Guatemala Mission Trip 2009

The 2009 DHBC Guatemala Mission Team broke into four work groups to provide different types of service and assistance.

• One group of four, which included several architects, went to help with addition to another Mission Impact school called Vida Y Esperanza (Life and Hope). Members of this team also assisted in the classrooms at the existing part of the school.
• At Proximos Pasos (Next Steps), the school for girls we have been helping build each year in the village of Santa Maria de Jesus, another group assisted in the classrooms and again had another delightful and successful sewing project with the girls. 
• During the week, another team worked all week digging and making a cistern for the family of one of the Proximos Pasos girls. The government briefly “turns on” the water to the village of Santa Maria de Jesus several times each week and the lack of accessible water really adds to the difficulty of the day-to-day life of the villagers.  By the end of the week, the group completed the cistern that would allow the family to collect a large quantity of rainwater for their use.
• Leslie, who is a nurse, worked all week with the Guatemalan physician Dr. Oscar in the village of Sumpango. She also assisted a cardiologist on another mission team from Wisconsin that was there to provide support Dr. Oscar’s small clinic.  Leslie’s work included a visit with Dr. Oscar to the poorest of the poor in the Sumpango area, families living on the mountainside and ravine at the village’s trash dump.

A highlight of the week occurred when all of the mission team helped host a spaghetti dinner at Proximos Pasos with students, family and the village at the first ever PTA type meeting.  There were about 300 people in attendance! After a hard week of work, the Mission Team on Saturday rode a bus to the nearby active volcano Pacaya.  We then hiked and rode horseback to the top of the volcano and enjoyed some marshmallows roasted over molten lava. It was a peak experience to say the least! This volcano later erupted in 2010 so I don’t think we will be making that hike again!