Guatemala Mission Trip Essay

It was my first time in the Dominican Republic, away from my parents and traveling alone. It was also my first mission trip and I loved every minute of it. As I sat and looked around the village of slums and shacks, I saw that the people were so giving and friendly. They had next to nothing, and yet they were still volunteering to give more.

Talking about my culture and society are two different things. What the norm may not be is the norm for me. Today you will get to know a little about my culture, who I am and how society has changed a little bit of my family traditions.

Guatemala is a small country in central America, bordered by Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, and Mexico. Guatemala is best known for their indigenous Mayan culture and excavated ruins of the Mayan empire, nature, and their world class coffee. If you visit Guatemala, you’ll see that it is unique in many ways.

My grandmother was born in Guatemala into a struggling family of seven. In Guatemala, kids are often forced to leave school and start working to help provide for their family´s food and shelter. Similarly, my grandmother was not able to complete her education. Instead, she had to take care of her siblings, providing for their basic needs. As she grew up, she had three kids, including my father, and needed to find a way to give them a better life.

     Guatemala’s culture is a unique product of Native American ways and a strong Spanish colonial heritage. About half of Guatemala’s population is mestizo (known in Guatemala as ladino), people of mixed European and indigenous ancestry. Ladino culture is dominant in urban areas, and is heavily influenced by European and North American trends. Unlike many Latin American countries, Guatemala still has a large indigenous population, the Maya, which has retained a distinct identity. Deeply rooted in the rural highlands of Guatemala, many indigenous people speak a Mayan language, follow traditional religious and village customs, and continue a rich tradition in textiles and other crafts. The two cultures

In 1964, Guatemala was being run by a military junta, violence was a part of every day life, the economy was in shambles, and jobs were scare (Cuevas, 2011). It was in this setting that a young man, my future father-in-law, took a chance at a better life for he and his family. Enticed by rumors of prosperity in the United States, Alex and his brother Rene saved their money to journey to Chicago, leaving their families behind in a search for hope that was borne of desperation. Alex left his wife Ruth with 20 Guatemalan Quetzal, the equivalent of $20 dollars, and their three children, Vivien, 5, Ingrid, 3, and Marvin, a newborn baby. What experience lay in store for he and his family? How would they fare in an unknown country, without

The country was foreign, a first for me. Dilapidation and ruin scattered the horizon as far as one could see. Guatemala is a place where poverty has a strong grasp on its people. We traveled tirelessly for hours to reach the poorest of the poor. Upon arrival old, young, and natives of all shapes and sizes formed receiving lines, eager to welcome us with gifts of smiles and gratitude. It was an experience that forever changed me. This was the first time I had stepped outside the boundaries of the American culture into a world where nothing is taken for granted. Each day spent on my mission trip brought a fresh awareness of gratefulness. Any pre-trip reluctance quickly became a vague memory as my emotions welled within bring a fresh change to

A little over a year ago, I had to make the decision of choosing between two different trips. I could either go to Spain with the Spanish class and see all that the country has to offer, or I could visit Haiti with the church and give my time to help out around their community. Many factors weighed in on my decision, but in the end, I chose to travel to Haiti!

In January of 2015, I experienced a mission trip in Guatemala. Although the trip taught me a lot about both myself, and the people and culture of Guatemala, one of the more prominent realizations I had was that the Guatemalan children had so little resources to get a quality education in life, yet they were still eager to learn. For example, each child was required to wear a pair of black dress shoes to school. Since many could not afford to pay for these shoes, they each walked to the missionary compound, no matter how far, to get a free pair of shoes that were offered. Additionally, many of the kids were more inclined to attend a short church lesson after eating dinner than play with their friends. After experiencing this dramatic change

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters, I feel honored and privileged to speak to you today. As many of you know, this is my last Sunday here with you for the next two years. I leave for the MTC on October 4th and will be serving in the California Ventura Mission. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord in this calling. I thank all of you who have taught me, and helped me to grow and prepare for my mission. It is a blessing to have learned from you.

I apologize for not sending this letter earlier. I would like to let you know how much I appreciate your help to my family for allowing our family to stay in your home. When life was tough on us, we felt we all alone. Your family come in...and help us.

Let me start by saying that this trip was great! when you take into account the strides that you would have seen in our kids it truly amazes you. Our youth here stepped up in an environment that they were uncomfortable in. They worked in a thrift store, the thrift store is a building that takes donations and sells the donated items back to the community for a low price to help the people out. Our kids here, along with a group with the Waxahachie congregation, each took a kid, sometimes multiple under their wings and showed them the love and compassion of Christ. All this work that we did was alongside the Compassion 21 group, an inner city ministry group. our last night in Alabama, we had a devotional period in which all of us were asked what we would walk away with.

Guatemala is located in Latin America and is bordered by Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador. About 15,000,000 people live in Guatemala at the moment. Currently we get 57% of our energy from fossil fuels. We get no energy through nuclear fuels and 31.8% from Hydroelectric Plants. The other 11.2% comes from other renewable sources. The people and I get around through 291 airports. Only one of those airports is international airport. Also we use 11,501km of road and two major seaports.

As to you, you move me very much. It's fun to receive your letter, and I will be glad to continue to hear from you.

I pray that the summer has been a good and restful one for you! I hope this letter finds you and your family well! I want to thank you all for the love and support I have received! I am so excited to update y’all on the first month of my internship! Summers at the Wesley Foundation involve a lot of preparation for the upcoming school year, cleaning and organizing the building, student orientations, and Hot Summer Nights-our weekly bible study. One night of orientation, we pass out waters to the students and all the campus ministers get on stage and introduce themselves, then a concert and scavenger hunt happens. While attending my first orientation as an intern, a group of Wesley students-in Wesley fashion-decided to have a dance party in front of the stage. In that moment, I was reminded of how open and free this community of Christians I have the undeserved privilege to be a part of and work for this year.