Proclaiming and demonstrating the love of God through Jesus Christ!

Mission Trip to Guatemala

July 2007

 

This year our mission team served in two villages near the former capital of Guatemala, Antigua. The VBS team served in the village of Santiago Zamora and the construction team served about 3 miles away in the village of San Antonio Aguas Calientes.

 

Vacation Bible School

The VBS was held at the Lutheran Church of Santiago Zamora, Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Redentor del Mundo (Redeemer of the World Evangelical Lutheran Church).  Serving on the team were: Kathryn and Janet Minock, Deane Nolde, Evelyn Krausz, Liz Sperry, Pat Gunkelman and Kathy Dageforde. We were told that we would have about 60 children in our VBS. We prepared for 100 children and ended up with over 150 children on the last day!

 

Our VBS was held from 2-5 pm Monday through Thursday. We had the VBS in the afternoon because the children went to school in the morning. We used the same “Avalanche Ranch” theme that Trinity used this summer and made some adaptations to fit the space, Spanish language, etc. The opening and closing were held in the small church sanctuary (yes, we managed to get all 150 of those precious children inside to sing Spanish Christian songs with hand motions!). They learned a Bible verse for the day and were read a Bible story in Spanish.

 

We had our craft, coloring, snack and recreation time on the church patio. There the children colored the Bible Buddy character sheets with the memory verse for the day.  For crafts, clothespin butterflies were made, Jesus bears were stuffed, prayer journals were assembled, and religious foam bookmarks were decorated. Our team had to be very “creative” to come up with extra supplies! $170 provided a drink and snack for all the children for 4 days. It was special to see the older children being sweet “guardians” for their younger siblings. The joy and pride on their faces as they showed us their completed crafts was such a blessing to us. The stick horse races were a big hit for recreation as were the parachute games, bean bag toss, building blocks, sidewalk chalk and bubbles. In addition to the daily craft, the children were given a Bible Buddy and a “child care packet” containing dental hygiene info, toothpaste, toothbrush, sugarless gum, chapstick and religious stickers.

 

Construction Project

The construction project involved building a house for the family of Ismael Lopez in the village of San Antonio Aguas Calientes. The two-bedroom home was of concrete block construction with a corrugated tin roof (a fairly standard type of construction for this area.) Because this town sits at the base of a volcano, the soil is very fertile but extremely loose. Footings needed to be eight feet deep, for walls not much taller than that. Much of our time was spent digging and mixing cement for those footings and eventually the walls. All of the work done could be accomplished by “on the job training” including tying rebar for support columns. Due to several setbacks we were not able to finish the home while there, but look forward to seeing pictures of the completed structure in the near future. This house build was a part of a pilot project being undertaken by C.A.L.M.S., so we pray that much was learned  regarding what it takes to make a project of this scope successful. Serving on the construction team were: Phil Burdening, Randy Ronning, George Nolde, Martin Johnson, Rob Gunkelman and Carl Dageforde.  Arnie Milian and Paul Andrews, our Guatemalan friends, also served as translators and workers with the team.

 

Thank You   Muchas Gracias A Todos!

  • A big thank you to all the congregational members who supported our mission through their prayers and financial support.
  • Bob Bigelow for supplying countless tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes for the child-care packets.
  • Doug Kountz for making special VBS “character” posters
  • Special Needs group/ teachers for assembly of child-care packets
  • Sunday School children who gave money to fund Bible Buddies for our VBS
  • Nury, the director of the Lutheran Retreat Center in Antigua, for providing us with tasty and nutritious dinners at the center and arranging for our accommodations and transportation
  • Arnie Milian and Paul Andrews, two young Guatemalan men who helped us as translators, construction team members, and trusted guides to their country.  Their faith and servanthood was an inspiration to the entire team.

 

                                                                                       Kathy Dageforde

                                                                                       Mission Coordinator

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).