God the Healer

The other day my team was talking about the different ways we know God. If the Lord has miraculously provided for you – you probably know Him as God the Provider. If the Lord has been a father figure to you – you probably know Him as God the Father. If the Lord has healed you – you probably know Him as God the Healer. If the Lord has guided you – you probably know Him as God the Shepherd. 

Healing at Training Camp

I have pretty much been sick since starting training camp, nothing super severe just the forbidden sickness (ya know), the possible parasite, food illnesses, migraines, and honestly the list could go on and on. The first sickness I embarked on was a sore throat and not like any sore throat, it was painful to swallow – I was eating straight up honey every 3 minutes to sooth my throat. We are in our squad meeting point and we are asking the Lord for words for each other and praying for one another, Victoria knows about my throat and comes over and ask to pray for me, she physically grabs my throat she prays and I take a sip of water and I am healed. This is what I imagine the scene looked like. (Gif’s aren’t working on here right now so if you are curious google “happy gilmore choking caddy scene”)

Healing on the Chicken Bus 

I honestly can not tell you a specific moment this happened because it was prayed for over a course of like 3 weeks. 

For the last several years I have had really bad car anxiety – this is all stems from my brothers car accident. I hated going anywhere if I wasn’t driving. There are a few people who I could ride with and be okay-ish, but for the most part I insisted on driving. I knew this would be a huge struggle on the Race because I would either have to walk everywhere or just be sick every time I sat in a vehicle with someone else in the drivers seat. I pack in a van with like 14 other people at the hotel in Atlanta – I take a Dramamine so I can sleep and not think about it. I don’t sleep and this is the first instance of anxiety on the Race. The following week we are told a nice couple offered their house to us for the night because our tents are flooded – I can’t find my Dramamine and so I am freaking out HAHA I would rather WALK. It is dark outside and we have quite literally everything we own with us, we pack on the bus and we drive around aimlessly and come back to the base and I had chewed off all my fingernails and the inside of my cheek is bleeding. A few days later we get in a van – I choose wisely the driver, someone I trust (funny because I didn’t know any of these people – to go evangelize in town. I put some oils on and I sit near the front so hopefully it is better – SIKE. I get off the and my knees are quivering. I finally find my Dramamine right before getting on the van to leave for the airport – but I can not take it because I am one of the three girls who have to make sure we are all there and are situated. I get out at the airport and was happy that was the last ride for a while. 

Transportation is so much worse everywhere else apparently. Chicken busses are just school busses and they drive super fast on mountain roads and you feel like you’re going to flip off the side of the mountain – not to mention it is always max capacity plus some. There is also a van that you will see that drives even faster and their mission is to get you to your destination as fast as they can whether you are dead or alive. Motorcycles are a very common form of transportation here and so that adds to the excitement of the chaos on the road. This was the perfect combination for disaster in my mind. I did not want to get in ANY of these things, but I had to and I still have to. 

These first few days in Guatemala – my knuckles would turn white from holding on to the seat so tight, the inside of my cheeks would be bleeding, and my stomach was turned upside down. I wanted so bad to just sit and not worry about all the what if’s that could happen. Victoria and Maggie both prayed numerous times for healing over this. I go to town by myself a few days later, and I return. My body wasn’t tense, I still had my fingernails, and my cheek wasn’t raw. I realized I didn’t think twice about getting on the bus, I got off and wasn’t sick, I returned and once again knew the Lord as Healer. 

We are finishing up our last few days of ministry and this next week we are presenting ”Who is Jesus?” to the two communities we visit. We get to go in more depth about the birth, life, death, and return of Jesus. I am expectant of leaving these kids with a hope that is eternal.

Our time in Guatemala is coming to an end – I leave and go back to Antigua in 12 days. Our ENTIRE squad will be together for a few weeks before flying to Romania. There are still some squad mates who are not fully funded – if you want to partner with them let me know! If you would like to donate towards winter clothes for Romania — you can Venmo me @alyssanphllps and as always if you want to bless my team (or squad) with a coffee or snack you can also Venmo me!

Love well,

Aly, Eli, and Alison (my Guatemalan names)