Nineteen students and chaperones were commissioned by Dillon Christian School to go and serve women and children in Guatemala March 17 – 22.
The team’s mission was to finish a perimeter wall around a women and children’s shelter and to share the gospel, offer crafts, games, and sing songs with the children.
They raised money to purchase columns, cement, gravel and the sections of the pre-fabricated wall. Many long hours of fund raising, Spanish classes, prayers, and planning went into preparation for this trip.
The team verse was Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” They went expecting to serve the people of Guatemala, but all agreed that they received a much greater blessing while serving than they were able to give to those they served.
Guatemala is a beautiful country. There are over twenty volcanoes with smoke billowing from many of them at various times of the days. The terrain is very mountainous and there are fields of crops flourishing on the mountainsides from the rich volcanic soil.
Property is scarce and expensive. People live in modest concrete homes very close to their neighbors. Their small yards have clotheslines and typically multiple chickens running around.
Most homes are only painted on the front since painting the sides and back would be an unnecessary expense.
There is a small upper class, relatively no middle class, and the majority of the people live in poverty. The water is unsafe to drink and no toilet paper can be flushed. Beef and pork are not prevalent; however fruits, vegetables, tortillas, beans, and chicken are everywhere.
The women’s shelter is run by the government and is primarily for girls, ages 13 to 18, which had been physically and sexually abused in their homes. There are approximately 40 mothers with their children living in the center. Once they are placed in this type home, they are not allowed to leave until they are 18 years old.
The families are not allowed to know which home in Guatemala these girls are placed for security reasons.
The center the DCS teams served is located in Quetzaltenango, also known by its indigenous name, Xelajú, or more commonly, Xela. This city is the second largest in all of Guatemala, and you must travel through the Guatemalan highlands to reach it.
The completion of the wall offers additional protection because the men who previously victimized the girls often look for them once they are removed from their homes.
The girls’ children, ranging from infants to seven years old, were also in the home. The young teenagers enjoyed making crafts with the Dillon team and as time passed were thrilled to have someone care for their child even if only for a few days. The older children played baseball, looked for eggs, jumped rope, made Easter crafts and necklaces, and loved candy!
Building the wall was not a simple task. A volcanic explosion 100 years earlier left the ground imbedded with large rocks which first had to be removed before the foundation could be poured.
The team dug trenches, shoveled rock, mixed concrete, pour cement foundations for the columns, swung pick axes, hauled cinder blocks, and willingly did all that was needed to build the wall.
Some team members helped prime the well and hauled countless buckets of water down a hill into large storage containers. Other team members played with the children and talked with the mothers and shelter workers. The team collected clothes, shoes, bibs, and hand crocheted blankets which they gave to the director for distribution. The girls were thrilled since they are taken from their homes with no belongings.
Two afternoons the DCS team worked in after school daycares. There were large numbers of children in small facilities. Some team members helped paint a border on the wall while others entertained the crowd of students with crafts, speed ladder drills drawn with chalk on the concrete, Easter eggs, candy, and songs.
Team members distributed yarn crosses they had made throughout the year at all of the facilities and sang Jesus Loves Me, quoted John 3:16, and said the Lord’s Prayer.
In addition, the team experienced the culture in Guatemala. The missionary guide took the team one evening after working to the historic city of Antigua, which is located in the Highland Valley and overlooks the magnificent Agua Volcano. They walked the cobbled streets, took photos in the beautiful plazas, visited a large church, and witnessed the plight of many homeless people lining the streets. The church has a strong Mayan influence and vegetables lined the many altars as tokens of sacrifice. Although there are churches in Guatemala, many do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. The missionaries and Bible teachers are diligently working to share the Truth of the Gospel.
The final day in Guatemala the team went on an exciting adventure. They visited natural hot springs and took a canopy tour, featuring 11 platforms through the treetops of the lush rainforest. On the bus ride back to Guatemala City, the team saw rubber trees, sugar cane fields, and again was overwhelmed with the humble means the people lived. It was a long bus ride, however and excellent time to begin processing all that they had experienced.
Every team member returned to the states in awe of the inexpressible joy they encountered all week with the people they met. It is overwhelming to know the simplicity and humble means which they live and yet, in contrast to America, the sheer joy that they have. How do you live with joy in an area with no fresh water, poor plumbing, and no heat or air condition? How do the men have joy while they strap large amounts of wood on their backs and walk up the mountainous terrain to their homes? How do the women have joy in hot temperatures with a baby strapped to their backs and a basket full of fruit on their heads they are trying to sell? How do you have joy after being brutally abused and taken from the only home you know and placed in a house of strangers? I Timothy 6:6-10 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be
content with that.” We met so many content people in Guatemala despite their circumstances. They have a deep abiding relationship with Christ and possessed inexpressible joy as a result.
The students and chaperones will be forever marked by their time in Guatemala. It is such a privilege to follow the great commission and go and share the Good News of salvation we have in Christ Jesus. It is such a privilege to be able to be His hands and feet to a hurting culture. It is such a privilege to love others in His name. It is such a privilege to see the creativity of our God in nature and creation. It is such a privilege to feel the power of His presence as you work and serve others. We serve an awesome God. May He alone receive the glory for the great things He has done and continues to do!
