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Guatemala
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GUATEMALA
MISSION
TRIP REPORT – OCTOBER 3-10, 2009
(SEE PHOTOS BELOW)
On Saturday, October 3, 2009, eleven
of us left Winter Haven, Florida, and flew into Guatemala City where we
met Steve Otto
of Iglesea del Camino, who took us to Antigua, the city where we would
be
based.
Our goals were to build one house, work at a
malnutrition center where they feed and house starving children, do
backyard
Bible Clubs for Kids, and to put a ceramic tile floor in the federal
police
chapel. The chapel was in Antigua. All the other
projects were in outlying
poor areas of Guatemala.
On Sunday, we worshiped with Iglesea del Camino,
where services are in English and Spanish. On Monday, we
headed for the town
of Pastores and loaded up the material we needed to build the house and
went to
the home site. Another group had dug and poured the perimeter
footer
(foundation). All eleven of us went to the job site and worked on the
house. There
were eight men and three ladies. All of the
materials had to be carried several
hundred feet up a mountain, but the pathway was not very
steep. We were able
to finish the entire house that day, except for pouring the cement
floor. It
was a metal, insulated structure with a skylight, two windows, and a
front
door. It was 18 feet by 15 feet,
divided into two 9x15 rooms...a
mansion compared to the structure they had had and to
the
shelters of the neighbors. Such a house costs approximately
$2,000 in materials. We had a brief dedication
service with the family and gave them the keys to the door.
For the next three days: one team went to the malnutrition
center in the mornings and did backyard Bible Clubs in the
afternoon while
the other team tiled the police chapel and painted its interior.
The malnutrition center is owned by the
Lions Club of Guatemala City and it was designed to house about 200
starving
children. However, because of finances, they now house
only about 35-40 children.
Since we were down there last year, the Florida Baptist Children’s Home
has
gotten involved with this center and sent several teams down to work in
the center.
Last year they were almost out of food and we bought for them
about a three weeks supply. On this trip a substantial amount
of money was given
to them by our team to buy the needed food. Also, several
bags of children’s
clothes
were given to them that we had brought with us. Our
primary
job of our team at the center was to feed the babies
and entertain the older kids. The oldest boy was 11
years
old. The center has very few workers and they have little or
no
time to play with the kids. In those three days our
team created many smiles and much joyous laughter.
When we arrived at the center to go to work we were amazed in
the
morning to see how the
children helped each other dress
and comb each other's hair...and when a worker set a
child on
a bed, the child remained there until the worker removed
him. The center has a large indoor play area and a
small
outdoor area.
Primarily through the efforts of the workers sent by
the Florida Baptist
Children’s Home (mentioned above), the facility now is much nicer and
brighter inside. The
laundry and kitchen areas had been improved and had
received additional equipment; however, the
government had
reduced some of the center's funding. We had bought
a large amount
of food and formula and we gave them money for
more. Sadly, some of the starving
children brought to the center do not survive; and
due to lack of resources,
many needy children never have the opportunity to live at the
center. Starving children are a serious
problem in Guatemala and
elsewhere in many parts of the world. Americans must
ask
ourselves, "Are we doing as much as we could do...should.do?"
The
obvious answer is “No.”
The afternoon backyard Bible Clubs functioned like a
short Vacation Bible School; we held one in three
different
neighborhoods. The first had about 48 kids. The
second had
about 35 kids. And the third and final one had over
200 kids
along with more than 75
mothers attending. Everyone
heard a clear presentation of the
Gospel.
During my visit last year I "proved that I could climb the
active volcano" near the town; it was the most tiring thing that I have
ever done. This
year, however, there was no good reason "to prove that I could (not) do
it a second time". My work there was enough,
and much
easier.
On Wednesday we received word that a family’s house
had been buried by a mudslide.
We decided to skip our day of sightseeing to begin
construction on a new house for the family. We did not have
time
to build the house itself, but we accomplished the hard part
of mud and debris removal and demolition
necessary to begin building a new house. Moreover, we dug back well
into the mountain hopefully to
prevent more damage by future slides. The area is so
mountainous that most
families have no choice but to build on the side of a steep
mountain. In the
rainy season, then, it is not unusual for part of a mountain to let go
and bury
a house. In rare cases whole villages have
been buried.
One evening Elsie (see photo below) came to
our small hotel attended by her grandmother; they had seen us build the
first house.
They informed us that Elsie’s father had abandoned the family
and that the mother had
died
and that they needed a house. They wanted to know if
we
would build them a
house. Time did not permit us to
check their
situation to determine
their need, but we received promise of the local missionary to
do
it for us. Were they needy and deserving of
a newly
built house? My guess is that
they are needy and deserving.
Mission trips like this one help a lot of needy
people, but these trips also help the folks who go. We receive
a
better on the spot perspective of the needy people, but also a clearer
perspective of what is truly important in our own
lives. Few
Americans have a proper
appreciation
for what we have. We fail to recognize our riches as we
compare
ourselves to people that are richer. Going on a good
international mission trip will surely change your perspective on life.
ENJOY THE
PHOTOS BELOW
Surrounded by volcanoes, some active.
Many
forms of transportation including men, women, and horses.
The local market.
The local public laundry.
Coming
home with the laundry.
To first home site,
carrying all materials up the mountain.
Up steps to the old house and to the new home
site.
Some of family's
children in their present home.
Another view of existing home. Typical
of neighborhood. New
steel frame house in
construction, 18’x15’, two rooms.
Finished: two windows, skylight, lockable
front door. Presenting
the key to the wife
in her new home.
3 afternoon Kids Clubs in 3 villages. Day 1 = 48, day 2 = 35,
day 3 = 200 kids and 75 moms.
3 mornings at the malnutrition center. Getting dressed now.
These kids were all starving
when brought into center.
See how they help each other. They really seemed to enjoy
each other and played together so well.
Lots of babies. most much older than you would guess.
My new
friends.
Snack time was fun. They had fruit.
When you go you can do this, too.
Lunch time, everyone knows his
place. Four men installed new ceramic
tile / painted interior in Federal Police
Chapel.
Building site of a second home. Looking
up at the mudslide on mountain side...the
only place they have to build.
Clearing out the mudslide and readying the site for a new
house, which another mission group finished after we left.
Owner of new house.
Elsie
requested one for her
family. Hope someone will build it soon.
Typical cook stove in villages. Yes,
Guatemala has ice cream, but does not taste as
good knowing many kids are starving.
Should we have the right to eat three meals a day
as kids in the world are starving? Something to think and pray
about.
THE END.
If
you can go - go! If you can't go, help someone else
to go.
Sincerely,
Jim
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