Hablas Español?

I took Spanish classes throughout all of middle and high school. I had amazing teachers that provided me with all the necessary time, investment, and tools to learn the language (shoutout to Ms. Manwaring!). However, I didn’t comprehensively learn. Having everything laid out before me, it was MY job to take hold of that provision: by practicing, implementing, and completing the learning process with action.

I’m afraid I did the same thing for years with my faith. My parents, teachers, small group leaders, and church camps equipped me to have an unshakeable faith. I went through the motions; I learned the verses; I believed and had all the necessary tools. BUT I lacked relationship. Learning the heart of God is a lot like learning a language- it takes willingness, full surrender, AND personal ownership to walk into the fullness of God and His plans for my life.

My last 5 years have consisted of a lot of missions. I have grown tremendously in my walk with God and have seen that His plans and timing surpass any that I could’ve created for myself. As I mentioned in my last blog, I came home abruptly from the World Race exactly a year ago from a year-long route projected for Asia and Africa. This time around has landed me in Central America.

My last two months in Guatemala were incredibly sweet. My team and I were just outside of San Lucas in a community named Mixco, a dynamic juxtaposition of RICH rich, and POOR poor. Sports cars soared down the mountain roads, passing jam-packed slums in their wake. We had the privilege of partnership with Alex Garcia, a pastor with a heart for the cast aside from the church. His life calling is to create community that looks like the early Biblical church, heading into the communities and sitting alongside the people: sharing meals, holding babies, hugging widows, and fiercely praying for all he comes in contact with. Alex started CASA GUATEMALA, a church and ministry, from his own living room, inviting the unchurched in. With Alex and his family, we trekked between houses with hand-packed boxes of fortified rice and prayed bold prayers over people. What I realized while watching Alex’s love backed by his action is that there’s no time to waste in the Kingdom of Heaven. God is on the move, and He wants us involved.

In Matthew 10 and Luke 9, Jesus sends out His disciples to proclaim and exhort the Kingdom of Heaven. He actually commands them to heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the hungry, and cast out evil. He gave His disciples the same power, authority, and capability through the Holy Spirit to do the things that they had already watched him demonstrate. I’ve been watching the love and power of Jesus for quite a while through people like Alex. As long as I’m sitting in the classroom with all the tools and none of the action, it will be really hard to watch Kingdom come. I am stepping into full surrender, to be His hands and feet on earth as it is in heaven.

Exciting news from Guatemala:
-I learned to speak Spanish (WILD!) and even tried my luck at translating.
-I watched seven people from Alex’s church get baptized.
-I tried a LOT of Guatemalan coffee.
-I watched two active volcanoes erupt in front of me & hiked one of them. 
-Our ministry partners became like family, and I’m missing them already!

We have just started our ministry in Jacó, Costa Rica with Ocean’s Edge ministry and plan to be here about two months. Jacó is a popular tourist and surfing town, but there is a lot of darkness here and a tremendous need for light and love.

Most exciting news of all:
I had planned to “finish” my original race and return to the U.S. at the end of July. But after much prayer and consideration, I have decided to finish THIS race and will remain on the field through the end of November. God is moving, and I want to be ALL IN. I am so grateful for every prayer and every bit of financial support that I have received. If you would like to continue to partner with me, you can follow my journey or donate at https://jennawatry.theworldrace.org/. Due to the impact of the pandemic, I don’t know where God will be sending our team next, but I will keep you updated as we go along.

Prayers for:
– Fundraising provision for the rest of my time on the field: I need $5,320 to stay on the field through the end of November.
– The community of Mixco, Guatemala: that the church plant would continue to flourish, and that the hearts of the people living there would know how wide, deep, and vast God’s love for them is.
– The community of Jacó, Costa Rica: that the people coming and going through this city would open their hearts to the road less traveled by- the fullness of a life with Christ!

Psalm 27:4
“The one thing I ask from the Lord- the thing I seek most- is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His temple.”