We are going to visit our family in Escuintla, Guatemala in July!

Leigh and I are preparing to return to Guatemala! Our trip this year is a little different from past years. In past years, we have stayed at the MMM Mission Center in Guatemala City and traveled to surrounding villages and to Escuintla for our missions. This year, we are traveling to Escuintla where we will stay in a small bed and breakfast next door to the Maná de Vida campus and our mission will be primarily with Maná de Vida rather than splitting our time with Medical Missions. We are hoping that logistics work where we can host a medical clinic at the new Maná campus (in construction) for the residents of the communities adjacent to the campus.

Our projects this year will be similar to those in the past. I will be helping the doctor at the free clinic and meeting with patients. There will be construction projects, classes for the teachers, English classes for the kids, assistance with the office staff to streamline their processes, and lots and lots of hugs. Leigh won’t be teaching self-defense classes this year, though. She will be doing some “process improvement” in the administrative offices, helping them improve their online presence and preparing for future growth as they move to their new facility. The great thing about staying in Escuintla is that we don’t lose any time traveling to- and from Guatemala City, which could be up 3-4 hours daily!

We have been sponsoring students at Maná de Vida for over 10 years. It brings us joy knowing that our small monthly donation can make such a lasting impact on these children. Last year, though, we began sponsoring an entire family. The picture above is that family. Christian is graduating in November and wants to study Chemical Engineering at university. Angela and Yesi are the two older girls and Pamela is their youngest sister. As sponsors, we can communicate with them and send them gifts when other teams visit Guatemala. We are even friends with the older ones on Facebook. That relationship is unparalleled, and they are deeply grateful for the opportunities that Maná de Vida has given them. We are truly grateful that we get to be their Tio & Tia (uncle & aunt). If you are interested in impacting the lives of the least in Escuintla, please contact me and I can get you the information.

In preparation for the trip, we are raising prayer support and financial support. Would you consider praying for us and/or making a financial contribution? Pray for our team: bonding as a team, preparing our hearts, financial support and our cultural studies to help us present ourselves in a manner that will draw the Guatemalans closer to God and not push them away.

We are responsible for raising our own support for the trip which is $3,600.00 ($1,800.00 each). Would you join us in this opportunity to bless and be blessed, either financially, through prayer, or both. A response card is included but should you prefer to donate online, the instructions are below.

Click on one of the "Support" links on this page to support our trip. God Bless and thank you for considering your part in this mission to Guatemala.