SchrockTribe: Welcome to the Jungle!!!!!!!!!!

Last week I had the experience of a lifetime.

I was able to go to a village near Coban, Guatemala with Chus (Hermano Jesus), Pablo, Isidrio, and Imigdio (all four are pastors). We went to the aldea (village) Nuevo Porvenir to visit with some of the pastors that will be coming to the mission base for the Timateo (Timothy Lay leadership training) Seminario. We also were to help host three church services for the two villages that were close by (picture OC and Alton…and you have Nuevo Porvenir and La Promisea).

Our 6 passenger plane we flew in to Coban

The four days and three nights were a rush. Why? At first I was told we would be staying in Coban in a hotel and it might be cold. Nope. We stayed in the village. Ate their food, slept in their houses, bathed in their “bathroom” (I basically did the Ice Bucket Challenge every time I showered. Plastic walls and a 5 gallon bucket of rain water). Besides this…it.was.hot!

Some of the views we saw on our flight

Walking through the jungle at night with only a flashlight, being the first and only North American to visit the village, and knowing very minimal Spanish brought together a cool experience. What really made it sparkle for me was this: The discipleship with the pastors that were preparing to make the 5-hour trek by bus to Chimaltenango to study was amazing.

We flew there on Wednesday the 27^th (took 36 minutes) and rode in a 23-passenger shuttle on Saturday (5 hour drive through the country side).

The village felt very much like a Coastal Village (even though it was in the central part of the country), which means, coconut trees, pineapples, HOT weather, and non-traditional attire (usually).

walking in Coban to the bus stop. We took a bus 22 kilometers to the village

The idea and dream that makes this a really cool trip is this: This village only gets it water from the rain. Non-rainy season means a 2-hour truck ride to a river that has “good water”. There is no electricity in the village as well. So here it is: What would it look like to come back there with a team for a medical clinic (2 of them as the village is 120 families) and bring water filters? There are pastors already in the village, many of which are going through Timateo, to help with the follow up/discipleship, they are all sick and in need of meds. Oh my mind is spinning (in a way good) of how the second part of PBM, the Timateo side, can be greater connected to the side of the house building and medical clinics with the teams. We can get both the evangelistic side and the discipleship side meshed together beautifully. Much planning and research needs to be done before this can be a reality.

baby Pineapple

The friendships, the memories, and the sights will be burnt in my mind for a long time. Teaching Hermano Jesus how to sing “I Love You Lord” and then both of us doing a duet in two languages. Seeing multiple people slain in the Spirit the third night of church services (with each service lasting about 3 to 4 hours), eating food that was amazing….and one thing that I have no clue what it was! Discovering new fruits and vegetables. Seeing Gum trees for the first time. Doing the Ice Bucket Challenge in the river Dolores (and trying to explain what I was doing to the Guatemalans who do that every day for their bath, was entertaining)….sorry video will not be posted due to various reasons.

All in all, I felt like I was able to glimpse…truly glimpse at how God is working in the lives of many, in other parts of the world. Even in the jungles of Guatemala, OUR GOD IS NOT DEAD!!!!!