Guatemala Mission Trip

Our team blog from Day 4, by Neale Hightower: Tuesday, July 24th As I write this, we have just finished our debrief time with the team at the end of our 4th day of the trip. This is my second time in Guatemala, and I continue to be amazed with how God works in the simple things, and the faith of the people we meet. When we were at Maná de Vida yesterday, one of the interpreters asked me what Americans thought of Guatemala. I told him I couldn’t speak for all Americans, bu...t that last time I was blown away at the beauty of the country and the warmth & hospitality of the people. Since we’ve been here my impressions are only reinforced. My son David and I spent our first two working days at Maná de Vida. After a very warm welcome from all of the kids, we went off to work on our project. The school has a clinic which has a pharmacy attached, and we had wanted improve storage in the pharmacy. Guatemala is a very seismically active area, and when earthquakes occur, medicines in the clinic would rattle off the shelves. The team managed to pack and bring down almost 180 individual bins that could be mounted to the walls and keep the medicines in place when they get a temblor. While our work at the clinic was not directly with the kids, it helped us get a better understanding of the amazing and comprehensive work that Maná de Vida does. In addition to providing an education and food, the clinic provides medical and dental services for the students. Without access to doctors otherwise, illness has the potential to interrupt education, so the clinic helps keep the kids in school. Also, while we were there we had lunch with the lawyer who works in the clinic for International Justice Ministries (IJM). As they see kids at the clinic, they can often spot sexual abuse or exploitation. The problem apparently is much worse in Escuintla than even the rest of Guatemala. Maná de Vida works with local authorities and IJM to identify victims and protect them from further abuse. Today we wrapped up our time at Maná with some time at the school, having lunch with the kids and a splash party at the pool. Our team had a great time playing with the kids and just having fun. Tomorrow David and I head out to the Medical Missions Ministries clinics, and we are excited to see what God will do and what we will learn. Our debrief time this evening was full of God stories from the clinics, so we expect to see Him continue to do great things.

Our team blog from Day 3, by Kris Higgins: Sunday, July 22 This is my first trip to Guatemala. It’s our second day of our mission work here. I didn’t know what to expect. I heard stories of past trips, etc. but experiencing it is incredible. It’s hard to know where to begin, because each day has been so full. Yesterday, we were at Maná de Vida, the Christian school for children who cannot afford to go to school. We were welcomed by a parade of children with balloons, singin...Continue reading

This is Elias - he is six years old. He love to eat tamales! He lives with his mother, father, and 2 brothers. When he grows up he wants to be a teacher - what a compliment to the teaching staff at Maná de Vida! He likes to play soccer and red is his favorite color. To sponsor Elias, please email [email protected]. Child sponsorships are $45 per month.

May I introduce Pablo Montezuma? He is 13 years old and lives with his mother and 15 year old brother. His birthday is March 27th. He loves to eat chicken and rice - yum! He likes to play soccer with friends, and math is his favorite subject in school. He gets to school by bus after his mother drops him off at the bus stop. He aspires to be a lawyer when he grows up! To sponsor Pablo, please email [email protected] and pledge $45 per month.