UPDATE: We have reached our goal!! Thanks to so many generous donors, we actually have extra money to put toward The Bunk Bed Project. We will fund the purchase and delivery of 3 bunk beds to the village of Yalú and go to Yalu to assemble them. This will mean that 6 children will no longer have to sleep as they are now… on dirt floors, cinder blocks, piles of twigs or wooden pallets.  We are thrilled to have th opportunity to do this! 
We are thrilled to share that Dan, David and I will be going on another mission trip to Guatemala in June! We were blessed to take our first mission trip there in Nov 2019 and have been praying daily since then for the chance to return. It was life changing for us but more importantly, we pray that it was impactful to the people who we had the privilege to help. (You can read David's  comments at the bottom of this page)

This trip will look a little different than last time but the most important thing will be the same…our goal to share God's love as we serve. We will be volunteering with El Amor de Patricia https://www.elamordepatricia.org/ , an organization whose focus is to serve the impoverished Mayan communities outside of Guatemala City. Some of the their programs include:

El Amor Children’s Home:a home for abused, abandoned and neglected children. They live in a family type setting cared for by nannies.  All of their needs… physical, emotional, educational and spiritual.. are addressed in a stable and loving environment.  

Bunk Bed Project: donated bunk beds, vented stoves and water filters are delivered to villages in need and assembled with the help of the community members.

Yalú Community Partnership: El Amor focuses much of their time and resources helping in the Mayan village of Yalú, which in turn equips Yalú’s residents to help others. There is an English immersion school for children, a Continuing Education School for women with childcare provided, an Education-Based Coffee Farm where community members learn about coffee farming (Guatemala’s 3rd largest export), and a Feeding Program: Delivery of monthly food subsidies of fortified rice, lentils & black beans.

 

What will we be doing? Pretty much whatever they need including:

*Caring for the children (care, play, bring and do crafts) to give the nannies a much needed break

*Assisting with school lessons at children’s and adult’s school and providing homework help

*Doing chores and projects (anything from helping with laundry to gardening to cleaning and maintenance)

*Assisting with their monthly food delivery and distribution

*Delivering donated items that we've collected here. We’ve partnered with 2 preschools & a local church to collect    baby formula, bottles & school supplies which are needed by El Amor. We have gotten an incredible response!

**Most importantly, though, our desire is to share God’s love in word and deed in all that we do.**

 

Just like last time, we would love it if you would participate in this mission with us. There are three ways that we are asking our friends and family to join us in this journey:

 

First, we would very much appreciate your prayers. Please pray for safe travel that is not complicated by COVID restrictions, for God to bless and multiply our efforts as we strive to serve others; for Jacob and Katrina as they “man the fort” at home, for good health for the 3 of us as well as our family who are home.

 

Second, we are asking that you consider supporting this trip with a financial donation. This trip differs from last time in that we will not be going as a church team. It’s just the 3 of us. The upside is that, by arranging all travel myself, I was able to reduce the cost some. This time our goal is $3100 (that extra 100 is to account for gofundme fees )which will help offset the cost of flights, in-country transportation, some food (we’re also packing food like PB&J, breakfast food, snacks to keep costs down) & extra baggage fees to carry donated items. Anything above that amount will be used to fund extra service projects such as the Bunk Bed Project (see above) or to purchase more items needed at El Amor. The downside: since we won’t be raising funds as a part of a church mission group, we won’t have the group fundraising activities and we aren’t able to provide a tax letter for donations. While it remains uncomfortable for us to seek this type of support, we are beginning to understand that it is another opportunity for others to take part in the mission in their own way. But please, don’t feel pressured. We ask for your prayers above everything. We are stepping out in faith and trusting God to work out rest

 

Finally, if you know anyone who you think might be interested, please consider sharing this info with them. Raising awareness about El Amor de Patricia and the incredible work that they do is also an important goal of this trip! 

 

Thank you for reading this far and for any consideration you would give to joining us in prayer and/or financial support. Please see below for a note from David :-)

 

Stepping out in Faith, Dan, Lynn and David

 

A NOTE FROM DAVID:

Thank you for reading this. I am excited to go back to Guatemala for another mission trip. On the first trip I learned that even doing small things can make a real difference in someone’s life. Even playing soccer with school children made them very happy. I think that shows them that they are important to us and to God. Of course, it will be extra special again because we will be helping in the country where I was born.