We have created an online inquiry form you can use to start the process the form can be found by clicking MISSION TRIPS on our website menu.

Also, to help in planning for a mission trip, we have put together our Mission Trip Planning Guide which you can download from our website under Team Resources.

Please help us spread the word that we are accepting teams and let us know if you have any questions.  In the meantime, DO ALL THE GOOD YOU CAN!

109 killed
62 missing
23 injured
27,560 affected
37,000 living in shelters
20,000 still living in possible danger

In the village of San Antonio Palopo on Lake Atitlan, 12 people died when they were buried in a mudslide.

Guatemala is covered everywhere with mud and dirt.  Store keepers are constantly cleaning off their products and throwing water in the streets to keep the dust down.

Food is available but in short supply.  There are also some water shortages in some places where the water lines have become clogged with mud.

Beginning Friday, June 4, most airlines are starting to fly in and out of the Guatemala City airport.  The airport has been closed for almost a week due to the eruption of Pacaya located about 20 miles from Guatemala City.  With the reopening of the airport, it should allow relief workers and relief supplies to arrive faster.

Continue to hold this poor and hurting country in your prayers.

The people hurt the most by this are the poorest of the indigenous people who had little in the first place.  Now all they have has been totally destroyed by the storm.

Roads to San Andrés have been cut off by mudslides and bridges being washed out.  It will take many months and even years for some to recover… if they ever do.

Click on any picture below to enlarge it.

Training women to be midwives is a huge need in Guatemala.  Most births are at home and there is usually not anyone present who has been trained to help deliver the baby.  One of the women responded that there was a midwife but no one wanted to use her because she was often drunk.  I thought, “Sad, but true.”

So, I made an addition to my list of things to do in the future.  There desperately needs to be several trained midwifes in that area.

For the record, Guatemala has one of the highest infant mortality rates in this hemisphere.  This is one huge way we can help make a difference in this region of Guatemala.

The women of the weaving cooperative which own the property are very happy that we are using the property to help the community.  We are equally thrilled to be able to help the women’s weaving group which does good work in the community as well.

We will begin to have use of the property beginning September 1 of this year.  We will be able to use the property for at least ten years.  It is very exciting.  Again, hold us in your prayers and continue to ask yourself what God may be calling you to do to help make a difference in Guatemala.

I am often asked, “Why did you chose to do your work in Guatemala?”

My first response is because I have two sons adopted from Guatemala.  It is their home country and a country with great need.  Describing that need is the challenge.

Fundamental issues in Guatemala exist on a scale not seen in the developed countries. Rural Guatemalans, especially the idigenous, face some very serious challenges:

Health: Infant mortality is among the worst in the hemisphere.
- Infant mortality rate is 55 per 1,000 live births.
- Maternal mortality rate is 110 per 100,000 live births.
- 16% of infants suffer from low birth weight.
- 67% of indigenous children are malnourished.

Poverty: Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere.
- 75% of the population is estimated to live below the poverty line.
- 58% of the population have incomes below the extreme poverty line.
- 32% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
- 13% of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

Literacy: Guatemala has one of the lowest literacy rates in Latin America.
- Indigenous male adults have a literacy rate of 20%.
- Indigenous female adults have a literacy rate of just 10%.
- The average schooling of the indigenous population is just 1.9 years.

Human Rights: Guatemala is one of the world’s most violent countries.
- There are 43 murders per 100,000 people last year, according to a government estimate.3
- Charges are filed in only 2% of all murders.

People struggle to get by every single day here.  I guess that is my answer to the question, “Why Guatemala?”

Greetings from Guatemala!

I want to share with you some exciting news!  Under the auspices of Mission Guatemala, I will soon be starting a new project in San Andrés Semetabaj.

Let me briefly share with you about our journey to this point.  About a year ago, I formed a nonprofit organization in the U.S. called Mission Guatemala.  Over the past year, we have been trying to discern God’s call for this new ministry to the people of Guatemala.  As we prayed for direction and guidance, we were led to the town of San Andrés. 
 
Motivated by John Wesley’s directive, “Do all the good you can,” we believe we have been called to bring God’s healing, hope and love to this small Mayan town located in the highlands of Guatemala overlooking Lake Atitlan.

Our first step in carrying out Wesley’s directive is to open a clinic in this overlooked and underserved community.  We believe that by caring for people’s health requirements, we can also discern the other problems and needs in the community.  We want to partner with the people in the community and deliberately do all the good we can.
 
We believe with God’s grace, love and guidance, the quality of life in this Kaqchikel speaking town will be improved and changed forever by putting John Wesley’s words to work and doing all the good we can.

This is no small challenge.  It will take support in many ways.  It will require people’s prayers, financial gifts and personal time.  So, I am asking you now to please pray for this project.  Please pray for God’s guidance and direction.
 
Also, please consider supporting this effort with a personal donation or spearheading a fundraising effort in your community, school or church.
 
We hope in late 2010 or early 2011 to begin accepting teams to help us renovate the building we will be using for a clinic.  We could possibly even be ready to receive a small medical team sometime next year.  Please, pray about whether God may be calling you to help us.

Personally, I find myself feeling excited, fearful and blessed by the opportunity to serve God in this way.
 
Will you join me?

We are very excited to hear about the plans for a clinic in San Andrés.  There is a great need for a clinic to serve the community and the surrounding communities.  Many people here in Guatemala die every day from diseases that are totally preventable if they could have access to a doctor and medicine.  We see the tragedies that occur every day here because of the lack of medical help.  Mayan Families will be able to help keep the clinic very busy.

Mayan Families is also considering taking over the operation of an orphanage in San Andrés.  If we do, this will also necessitate the need for opening a boys’ home for older boys who will be aging out of the orphanage.  We hope to be able to partner with Mission Guatemala to help with the many needs that will come with the opening of this home.  The clinic location offers all kinds of possibilities for a vocational training center for these young men.

We are very enthused about this project and can attest first hand to the great need.  It will make a difference in the lives of these poor Mayan people.

With the help of my friend Sharon from an organization called Mayan Families, I met with them today and worked out an agreement that would give Mission Guatemala the opportunity to use the property for the next 10 years.  The women were reluctant at first to enter into a 10 year agreement, but they soon realized that the work we will be doing will benefit the community.  They are excited about being able to help the community in this way.

I want to add that the women are such a delightful group.  It will be great fun partnering with them to “do all the good we can” and improve this Mayan Community.

As you pray for the work we hope to do there, offer a prayer for this wonderful group of women.  They have been a blessing to so many!

Take a tour of the property [intlink id="257" type="page"]here[/intlink].

We want to share with you some exciting news!  Mission Guatemala will soon be starting a new project in San Andrés Semetabaj.