Guatemala Day 3 "Kitchen Duty" by Bekah Sipe

Hey everyone this is Bekah Sipe!

It’s our third day here in Guatemala and so far the trip has been so amazing for me. The day started off with breakfast, and after working one full day on the construction of the elderly home I was expecting pretty much the same thing today; however, today I was needed in another place that was a little more familiar to me… the kitchen.

Kelli and I volunteered to skip out on the construction (a great sacrifice) to help cook lunch for the rest of the group. Before we got to cooking we rode with Pastor Eric to his home to pick up his wife and six children, they’re all really unique and great kids. Kelli and I got to see a glimpse of every day life for his family which was sort of humbling for me without anything needed to be said. We all piled into the van and made a quick stop at the supermarket before heading to the office to start the cooking.

When it was time to get to work we were both really surprised that the woman we were helping in the kitchen couldn’t speak any English. She had to show us how to shave the carrots with knives and cut the cilantro into little pieces without speaking, but we caught on pretty well. Apart from just the language barrier, this experience was different for both of us because we had never ever seen things done in a kitchen the way we were taught today. We used a tiny little grill, not like our grills back home obviously, to cook tomatoes, steak, onions, and sausage all at once. Neither of us really knew what we were doing honestly, but everyone said the meal was sabroso (delicious) so I guess we did alright.

In the evening, we visited a church to present our dramas. The people of the church were so hospitable, providing dinner for us and treating us with such esteem. It reminded me of something Jared had mentioned during devotions the night before about how the people here don’t bother with what we’ve done or how we’ve messed up but rather love us simply for being with them and being their family in Christ. The sermon that Pastor Eric preached was really powerful, he talked to us about having patience in our walks with God and also to not take our liberties for granted because serving God is a real honor. One of the best parts about the sermon tonight was that I could actually understand most of what he was saying and could watch the audience respond to what he was saying. These people love God just like we do and it was really cool to see the way they respect one another, their pastors, and God. It was one of the best experiences for me so far.

Bekah