I am yours, you are mine. That is what our Father says about his children. I know that I am his. I believe and know he is mine. Reflecting on the people of Guatemala, I saw how God was a true Father figure in all of their lives. He loves them just as much as he loves the people of the United States, he loves them just as much as the people in South Africa. This love surpasses cultures, it surpasses language, it surpasses thousands of miles of ocean. His Love is worldwide to every tribe and tongue. What a God we all have. He’s as simple as John 3:16. 

So what did Zach do in Guatemala? A question I’m still trying to figure out myself. We can start with who I worked with. The organization we worked with was called One-Way. The name is very self-explanatory. They focus on the ONE way, the ONE truth, and the ONE life of Jesus Christ. This name carries over into how these young men and women of God serve in the villages of Guatemala. By truly living out the gospel of service, hospitality, and true sacrificial love. We worked mostly with kids and families across three main towns in the country. We were blessed to partner with One-Way in giving away thousands of pounds of food to probably over a thousand different families. We also led many group times with lots and lots of kids. In the States, this is something we would call VBS. Another ministry we did was home visits accompanied by prayer and the sharing of testimonies. These were some of my favorite things to do as we got to cross cultures and encourage one another with the love and power of the Lord. It was truly a blessing to just sit and soak in the stories. Of course, I wish I could share all of them, but just as the whole world couldn’t fit the books there would be of everything Jesus did, this whole blog couldn’t fit all that occurred in our trip to Central America.

We also had lots of free time between our ministry times. This time consisted of attempting to taste-test every coffee shop in Antigua. Maybe it looked like getting to explore the ancient Mayan culture to understand the people better. Or maybe it looked like us gringos trying to talk to every local we could to practice our Spanish and share the love of Jesus. This also leads me to talk about the relationships that were formed on this trip. Our ministry hosts (One-Way) were all about the same age as we were. This made our relationships with each other form very quickly and made our time in ministry ten times as much fun. By getting to have a close-knit relationship with them, we were much more effective in the work we did. They also had gone through a bad experience in their past time working with young men from the States, so they were very nervous to bring us in. But by the end of our time with them, they told us that we restored their vision of who young Christian men were from the US. As for One-Way, they will host at least two more Gap Year teams in the next year, as well as begin to create a physical church in the main town they work in. Some of them also wanted me to personally come back one day, and maybe that comes to pass. In conclusion, we understood that a family was created. A family in the beautiful country of Guatemala that we could always come back to. 

Now looking forward, I realize I cannot wait to speak with those that got to partner with me in this journey that are back home in the States. Or those that have been a part of my life throughout this journey. Or even those that said the smallest prayer for me. I thank you. I thank you and I want you to know that nothing you have done for God goes in vain. If there’s one thing I’ve learned on this trip it's that every little thing we do sets us up for what our future and eternity will look like. Especially when God goes first through it. I wish I could tell you all of the more detailed things God has done and is doing. But one day soon I know we will have the time to. Please continue to pray for me and our team as we continue on in perseverance.

So where are we now? As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in one of the houses we are staying at here in Jeffry’s Bay, South Africa. We’ve been here about two weeks now and have started our different ministries. There’s a lot to talk about, but that would require a separate blog ;) Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. Please don't hesitate to reach out. Talk to you very soon.

-Through Jesus, Zach Flowers