Personal Narrative: My Mission Trip To Guatemala

The classic saying, “There’s always someone who has it worse than you” (Shaggy- Keepin’ it Real), didn’t come true to me until I had first-hand experience. As a child, I grew up in the lower middle class. So I wasn’t rich nor super poor. My mother came to the United States from El Salvador in the 1980’s. She has never taken my brother and me to her home country.

In the city of Samayac, Guatemala was a small town where I traveled to last summer for a mission trip. Our intention was to teach kids about the bible, and the many aspects of it. My group visited many kids and adults in their villages local church, and played many games along with activities. While we were there it was a hot tropical day with a 90 degree temperature. It was something hard to deal with, but we still found a way to enjoy the time there. Around noon my group was supposed to do a church activity outside with the kids then later have a spanish service that I had no clue what they were saying. About halfway through the day it started to rain. It rained so hard that the street looked like a river going downhill and the church had

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

All things considered, from a young age I was taught all about my background, which happened to be Guatemalan. Both my parents were born and raised in Guatemala along with my four older siblings. My family left Guatemala in the early 1980s as it was unsafe to continue their life there. As a result, both my brother and I were fortunate to be born in Canada. Growing up, both my parents included their traditional customs in our everyday lives. In other words, we then adopted their customs, beliefs, language and learned about our roots. Immigrating from another country, my family found it extremely difficult to accustom themselves to new customs and most importantly norms. At an early, I lost my father and my mother then became a widow who had

What was the process of my conversion like? I’ll begin with this year, all the way back to my trip in Guatemala. I struggled to understand what belief was and what being a follower of Christ really was. I was trying to understand the faith with my own intelligence, which constantly failed me. On top of that I was living without morals, saying, doing, and thinking whatever I pleased. This all, plus sickness, made my trip to Guatemala very challenging. As the year went on I still tried to live in Christ on my own will, which isn’t living in Christ at all. I would read his word but only some days instead of every day. What I didn’t realize is that I need his word every day. Because this world is evil and unclear, but his word gives ultimate clarity.

Imagine a time where you were at your lowest, a time in your life that nothing seemed to make

"Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time" - Marian Wright Edelman. To serve others is to minister and help others in various ways; it is not an act to do for show or publicity, but simply to enrich and help the lives of others and your own life. Everyone can serve one another in some form or fashion without even realizing the impact. Over my high school and college career, I have volunteered for a multitude of community service projects, ranging from mission trips, to serving the local HESED house children. Although, out of all of these projects, the one that leaves a lasting impact to me was the mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

Over the past few years, I have had many opportunities to share myself in the service of others, but most importantly by mission trips to Guatemala. On such trips I helped indigenous Mayans living in some of the most impoverished regions. Throughout the duration of my visit, I helped build basic stoves, prepared and handed out food bags, gave away live chickens, handed out donations and water filters, and participated in eye clinics. While these actions may seem average, their impact has left a lasting effect.

Since traveling to Nicaragua, I find myself perplexed by the Nietzchean idea that language is the enemy of experience. It is difficult to explain in words an experience that is both awe-inspiring and awful, edifying and heartbreaking, beautiful and atrocious. If my time on the Bucknell Brigade was either entirely great or completely horrible, it would be easier to write about. But since the memory inhabits a confusing and ambiguous space between two intense opposites, my voice had withdrawn into silence.

Over the summer I went to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for a Church Mission trip. Our group stayed at a place called El Hogar. El Hogar gives a place for kids who live in very poor families or have no families. El Hogar gives the kids an education and a place to live. My experience there was like most others that have gone but it was special to me. All of the kids welcomed my group with open arms and love, I never wanted to leave. I had seen things and experienced things that I know I would never experience anywhere else. The whole city was riddled with poverty, nothing compared to poverty in USA. Even though the city was very poor it had many beautiful aspects to it, the mountains, the artwork and some of the people too. Even though the kids of

As I was getting ready to enter the patient’s room, I was thinking about the many ways I could start a conversation with her. I had previously entered her room and I knew she was one of the sweetest and happiest people ever. I decided to write my assignment on her because of her inspiring personality, despite her physical condition. I was amazed to see how a person who could do nothing but the bare minimum was so happy and thankful towards life. I spent a lot of time with her through out the day. I helped her with her breakfast, lunch, bed bath, and followed her to therapy. I was so amazed that despite her weakness, she tried so hard during her therapeutic exercises, and although she failed many times, she never stopped smiling and just kept

"I can't go on the service trip to Dominican Republic," I reluctantly explained to my teacher. "I don't receive health insurance," I confessed to my doctor. "I don't have federal financial aid, so I can't finish college," I tried to explain to my friends why I was leaving Oakwood University. On my college applications, I chose the best fit to describe my citizenship status from the limited drop down list, "I don't currently hold a valid U.S. visa." As an undocumented student, my life's themes have been "I can't" and "I don't.” I experienced a eureka moment when I read Invictus: “My head is bloody, but unbowed…/It matters not how strait the gate, /How charged with punishments the scroll, /…I am the captain of my soul.” I aimed to change my

During the course of the last three years, I have went on various mission trips. Most recently I went to Florida my church and I spent a four week giving back to small part in Panama City one day we gave out water and small snacks to anyone that needed another we picked up trash on the beach first we split up into groups then went our separate ways. finally when all the hard work was over our group celebrated having a clean environment the rest of the week went by so fast I didn’t realize how much time passed.When your meeting so many people and doing so much fun and heartwarming things, time  doesn’t register. I felt we really made a difference to that community

During the summer of 2015, I went on a mission trip to Costa Rica and had a life changing experience. When I went to Costa Rica I was able to teach children that all lived in poverty however, these kids taught me a priceless lesson. With these kids I learned how to be thankful but, not just being thankful for food and family. I learned how to be thankful for small things such as, running water, blankets, and shoes-simple items that the people in Costa Rica do not have Even though the Costa Rican population lives without basic items that we take for granted they are the happiest people that I have ever met. When I was playing with the kids in Costa Rica I would watch their eyes light up when they were coloring with crayons or jumping rope,

Dear diary, today I got in a van to go to a poor community in Los Brasiles, Nicaragua. As I get out of the van I can smell the putrid trash burning within the community. I notice all the kids excited to go into the school to get their teeth done by a visiting dentist. We gathered the kids to do a craft that resembles a medical bag with band-Aids. After that, the group got together and we made peanut butter sandwiches.