When my dad came home one night last spring and told me that the plane tickets had been purchased for this trip, I didn’t know exactly how I felt. I had put off thinking about whether or not I really did want to go on the trip, and was wishing I had taken the opportunity to say no. As time went on, and meeting became more frequent I learned to accept the fact that I was going to be spending Thanksgiving week in Guatemala. When we headed off for Newark, NJ I began to feel something different. Although a large part of me wished that I would be able to stay home and hang out with my friends and family I was excited to go.

I was given the privledge of creating the name for this blog, and ‘Forever Changed’ was the first thing that came to mind. As this incredible week comes to a close I feel forever changed. I didn’t spend the week sharing the word of God with the people of Guatemala. I demonstrated the Romans 12 calling to be a living sacrifice. I never felt like a missionary, rather I felt like I was living out the desires of God through a few odd jobs. I know that the people I encountered were able to see Christ through our work. The experiences I have had leave me forever changed in the hands of the Lord. Thanksgiving is a time when we a Christians give thanks to God for all that he has given us, and I can’t think of any better way to spend that time than demonstrating what I am thankful for… The love Christ has for us. Preston

It was shocking to find out that I would be spending my Thanksgiving in a forgien country helping people I had never seen or met.  The whole thing kind of hit me in the face when we walked out into the G-mala airport terminal where I saw beggars, cripples, and other scary things I wont mention.  As this week has progressed I have found myself getting more confortable in this new setting.  It was very furfilling to help the orphens of the places we went to.  Seeing the absolute poverty these people live in has made me angry with myself.  Not in a bad way though, it has helped me realize how fortunite I am to live in a country like the US.  The most memorable experience I had was when I assisted DR. Moore in pulling 50 gross teeth from the poor people in the ghetto.  It was really cool to get to pull my first tooth.

Overall, this was an experience I will never forget.  I now appreciate everything that I have 100 times more than before.  This trip has changed my life dramatically and I think Thanksgiving tacos here are a heck of a lot better that Thanksgiving turkey in the US . Drew

I can remember when i found out that a group of dads and sons were going to Guatemala and i immediately decided that this is for me. After being here for one week I definitely know that this is for me.

This trip has opened my eyes to what  some people are living with compared to what I have it is amazing.  some of the people here eat just beans all day and everyday while I am eating eggs for breakfast and all of these differnt kinds of food for lunch and dinner.-Curtis

I went on this trip not knowing what to expect. I thought that it would be just another mission trip. I was totally wrong. It has forever changed my life.

This trip really opened up my eyes to how life really is, not the little perfect place that i call home. People down here are by the worlds standard very poor. They only have one or two pairs of clothes and many eat just beans and torillas three meals a day. Yet even though they should have nothing to be hapy they are radiating with joy. What this trip has really tought me was to worship and thank God for what he has given us, him. Tyler

After my mom going and coming back home from Guatemala, God was telling me that I needed to go to make a change. Hearing hear stories that have helped people seeing the eyes of god, to sad stories, and stories of joy showed me that I needed to experience the power of god in Guatemala. After the ladies came back to Syracuse, mostly all the husbands and other fathers of the church wanted to create a group to go down to Guatemala. After I heard that i knew this would be fun, hard, life changing experience.

After having almost 7 days in Guatemala. I did not expect the events I have seen in the past week. The event that changed my life was going to church Sunday at  Mount of Unity in Guatemala City. Seeing the joy of people around me with worshiping the Lord, and us as a group not use to the excitement of the power of the lord that the people show down in Guatemala. Even not really understanding the songs the people in the church were singing, I was crying from the power and joy of the lord. That event showed me that even in a place where people don’t have much and live in dirty homes. They still follow the lord and the lord loves them and everyone in the world as much as us. They were a lot of other events that have changed my life forever but that was the climax to my journey.  Josh

As we prepare to leave Guatemala today, I do so with mixed emotions.  I have grow to love this country and the people.  They are so humble, have so little, yet live with so much joy and  worship God with so much authenticity and passion.  Despite much work being done by those faithful followers, there is so much work to be done in the orphanges and La Limonada.  We have made a small difference in answering the cry of the orphan and meeting the needs of the poor.  It has been awesome to see God’s hand work in a mighty way during the past week.  I have come to understand that when you live without much, without a cushion, you are blessed to see God meet your needs.  It has been a humbling and life changing experience.  Thank you to Ashley for guiding us through it.  Praise be to God for making it all possible.  Jonathan

What an incredible week to be broken and humbled for the needs of the people of Guatemala. What made it even more real was to have the privilege of experiencing it with my son Preston. We both will need time to process the events of this week. But together we have shared something special that had we not made this trip would not have happened. Thank you God for using the poorest of things to allow us the experience the richest of your blessings. David

This week has been filled with so many rich experiences that I will take with me forever.  From the children running up to us at the city dump as we handed out bread and candy, to meeting Nehamiah at Mama Carmen’s orphanage, to the families we met in the ghetto of La Limonada…all were memorable.  Our guide, Ashley, showed us how to love unconditionally and let our faith lead us to serve those who have so very little.  What will stay with me most, is the incredible faith demonstrated by so many of the people we met here in Guatemala City. Peter

We began the day early up at six o’clock for morning devotions. We were reminded by Ashley from Romans 12:13 of the challenge to practice hospitality. Before the day ended the reality of that challenge would unfold as we celebrated our Thanksgiving meal with a group of ten children from the Mayan Village of Santiago.

We left Hannah’s Hope promptly at 6:30 a.m. and began the treacherous three hour journey to Panajachel. Oscar’s Indy Racing style driving in a top heavy van was a little scary. Pushing the limits of the “microbus” we continued on, many kilometers over the speed limit down the winding mountain roads. Quicker than expected, we arrived safely to the mountainous western region of Guatemala, home to the Mayan people. Panajachel was much more beautiful than any pictures could describe. For a short time, we all had to play the role of tourists, immersing ourselves in the breathtaking beauty of the volcanoes around us. After quickly dropping off bags off at Kaqchiquel Hotel we headed down to the lake to negotiate a boat ride across. Within minutes, Ashley had secured us a ride to and from the small village of Santiago for just $60 round trip. The boat was all that could be expected from a small town in Guatemala. A few fearsome team members put on lifejackets. Although they were laughed at initially, their heads were in the right place. Twenty-five minutes into a forty minute boat ride, we all heard the boat engine cut out and shut off. Ashley quickly assured us that only one other group had almost flipped, as we watched the ‘captain’ switch gas tanks. Logic would tell someone to get enough gas before you crossed the lake, but our minds were quickly devoted to shifting weight around, and prevent the boat from capsizing. On our way again, we soon docked at the small town of Santiago. Santiago is small lakeside Mayan town bustling with activity. The children of the town ran to the dock as our boat arrived trying to sell some of the traditional handmade items common to their culture. The children shouted Ashley’s name in joy as they saw her arriving with a group of gringos. Ashley is regular visitor to the town frequently, bringing mission teams with her. We were met by a young Christian Mayan man, Juan, who served as our driver while in town. We loaded our suitcases full of soccer balls and gift bags on the back of a small 1/4 ton pickup truck and all twelve of us jump up in the back standing together. It must of have been quite a seen for the town to see a bunch of gringos driving through the streets on the back of a pickup. After a short drive outside of town we turned down a dirt road that led us into a small community of Mayan families. The community is a cluster of small built wooden frame houses covered with tin roofs. The area had been destroyed back in 2005 from a mudslide and the community was still in the process of being rebuilt. The children ran to our truck with excitement. We began to hand out gift bags to all the children. The soccer balls were soon to follow and before long the area was filled with children playing soccer. We joined in playing and were on the receiving end of being taught how soccer is really suppose to be played. In the community is a man named Felipe whose life has been changed by Christ and is supported financially through Ashley’s mission work. He is testimony to God’s grace as he came out of a background of gang activity and is now following Christ. In the middle of the community sits a small yellow church building as their place of worship. Despite the conditions the small community struggles with financially there is a joy and radiance  based not on material things but on the incredible hope found in knowing Jesus Christ. As the time got close to lunch we gathered together around the truck to make out way into town for lunch.  Ashley has a tradition of inviting ten children each time she visits to go into town with her and enjoy lunch together. The opportunity for the children to go into town and eat in a restaurant is something they never get to do. It was our privilege on Thanksgiving Day to drive into town on the back of a pickup with 10 children to share a Thanksgiving lunch. We unloaded the truck in town and joined together around a large table at a restarant for a meal of chicken, rice and guacamale. Juan, our Mayan driver, led us in prayer in the Mayan dialect thanking God for His many blessings. Although separated and missing our families on this traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving, we could not have hoped for any greater way to celebrate than gathered around a table with the Mayan children sharing a meal together. The joy of the moment transcends all the worries of this life and brought perspective to all of us what is really important in life. It is a Thanksgiving we will never forget.   Following lunch we said goodbye to the children and they headed back to their home. We shopped the streets and eventually were invited into the home of our driver Juan. A simple home consisting of a single room. We met his wife and extended family. Their graciousness and hospitality was humbling to us.  We returned to an area along the lake and played more soccer before heading back across the lack to our hotel. Arriving safely back at our hotel we spent the rest of the late afternoon resting and shopping the many shops lining the streets. We joined together in town as a group for dinner and returned to our hotel for a night of rest. Weary from a busy day, we all overcome by the wonderful privilege of practing hospitality in the simplist of means but blessed beyond measure by the grace of God.

David and Preston

We woke up this morning to devotions in Romans 12. It was about being living sacrifices for the Lord.  The rest of the day we would be continually reminded of this decision.  We began by traveling to La Limonada, the getto, to help put up the tin roof at the church, Mount of  Unity, which we helped purchase 50 pieces of tin ($1,000) that will cover about half of the roof on this new church building.  We also began back filling in a wall which is up against the mountain with dirt.  The dropoff was about 15 feet.  We worked along side the pastor and other men from the church and spent the time conversing with our brothers in Christ.  They have an authentic joy and peace about them that is truly inspriational.  One man was 62 years old and worked for 4 hours straight digging without stopping while other men were climbing across the beams of the building.  The work was tiring but a true blessing.

At the same time, some of us got to see Dr. Mohr in his work. It was a long day’s work as we pulled nearly 50 teath in 3 and 1/2 hours.  One women had her last five teeth removed.  Tyler, Drew, Ashley and Preston all got to pull teath. It was a lot of fun.

After the long work every one got to eat the best steak of our lives. This meal that was fit for only a king was made special for us by the pastor and women of the church.   Despite having so little, the people in La Limonada freely give all they do have to make us feel welcome and genuinely appreciated.  Our hearts have grown to love La Limonada and we feel part of this church.  On Monday evening Dan offered words of encouragement that stirred a lot of Amen´s.  On Friday night, we have been invited back and Dave Harris will be preaching.  This church is truely our brothers in Christ.    We have lived Revelations 5 worshiping with other tounges and nations and seen a small glimpse into heaven. 

Before leaving the getto, we stopped at Sarahs home and was welcomed in.  She had been preparing for our visit much of the day.  She is a single mom of seven children.  Her dad left her at a young age, her mom died when she was 12, her husband left her, one son was shot and another son is in prison.  Despite this, she lives in thanksgiving and praising God.  Her faith was sooooo strong.  She makes about $10 per week make shampoo.  Ashley made us aware of several needs upon leaving.  That night we returned to Sarah´s home with new clothes for each of her children as well as money that amounted to over 6 months wages.  She broke down in tears as we did.  We were humbled to be the hands of Christ in helping both orphans and widows this day.

After our bellies and hearts were full we went to the dump.  It was an eye opening and humbling time.  We saw people come out of the trash itself.  People living in cardboard boxes and kids in abandon cars.   They had litterally nothing but radiated with joy.  During the time in the dump, we stopped and prayed for the people.  This was a powerful reminder of ¨To Whom much is given, much is expected.¨ 

We returned home to Hannah´s Hope to play with the children while several went back to La Limonada for more dental work and the Wednesday evening worship service. 

Tyler and Jonathan

“We have different gifts according, to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.  If it is serving, let him serve.  If it is teaching let him teach.  If it is encouraging, let him encourage.  If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously.  If it is leadership, let him govern diligently.  If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”    Romans 12  verses 6,7,8 and 9

This is the passage Ashley led us in during our morning devotions today.  How appropriate as we got ready for a second day of serving the orphanage at San Geronimo.  Unfortunately,  none of us felt particularly gifted in stucco wall repair!  We worked diligently through the white, chalky dust clouds created by our constant scrapping and chiseling of the green stucco.   At day’s end, we had made significant progress on the wall.  Some of Ashley’s friends will continue to work on the wall over the next few days with the hope of having it completed by Friday.

During the day, several of us went back to Mama Carmens to visit Nehemiah and present the additional money for his surgery to Mama Carmen’s adult daughter.   They were all very thankful and pleased as Nehemiah will finally have the abdominal surgery he so badly needs.  If all goes well, he should have the procedure completed by the end of the week.   An answer to prayer…we were able to meet a specific need of an orphan we encountered and who moved us all.  God is good.

Peter

After breaking our backs on the wall the first day, we were hardly looking forward to coming back.  But we stuck it out and worked our tails off.  Due to the hurricane of dust and green stucco I found myself with a throat full of wall residue.  Now I have a sore throat and can barely talk [thank God for cough medicine].  After a total of 16 hours on the wall, we finished with me feeling happy having  concurred my fear of heights by working 20 feet above the ground on the ladder.  Our Guatemalan friends were a big help and are fun to talk to, even if we don`t speak their language [hand signals and yes goes a long way].  When we were finished, we went back to HH for our favorite  ‘shower races’, an authentic Guatemalan meal [we have gotten our fill of rice],  and then crashed for the night.  Overall the day was hard on our delicate, soft, American hands but fulfilling in our heats after helping so many.

Drew

We started the day with devotions covering Romans 12 and John 13 discussing how Jesus washed the feet of is disciples and discussed how we are in Guatemala to be a living sacrifice.

We set out on that day to repair the playground wall at the San Geronimo orphanage. The wall was stucco finished, 15ft tall and 100ft long in need of repair due to water damage and mold.  We quickly learned that this was a day to humble ourselves and serve the orphans and nuns by doing a job they wouldn’t expect American Missionaries to do. The job was extremely tedious, we had to slowly chip off the stucco paint with a hammer and chisel creating only a small mark in the stucco with each blow of the hammer. It was a great experience to work next to our son’s and to see them work so hard serving the Orphans of San Geronimo.

We rushed back from San Geronimo, showered, ate and headed out to the Ghetto to go to church at Monte Hebron (Mountain of Unity).  We agreed that we needed to take ourselves out of our comfort zone, and this was an evening to do just that. We where the first American’s to go to Church in the Ghetto.

The pride and excitement was clear as Willy (Music Director, Deacon, Elder and Interim Pastor) greeted us and showed us around his Church and their building project (more on that later….). This service was like none other we had experienced. A 2.5 hours service with dancing and praise. The message from the Pastor was how God has blessed them all, but the inflictions in their life (debt, sickness, anger) are from the devil trying to make them look away from God (It was powerful to see how this message applied to the congregation and our group equally). The authentic passion and love for God that came out of the Church gave us all a feeling of both relief and guilt. Relief that despite extreme poverty these people are happy and God is very present, but guilt that we have so much and don’t serve with the frequency and emotion like the people of Guatemala. God is very close to them and they have no doubt. The stories and miracles that have been occurring in the Ghetto are amazing.

A typical Guatemalan in the Ghetto will make 12 dollars a day, yet they are building a new Church and have already started 10 other churches in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua (one with over 2000 members). We expected to feel sad for these people that don’t have homes or possessions like we have, however, just the opposite feeling came over us. This wasn’t a night for us to serve the people in the Ghetto, but we where there for them to teach us a deeper meaning of praise and service.

Tomorrow we are off to finish the wall, do work on the guest house and play with the Children of Hannah’s Hope.

Curtis & Dave

Started with, what I thought would be a routine, morning at church.  Boy, were we in for an event.  As we parked in the dirt parking lot we saw hordes of worships filing into the church.  It seemed each was happier than the next, each smiling and offering our Gringo tribe “bienvinedos”.  Ashley guided us to our seats positioned in the center of approximately 2,000 worshipers.  At our seats, each “gringo” was separated by an empty seat.  This empty seat would soon by occupied by an interpreter enlisted from Ashley’s extremely large circle of Guatemalan friends.  When the music started, the worshipers (2000!) began to sing songs familiar to us, yet sang in Spanish.  The closest thing I can compare this situation to is a roller coaster.  The walk in is the clickity-clack pull up the initial hill and the sound of the song leader and two thousand Christians praising “Cristo” as the descent from the top of the first hill.  It was without a doubt one of the most moving experiences in my 41 años of life!  The words to the songs were projected on a screen above the full band and choir accompanying the music, which helped my Spanish singing skills immensely.  As I sang, the woman to my right was weeping uncontrollably giving me concern that my singing is, in fact as bad as I had feared.  It turns out that Guatemalans worship fully and without reservation, something this gringo hasn’t figured out yet.   The sermon’s message was about being sincere, honest, authentic, intentional, and patient.  These attributes were very evident in this congregation, no doubt.

Following church, the 12 amigos, Ashley and several of her friends went to a local park and ate lunch.  Sometime during lunch an impromptu soccer match broke out.  It was niños vs. los padres.  With the exception of Tyler, we must of looked pretty silly, as I haven’t played soccer since 5^th grade.  The locals seemed impressed, or at least were amused.   Once we to tired to play, or were done embarrassing ourselves we all piled back into our 15 passenger bus and drove to a park in the neighborhood of Mama Carmen’s orphanage.  Were we played with her orphans.  It was another touching moment of the day.  More soccer was played  and fun was had a the various seesaws, etc.  Once we again too tired of playing e went to Mama Carmen’s and distributed beanie babies, shoes , soccer balls, and Jerseys.  While there, the plight of a 3 year old named Nehemiah was brought to our attention.  Nehemiah’s temperature was extremely high due to an infection in his stomach.  He required surgery that would cost nearly $2,000 of which $1,000 was still needed.  We laid hands on this young boy and prayed as a group.  We were deeply moved, especially Peter who led the charge to pledge the balance of the funds the next day.  We left Mama Carmen’s and immediately began making arrangements for a wire transfer.  Later the next day, we returned to Mama Carmen’s with a check for $2,000 and Nehemiah’s surgery was arranged.

As you can see the roller coaster ride of emotions never stopped that day.  One thing was certainly  God was in charge and in the front seat of the coaster with us.

Dan

Hola!    We arrived safely to Guatemala City with our 19 bags of cargo and a few personal belongings.  The flight was uneventful and on time; thank you God.  Ashley met us promptly at the airport and we loaded our gear and donated supplies on top of a 15 passenger van driven by Oscar.  It was on the short ride to Hannah’s Hope when it became apparent that Jesus was alive and well in both Guatemala and in Ashley.  We and many others had prayed that God would bless our mission trip and it didn’t take long for those blessings to begin.  All of us will be sharing experiences of God working here, and I was asked to share this one.  On the ride I mentioned to Ashley that I had brought a few dental supplies and would happy to help relieve someone in any dental pain.  She immediately told us that she knew a young man with a bad toothache who needed a tooth extracted.  After dropping off most of the team, and our belongings, Ashley, I and a few others went to the ghetto La Limonada, the poorest, most dangerous place in Guatemala City.  As we drove down the steep, narrow streets into the heart of the ghetto I began to pray hard because I was way out of my comfort zone. Through the discomfort, not one of us felt fear. We trusted Ashley and more importantly knew that Jesus was with us.  As the streets became narrower, we crossed over a bridge looking at a river polluted with sewage and garbage. Our hearts started breaking for these people.  Walking behind Ashley through the narrow alleys we felt like disciples, walking the streets of Jerusalem with Jesus. When we arrived at this small two room house we were kindly greeted by a small family and Derwin, the young man who shook my hand and sat on the bed.  As Preston, Josh, Dan, and Dave assisted I took out the first of three teeth that were never on my schedule but were on God’s.  Two more women came forward with the same affliction.  Words cannot describe the experience of helping these people. We all knew that we had just received the first of many blessings from our Lord. About 20 people came into the house to watch the action, which probably they had not seen before.   As we walked out of the house we were surrounded by these people looking at us gringos, wondering why we were there.  As we entered Ashley’s house where she lives and ministers, we began to see how she is truly a living sacrifice allowing God to use her to transform the Ghetto.   She knows why she is here.  After only being on the ground for 2 hours we knew why we were here …….  to live out our faith  as a living sacrifice.  Please continue to pray for us ….. Forever changed,

Greg, Alex, Josh

On Saturday, October 24th, a group of over 50 volunteers gathered at EHBC to make craft packages for the Ghana Mission Trip and sew 250 kids bags for the Guatemala Mission Trip.  One teenager said “the work was tiring yet fun”.  Thank you Sandy for all your planning and work to make this happen!  Below are picture of this fun filled day. 

On Sunday, November 15th, our team gathered to begin packing.  Several months ago, we determined that we would plan on 18 suitcases to carry all our donations and supplies.  Each week, we received more donations and the pile grew.  Family and friends from church donated hacky sacks, diapers, crayons, soccerballs, clothing and shoes.  On Sunday, our team (and families) spent the afternoon packing.  We began by filling all 250 kids bags with toothbrushes and toothpaste, a wooden toy car, a punching ballon, and a hacky sack.   We then began packing and weighting the suitcases (since each bag can not weight over 50 pounds).  Two hours later, we loaded that last portion of shoes and school supplies.  After throwing this last bag on the pile, we counted the number of bags.  Any guesses how many?  18 exactly.  Who says that God is not in the details!  We continue to be amazing at his hand in this journey.  We are all very excited and are ready to get on the ground.  

Filling the Kids Bags

Loading the 18 Suitcases

Cutting the Fabric for the Bags

Hard at Work Sewing the Bags

Dan, Besty Ross’ Great Great Grandson

The Start of 250 Kids Bags

Twelve fathers and sons from Eastern Hills Bible Church (EHBC) will be traveling to Guatemala the week of Thanksgiving (November 20th – 28th). We will be staying at Hannah’s Hope Orphan Care Home (now run by Forever Changed International, http://www.foreverchangedinternational.org) in Guatemala City.

Our full itinerary includes spending a full day at the Guatemala city dump (bring food and other relief supplies) and ghetto (La Limonada, hosting a piñata party for kids), a wall construction project at a privately run orphanage, working at Hannah’s Hope, visiting Mama Carmen’s orphanage (an elderly women who personally cares for 96 children), and visiting an all-boys orphanage (with 250 boys). We will spend Thanksgiving day visiting families in the area of Panajachel (3 hours outside Guatemala City) which was devastated by a mud slide.

We set a goal for our team to raise $5,000 to cover our in country travel costs. We also set a goal of an additional $13,000 to be used for construction projects, supplies and support for each of the orphanages that we visit. With the country’s current ‘closed’ status for adoption, orphanages in Guatemala are relying on private donations to keep their doors open as well as care for more children.

Additionally, through outreach of our FM school, we have collected nearly 150 pairs of shoes, clothes, and a large variety of school supplies (pencils, notepads, crayons, markers, etc.). Through church, we are making 250 hand sewn backpacks (made by women and youth). Through outreach to businesses, we have collected donations of: 250 toothbrushes/toothpaste, 250 wooden toys (from Toys for Gods Kids), 50 soccer balls and 30 youth soccer sweatshirts (from Eurosport’s Passback program), and a significant amount of children’s medical supplies (through Crouse Hospital). Also, through neighborhood outreach, we have collected 150 beanie babies and are collecting diapers (which are greatly needed). We will be taking all of this down in our 18 suitcases. The support has been overwhelming and encouraging!

We will be updating this blog as we prepare to depart and also daily when we are in Guatemala.  Please bookmark this blog and return often to share your comments!