to me, it fully embodies the beauty, the love, and the patience of the guatemalan people.
yesterday in chimaltenango, i met a dear friend, julio. julio knew jesus but because of his eyesight he wasn't able to read the bible for himself, so much so that he didn't even own one. struggling to find a store that sold audio bibles, we returned back to julio with a written spanish bible in hand. when my friend sofia handed him the bible, his face lit up with the most pure joy i have ever seen. grinning ear to ear, he began kissing the bible and thanking us. my friend kennedy and i took turns reading chapters of john to him in spanish, watching as the holy spirit encountered his heart in radical ways. his face was radiant and his hope was inspiring. as we sat on the street and read, he shielded the sun with his hat, listening intently to every word even as we stumbled over our small spanish vocabulary. i have found this very thing to be true in every person i've encountered. their grace and kindness run so deeply, they sit patiently as we type our next thoughts into google translate, they value relationships highly, and they are a people that shine the light of jesus so brightly. god is moving in guatemala and i am so grateful to be partnering with him in it!
