Guatemala Mission Trip Day 6

For our final day in Guatemala, HopeChest emerged us into the Guatemalan culture to learn about the historical background and beautiful aspects of the country. 

Our day began by departing Tecpan and heading to Antigua. Antigua is a small city surrounded by volcanoes in southern Guatemala, renowned for its Spanish colonial buildings. Many of the buildings have been restored, but some have been left in ruins following a 1773 earthquake that ended Antigua’s 200-year reign as Guatemala’s colonial capital. 

Our first historical piece of architecture that we visited was “The Hill of the Cross,” or “Cerro de la Cruz.” It’s a large concrete cross that was built in the 1930s mounted on a hill overlooking the city, with a view of “Volcan Agua,” or the “Water Volcano.” Each of the 37 volcanoes in Guatemala has a specific name and a specific purpose for the country’s agriculture. 

One of the uses is for harvesting coffee, utilizing the rich volcanic soil. 

Our second stop was at the historic Antigua coffee plantation. We learned the ways that God has used these erupting mountains to create a moist, special soil to create a unique blend of coffee. 

While there are many struggles in Guatemala, it is impressive to see the ways that God has provided a mean of finance through many coffee plantations and opportunity for agriculture. Our guide was filled with passion and gratefulness for the soil and coffee plants the plantation has been able to grow and produce over the years. 

But the perhaps main reason we headed to Antigua was to experience the city’s historic shops and meals that were offered around the ruins that still stand. We had the opportunity to emerge ourselves with the members of the community and learn more about God’s children here. 

It was a great end to our trip as we had the opportunity to explore more of God’s creation. Another day and experience that put our lives in perspective. 

As we head home tomorrow from this wonderful week, we have reflected on all that God has done to open our eyes and work in our hearts. This was a trip that happened to work out because of the Lord’s will in a very last minute manner. We are extremely grateful that the timing, resources, and partnership with HopeChest came together and worked out accordingly to God’s will for us to visit this beautiful country. 

These children will forever be printed on our hearts and we are so excited that our churches will have the opportunity to partner with these care points for the next five years. We feel so blessed that God has called our churches to be the footprint in these communities. 

We ask for continuous prayer for these people once we return. But before we go, we would like to share some of our thoughts from this week.

Highlights of our trip:

• “I’m thankful that God provided me the opportunity to share Jesus with the children of Ambi.” - Bill Muehlman 
• “My highlight was seeing the relief and thankfulness from the directors of AMBI in knowing that our churches have partnered with them. Hearing their hearts for the children and vision to change the community around them was truly inspiring.“ - Brandon Boos
• “I’m thankful for the opportunity to show the love of Christ through relationships with the kids. Their joy in our presence was a gift from God to me. I’m thankful that God provided me the opportunity to share Jesus with the children of Ambi.” - Jason Reitz 
• “The home visits were incredible. The families were so grateful and humble. Their love for Jesus was overwhelmingly evident! They were generous and showed such happiness that we came to their homes!” - Stacy Diekmann
• “My highlight was being able to see life from a different perspective. I believe that we often don’t have any perspective of our own trials and hardships because we are so wrapped up in ourselves. Being able to pour into others, learn about others’ lives, and encourage the leaders to persevere through their extreme circumstances was life-changing. I’m grateful and humbled that God would provide me with the opportunity to serve him in this way!” - Shelby Boos
• “This week will forever change my life, my perspective on life, and my faith in the Lord. Visiting the homes of the families in Tecpan will forever be an image in my mind. Seeing families with so little, be so grateful and gracious towards us and God is something that I could never have imagined. It has made me grateful for so many things that I’ve taken for granted. I am so humbled by every child and adult I’ve met, and I am encouraged by the strong women and leaders who have been called to sacrifice their lives to carry out the Lord’s mission in these communities. Before I came on this trip I thought I would be serving to help others, but it turned out that God’s plan for me was to learn and be humbled as these children of God poured into my heart. I will forever be thankful for the lessons I’ve learned.” - Hanna Yates 

• “It’s impossible for me to pick one highlight. But some of my most memorable moments happened when I played with the kids. We broke through the language barriers and just had fun, especially jumping rope!” -Julie Sostak

Thank you so much to all who have prayed for us this week. Your prayers and support have poured out into the children and families in this community as God continues to work and change hearts.

Guatemala Mission Trip Day 5

The children, or “chicos” in Spanish, were beyond excited to see us this morning. Our morning was filled with mostly playing: soccer, serving food, nail painting, and jump rope. We shared some about our lives in the United States and they shared about their culture with us and even gave us beautiful drawings. A highlight was being able to lead the children in a time of worship, in both English and Spanish. Listening to children sing the words to “How Great is Our God” in the midst of the trials they face every day is a moving experience.

We are all blown away by the patience, love, and gratitude the children had for us. At every meal, they wait for sometimes 10-15 minutes with their food in front of them until all the children are served and the prayer has been said. They seem to never cease expressing gratefulness for what God has given them. We saw this first-hand as we went into 3 different homes in the community today. We watched in awe as a father expressed gratitude for all that God has blessed him with, regardless of the fact that they lived on dirt, had no running water, and worked long hours for very little. We listened as a mother explained how thankful she was that we had cared enough to visit. She said, “no one like you has come to visit me before”. The overarching theme that every family expressed was one of thanks to God for his many blessings to them.

I believe I can speak for the team in saying that we all agree that this gratitude is contagious. As we prepare to return to our comfortable lives full of hot water, hardwood floors, jobs that pay more than $100 a month, and actual kitchen appliances, this simple but important lesson of thankfulness has invaded our thoughts. Although we came to spread God’s love to others, God, abounding in love and an abundance of grace, showed us love through the actions of children, of whom do not even speak our language. How amazing is that? 

Prayer requests:

• For the health and hygiene of many children who face malnutrition and lice as a normal occurrence.
• For the children who so desperately need someone to love them. 
• That they would feel our prayers and know God loves them.
• For all the coordinators of Ambi and HopeChest—that God will make His vision clear to them for the children in Guatemala.
• For the team, as we all process what God has taught us and is still teaching us during this time.
• For the team’s health and safety as we drive 3 hours tomorrow.