Monkey Brains

Date: January 29-February 13, 2021

Location: Chichicastenango, Guatemala 

Ministry Host: New Generation

I want to backtrack a little in my storytelling. Rewind with me to the end of January in Chichicastenango. Teams Lightning and Storm Chasers were serving with Pastor Juan at New Generation ministry. Last I wrote about our time there, the doors of opportunities to serve outside the compound walls had just been opened. The community leaders had decided to let us serve the families in the neighborhood. We were thrilled and ready to get out there!

And then COVID hit. 

A few of our guys tested positive, so both of our teams had to quarantine for 10 days. There we were, ready to rock and roll for the gospel, yet trapped inside the walls once again. What was God doing? 

We had spent the last month laying the foundation of prayer and relationships quite literally in blood, sweat, and tears. I couldn’t even tell you how many pounds of concrete we mixed and poured, crooked nails we hammered, weeds we cleared, roots we dug up, bricks we painted, or plaster we smeared. Wasn’t it time to see some of the fruit of that labor? 

Apparently not. 

We had another 10 days before us of physical work locked inside the compound with 16 other people. It was challenging. We all got a little stir crazy at times. However, we kept our chins up and got the work done. It turned out to be a sweet time of seeing a Christ-centered community in action. 

One day, we were in a particularly goofy mood while working. When some of my squad-mates started jumping in the concrete mixing pile, Pastor Juan asked me what we had been eating. With a shrug and a smile, he then said, “Maybe it’s monkey brains!” (Beware of the monkey brains, folks. You never know what they’ll make you do!)

We found joy in the midst of disappointment. We encouraged and prayed for each other when we felt down or weak. We brought laughter to the workplace while we were dripping sweat and coated in concrete powder. We practiced soccer and worked out with cinder blocks. We shared stories around campfires late into the night. We prayed over New Generation and Pastor Juan’s family. We even had our own Super Bowl party!

We worshipped our way through that quarantine.

And you know what, I’m willing to bet that time of intentional prayer and physical labor made more of a difference than if we had been released into the community. As we machete chopped weeds and cleared the ground for a garden plot or poured concrete and plastered walls in the ministry rooms, God was at work. He knew the exact order in which things needed to be accomplished. 

Sure, we wanted to see the fruit. It would’ve been rewarding and exciting to go to families’ homes, speak with them, pray with them, and provide for them. I wish I could send you pictures of people who came to know the Lord while we were there. Instead, we prayed over and prepared the ground and walls where future missionaries will get to serve the community in person. There isn’t a lot of glory in our sweaty, dirty work. Still, I fully believe we brought glory to God through that time. 

We might’ve gone a little monkey brain crazy, but the quarantine was worth it! 

Stay tuned for the accompanying video coming soon to any screen near you!