistent of a few different things. From soccer with kids, to evangelism with the police we will get to experience many ministry opportunities. Of course, things are likely to change when we get there so we really don’t know too much yet. 

We are currently with the AIM base in Antigua getting an orientation and will be leaving soon to head to Chichi! We have been told that our host, Juan, is very well known in the community we are going to and everyone respects him. I’m really excited to partner with all that God is doing here in Guaté, and can’t wait to share more with you about all the ministry things. 

Blessings, 

Kaci