Guatemala Short-term Missions trip

Day 7

Today was our last full day in Guatemala. Bethel Ministries International, our in-country partner, plans for the last day of the trip to be a cultural experience. In our team’s case, this meant visiting the city of Antigua. 

The site of Antigua was used as a Spanish city as early as the 1540s. For many years, it was the capital of the Spanish empire in the Americas. Today it is a haven for tourists from all over the world. But, even though you can find a McDonalds and a TacoBell and Starbucks in town, much of the ancient architecture remains. There are churches and fountains dating back to the 1700s. The streets are all paved with cobblestone. Color and design and art all call out for attention as you wander the streets. Our team thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to experience a little taste of what has taken place in Guatemala over the centuries.

Today was also a day of goodbyes. Today we had our last meal where we were all together with our Bethel partners. And then, slowly, in ones and twos, we have had to say goodbye to them. There will be a few more goodbyes tomorrow morning when we get back on the plane to the US. But many on the team are already talking about coming back to Guatemala, and a large part of that draw are our brothers and sisters in Christ who work with Bethel. We came to Guatemala to serve Guatemalans, and by God’s grace we were able to do that. Unexpectedly for many of us, we also became fast friends with those we were serving alongside.

Grace Community Church has done an excellent job over the years of supporting the missionary work in Guatemala. The money that the church has spent has directly translated into the sharing of the gospel in both word and deed. The guarantee that our support is well used is wrapped up in the people that we work with. Not all mission agencies are the same. And not all missionaries are the same. But the men and women at Bethel are truly servants of the King of Kings. When you give money to support Grace teams and Bethel work, we can say from first hand experience that you are advancing the Kingdom of God. Praise the Lord that He has called such faithful stewards to His work in Guatemala. Praise Him that our church has been able to partner with loving servants of the Lord!