Progress Report

“My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”

— John Newton

24 September 2025

Progress Report

We are well into the 2025-26 school year over here in Xela. Progress reports for the first quarter were just sent home and I figured it was well beyond time to send a little update myself.

My 8th school year has really been off to a fantastic start! This year I am teaching various social studies classes for grades 9-12. After school I am teaching a model UN classes and running a cross country club (ha “running” an XC club… ah yeah ok I know it was dumb). We just recently celebrated Guatemalan Independence day and that always means it’s party around here! This year I was invited by my new landlord to her family cookout to celebrate. It was such a great experience and I really had a much needed opportunity to practice my Spanish! Thank you Chiqui for letting me into the family for the day! Guatemalan Independence Day also means fair season. This year a group of my students invited me to join them at the fair and I really had such a great time! Did I take Dramamine prior to getting there in an attempt to mitigate my motion sickness from the rides? Yes, I absolutely did! Did it work? I’m not so sure, but I still rode everything that I could! This included the “Gravitron” which is the type of ride that spins so fast you stick to the side of the wall. I have never ridden anything like that and while it did not make me feel great, it was so fun! I am thankful for the experiences that I have been able to share with students so far this year and I am looking forward to many more.

Hang in there & Vive sin miedo,

— Mackell Phillips

Most of our group at the fair.

The spray snow always makes an appearance at the fair… This stuff actually kind burns your skin and it’s probably not super healthy, but hey when at the fair…

First ride of the day was The “Zipper”

My new apartment this year has been such a blessing!

I have access to an shared outdoor space where I was able to invite over the current senior class for a beginning of the school year senior cookout.

Thankful for this opportunity and this group of students.

I have been blessed with another great opportunity recently, to join a weekly men’s group via Zoom from Strategic Renewal
I am incredibly thankful for the leaders in this group that bring wisdom to share each week and I will greatly miss it when it’s over.

I found a run club to join and it has been a great way for me to meet new people and to continue practicing my Spanish (I desperately need so much more practice!!)

Some run club friends

Our first serve day of the year as a school was a great success.

I began volunteering in youth group every Friday at my church and it has been a privilege to serve here. I am excited to see what the future brings for me at church here.

Latest from the blog

Tue, Jun 03

To the Class of 2025

You’ve made it this far!! But this is only the beginning!

You’re all entering a brand new part of life! New stages of life are simultaneously sad and exciting and terrifying! You have likely already

Prayer Requests

Continued financial provision
A miraculously fast healing ankle
Wisdom in leading students throughout the year
Daily energy in the pursuit of holiness
The patience to wait a listen for God’s direction and timing
To be used by God for His glory and not mine

Praises

Free pool access to add into my training
Having a car has still been such a huge blessing
Current donors
Really beginning to make good connections in a local church

Support

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Thank You!

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What I’m reading right now…

If God is Good —

“Every one of us will experience suffering. You may be in such a time now. We see the presence of evil in the headlines every day.

It all raises questions about God—Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? How can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

Atheists such as Richard Dawkins and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

But in this illuminating book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, hopeful, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world—now and forever. And he shows the beauty of God’s sovereignty—how it ultimately triumphs over suffering and evil in our lives and the world around us.”

The road to 1000mi (1609.34km)

Well… I was making good progress. Closing in on the goal and getting close to not being behind anymore annndddd… then I got too close to the side of the road the other day on a rainy muddy tempo run and unfortunately rolled my ankle. I have not ran in six days. That has me dipping back below where I should be at the moment. I am still not giving up!! I have been a model patient with my ankle! I’ve completed all the steps in RICE and I’ve stayed off of it as much as possible. I did find out through a friend that I have free access to a local public pool and that has been so good!! For the time being I’ve exchange my running for swimming in order to maintain my cardio fitness without the impact on my still swollen/bruised ankle. I was signed up to run a half marathon here in town on October 12 and I am hoping that I will still be able to manage it. The good news is that I don’t think my ankle is as bad as I originally thought and I hope to wrap it tight and attempt a slow short run soon! In the meantime I’ll enjoy my 1000m swims in the pool.

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