COVER STORY
GUIDING YOUNG PEOPLE TO GOD IN GUATEMALA Azaria Spencer, a mission partner working with street-connected children and young people, reflects on her first three years.
I
’m frequently asked, “What do you enjoy most about your work?” The answer is always the same: relationships with the people I serve and seeing their lives transformed.
LETTING GO OF DOING Often we focus on numbers but some impact cannot be counted. Relationship and transformation are not easily measurable, but they are what God is all about and are what
he has been doing in me and through me in Guatemala. When I arrived in Guatemala I had all kinds of expectations of what I might “do” or “achieve”. Even when I tried, it was hard to surrender my desire to “do”. However, it is through that surrender that God can work more holistically. Through working alongside Street Kids Direct (SKD) I was led to working closely with a group of teenage boys. In a moment of searching and questioning, a close friend said to me, “Azaria, the love you have for the youth comes from God. Why else would a lady from Yorkshire love a bunch of Guatemalan youth so much?”
FROM FOOTBALL TO FAITH Retrospectively I can see how God led me to work with them. It began through facilitating a weekly football outing, which even as I type 10
seems utterly ridiculous to me. I don’t particularly like football and I certainly cannot play, but they love it and with my limited Spanish back then it was a great way to spend time with them, to build trust and show love. Through consistency and relationship, and as my Spanish improved, we started a weekly “family time” activity consisting of food, films and fun. This then grew into short Bible studies and eventually into more one-onone mentoring-type sessions, fulfilling a sisterly or even motherly role in their lives. This has led to the absolute privilege of seeing these young men grow and transform.
MUCH LOVED, SLOW TO ANGER Take Danilo, for example, when I first met him as a somewhat stroppy 13-year-old. He was intent on making everyone’s lives difficult. Over time he softened and began to share more of his
THE C A LL – S UM M E R 2 0 2 1
Top left: Fun at football – building foundations for relationship
Middle: Danilo (right) has gone from stroppy teenager to vital volunteer Top right: Maria recently wrote of her new-found confidence in a letter to her sponsor
