That was the challenge facing the community of Chuti Estancia!  The school was working with a Peace Corps worker trying to teach the children the importance of washing hands and brushing teeth.  However, the school was also faced with the dilemma of having an adequate source of water for the community but only having two faucets for the school.  The Peace Corps worker approached Mission Guatemala to see if we might be willing to help the school with the construction of additional sinks and faucets.

With the help of Zionsville United Methodist Church, Mission Guatemala was able to begin the construction of two new large sinks that will provide 20 faucets for the children to use to wash their hands and brush their teeth.  Zionsville finished the construction of one sink and the Mission Guatemala construction foreman is finishing the second sink.  They will both be ready for the start of school in mid-January.

There are plans for a future Mission Guatemala team to construct two large concrete retention tanks to collect water during the rainy season to help supplement the community’s source of water.

Mission Guatemala is thrilled to be able to help the community with this important health and education project!

This was an undertaking that had begun weeks earlier with the purchase of plastic baskets and the packaging of corn and beans by the team from Zionsville United Methodist Church.  Using the clinic’s baby scale, volunteers helped package 20 pound packages of corn and four pound packages of beans.  The baskets also contained other Christmas foods and household essentials.  The basket the food was packaged in is also an essential household tool.  It is used to wash clothes and vegetables.

Food baskets were distributed in each village by the Mission Guatemala staff.  As Alejandra, the Mission Guatemala social worker called out each family’s name, another staff member helped hand out the Christmas gifts.  We are grateful for all who made a donation to help in the distribution of the food.

You can also see pictures on our Facebook page here:  Christmas Baskets

Thanks to the generosity of many southern Indiana United Methodist congregations, 100 poor indigenous Mayan families will be receiving food baskets to brighten up their Christmas celebrations.  Shortly before Christmas, the baskets will be given to families in the communities of Nueva Esperanza, Pacaman and Chutinamit.

Each basket will be filled with traditional foods including:

• 20 pounds of corn
• 4 pounds of beans
• 1 bottle oil
• 10 pounds of sugar
• 3 pounds of chocolate for hot chocolate (a traditional Christmas Eve drink)
• 1 box of Christmas cookies
• 1 packet of coffee
• 5 bags of noodles
• 5 pounds of salt
• 1 pound of margarine
• 1 pack of soap (for washing clothes)
• 1 bag of angelitos ( marshmallows)

The basket that the food comes in is also useful to families!

Thank you for all of your support over the past year!

I met the group outside the school in Nueva Esperanza at 8:30 a.m.  A group of men were working to string a tarp over an open space in front of the school to provide shelter for the Independence Day celebration of the following day.  Some of the smallest students from the school, who were to young to go on the hike, played outside along the edges of their homes.  I observed one small child, who I guessed to be about 5 years old, entertaining himself with an old machete, awkwardly swinging it at small clumps of grass that sprouted out the of the dirt road running through the village.

Once the group, approximately 50 persons in all, was assembled, we set off.  After walking on the main road for a few minutes, we veered off to the left, following a set of overgrown tire tracks.  Eventually the tire tracks came to an end, changing instead to a small footpath that began to work its way down the side of the mountain.  At times, the path ran close to a small stream snaking its way down to the San Franscisco River in Pana, the rhythm of its tumbling currents accompanying our decent.  At points the stream crossed our trail, momentarily turning it to a small obstacle course, the young students leaping across, the older ones merely needing a longer stride.  Along the way we passed other individuals, clad in their colorful traditional clothes, making the climb back up their village or garden plots somewhere above, their backs weighed down with tools, supplies and, sometimes, children.

After a half hour or so of following the path through the forested hillside, we broke out in an open stretch of farm plots, the edges of which overlooked Lake Atitlan.  Those of us who were toward the front of the group stopped there to wait for the others, savoring the cool morning air and the view spread out before us.  For me, it was a poignant moment, to have the opportunity to be standing there in the heart of Guatemala, taking in the arresting view of Lake Atitlan with its accompanying volcanoes, surrounded by children from a small mountain community, a communtity of which I have come to feel, in some small way, a part.

Once we reached Pana, the rest of the morning passed quickly, filled with soccer and basketball games, and swimming in the lake.  After lunch, and as the early afternoon wore on, the group assembled and began walking up to the central park in Pana, the point from which they would begin their run back to San Andres.  I had volunteered to follow the group back in The Mission´s pickup truck to help transport the students who were not running.  The group had hired a second pickup truck, as well.  As we prepared to leave, the students produced the torches that they had prepared for the occasion.  Most consisted of a small tin can attached to the top of a wooden handle, though one was made from a used oil filter that had been welded onto a metal pole.  The teachers stuffed kerosene-soaked rags into the torches and lit them.  Then we set off, accompanied by the cheers of the students and the din of plastic whistles which vendors were selling in the streets for about $.50.  The trip back to San Andres, which normally takes about 15 minutes by car, took close to 2 hours, with many stops to rest and to switch out runners.

The sun was setting as we neared Nueva Esperanza.  The group stopped near the entrance to let all the students exit the pickups, and then with their torches held high and the Guatemalan flag stretched between their two leaders, the group triumphantly ran into the village, where most of the community waited for them in front of the school.

During the month of July many churches helped Mission Guatemala by celebrating Christmas!  During this special Christmas in July celebration, the churches collected gently used and new toys for children in Guatemala.  The result was spectacular!  Hundreds of toys were collected!

During August, the toys were all delivered to Old North United Methodist Church in Evansville, Indiana for sorting and packing.  The Ferol Martin Circle of the United Methodist Women headed up the packing effort.  Dressed in Christmas Santa hats, the women packed 15 boxes of toys and are still waiting for more boxes to be delivered by the shipping company to finish up the packing effort.

“We had a fabulous time packing.  What fun this has been for all!” said packing coordinator Lynn Penland.

Churches also collected a special offering for food baskets for families in Guatemala.  Those monies are still being processed, but many families will be enjoying some extra food at the holiday time as the result of the generosity.

Members of Christ UMC meet our preschool family

With the help of many teams from the United States, Mission Guatemala has been constructing a new home for one of our very poor families with a child in our preschool.  The home is finally nearing completion!

The father of the family of five has a debilitating disease that causes him great pain.  The mother struggles each day to provide for her husband and three children.

The family was recently evicted from their rental home by their landlord because he sold the home to someone else.  Fortunately, the family was given some land by another family member and we were able to help the family with construction of a new home.

This is our first attempt at home construction, but so far all has gone well!

The people of Chutinamit were forced from their homes in June of 2010 after Hurricane Agatha.   The government feared that the mountain above the community would collapse burying the families in mud.  Since June of 2010 the community has been living above the soccer fields on the edge of San Andrés Semetabaj.

For nearly a year, the community was living in small tents.  Recently the community was given slightly better structures by the government.  The new structures consist of fabric siding and tin roofs.

With the help of several teams from the United States, Mission Guatemala was able to construct beds for the 22 families that make up the community.  In addition, Mission Guatemala was also able to purchase mattresses for each of the beds.

Earlier in the year, Mission Guatemala delivered a new table and a set of shelves for each family in the community.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to the children in the Awanas program of First United Methodist Church of Alabaster, Alabama, Mission Guatemala was able to distribute the water filters to each family.  The water filters provide an instant source of clean drinking water.

Earlier this year, the Awanas kids provided new materials for latrines in the community.

Chutinamit was displaced from their community in May of 2010 when Hurricane Agatha devastated Guatemala.  For many months they lived in domed camping tents on the edge of San Andrés Semetabaj.  They now live in structures wrapped in a canvas fabric with metal roofs.  They dream of the day when they can rebuild their community in a new location.

It was great fun to watch the children sing and dance for their mothers, serve them food, and present them with small gifts.

We are delighted that we can help support families and communities in this way!

Click on the thumbnail below to watch a fun video of boys dancing with their mothers.

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Tom served as a United Methodist pastor in the Indiana Conference for many years and became especially fond of Guatemala after adopting two Guatemalan children. Finally in January of 2009, Tom decided to serve as a full-time missionary and founded Mission Guatemala, a medical mission, established to serve the people in the San Andrés Semetabaj region which is located about three hours west of Guatemala City near Lake Atitlan. After discovering that the area had no doctors or dentists to serve its 14,000 people, Tom knew this was the right place to base a medical mission.  “I didn’t plan for this to take off so fast, it just started unfolding,” said Tom.  “Things have gotten bigger, faster than I thought they would.  There is such a need.  So much to do.  Guatemala is one of the poorest counties in the western hemisphere and ranked fourth in child malnutrition.”

And “take off” is what it did.  Within the first year of the mission opening, a pre-school was established teaching thirty-five children, a medical clinic staffed by a multi-lingual physician was opened, and soon, a dental clinic will be available made possible through equipment donated by Dr. Tom Scholl of Newburgh, Indiana.

Mission Guatemala has already begun venturing beyond its walls to make a positive impact on its Mayan neighbors. Ground has been broken for an 850 square foot dining area to host a feeding program for children in Nueva Esperanza.  ”It’s a collaborative effort,” said Tom.”  Mission Guatemala will provide the materials for the building and supply the food.  The men and women of the community have agreed to help construct the building and prepare the meals.  They will be empowered to make a difference in the lives and health of their children.”  The nearby community of Chutinamit will also see support from the mission. Displaced from their homes for nearly one year by the government for fear of mudslides, 120  people have lived in temporary tents.  Mission Guatemala has newly constructed furniture ready to donate to them once their permanent homes are built.

Our twenty-person mission team accomplished a lot during our stay – we built play ground equipment for the preschool, sanded and varnished furniture, dug footer trenches for a new building, took complimentary family photos, made friendships with people across the globe, but most interestingly, I think our group left feeling like we were the ones who were blessed.   I witnessed excitement when high school girls on our mission team connected with local children because they understood Spanish.  I saw the joy in my oldest son’s eyes when he gave soccer balls to kids who equally loved the sport but didn’t have access to new equipment.  I watched a friendship form between my youngest son and his new Guatemalan friend, Noe, despite not being able to speak the same language.  I experienced an instant bond with people I hardly knew, but am certain I will remain connected.

Tom told me his overall goal when he started the mission was to put John Wesley’s teaching “do all the good you can” to the test.  He wondered how different the world could be if people came and tried to do good.  After spending a week “doing all the good that I could”, I see how giving up a little vacation time and money can make a difference in our world, and more so, in my heart.

This article was written by Cherie Leonhardt. Her husband Keith, serves on the Mission Guatemala board of directors.