Guatemala 2024/25

Friday, December 30 On Friday, the whole team traveled by bus to the village of Jocotillo (the one I went to the day before). Pineapple plantation (Workers can earn up to $5/day) The team bagged and passed out corn and beans to many women and children at the local church.  While some handled the food, others prayed over people who wanted it. The pain and suffering of the community is so heavy. We prayed for a woman with stomach cancer. We prayed for a woman who was filled with sadness. We prayed for a teenage girl whose dad was a drunkard. We prayed for a grandma who’s 36 year old son died the day before from diabetes. He left behind 4 girls (mom is not in the picture) and now grandma will be taking care of them with no job or food or house.  Most of the people in the village live in a combination of tarps and sticks, occasionally some corrugated metal.  (Before: a family was living in this last year) (After:  last year, the structure on the left was built for the fa...

Thursday, Dec 29 Caleb mixed more concrete today and Timmy played more soccer with his friend, “E”. Hannah continued to play with the little girls in their playground area. They adore her!  I was asked to go to the local village where a lot of kids in the orphanage are from. Two of the house dads took us to the village to buy corn and beans to divide out into bags to distribute in the community the next day. This was one of the most interesting days of my life! “M” (one of the house dads) prefers to buy grains from local farmers instead if stores. He truly has a heart for the people he serves and you wouldn’t believe how many hours we went up and down tiny little streets to find what we needed in order to support the farmers in the village. We traveled in a school bus and “J” backed down many narrow roads to get to the various farms off the beaten paths. The crops are not good this year. The farmer he normally buys from did not have any grain. He asked around at other neighbors and...

We hit the ground running!! After we arrived on Day 1, we had a delicious lunch and then a walking tour of the property. In a nutshell, this place is an amazing resource for the community beyond the fences. They have a health clinic that is open to the public on weekends (orphanage Mon-Fri) and 200 students from outside the orphanage attend the school here in addition to the 100 orphans. They are getting a quality Christian education. Most pay very little to come and some don’t have to pay at all because of generous donations. Next, we watched the older girls play soccer against another team from outside the orphanage. They had a huge cheering section and it was our first opportunity to meet some of the children. Our whole family immediately get the joy these children have through their hugs and giggles. Considering what they have been through it is truly incredible. Yesterday was day 2 and Hannah and I were assigned to help in a home with 13 girls from ages 2-15. We played tag, volley...

We’ve had quite the adventure getting to Guatemala. We left from our church in Brighton, Michigan, at 4pm yesterday on a charter bus to O’Hare.  From there we took a red-eye to Mexico City and when we arrived in Mexico City we went through several long lines - customs, security, baggage scan, another security, and even a line for the escalator! Everything went very smoothly at Guatemala City airport and every single piece of luggage arrived! We finally arrived at the orphanage today around 1pm. We stopped for snacks and water at Walmart on the way to the orphanage and every employee in the store said, “Welcome.” We have been received very warmly! When we arrived at the orphanage, we were given a tour and hearing the history and ministries happening here is incredible. We were able to leave about half (or more) of the contents of our luggage as donations for the orphanage. Dining Room for missions teams that Cornerstone started building last year and has been completed Clinic (Mon-F...

Part of our team preparations to leave for Guatemala have been sharing testimonies and reading devotionals. The testimonies have been touching and powerful. God is going to use this team in might ways! We leave tomorrow at 4pm and there’s a Bible verse that has been in the forefront of my mind. Please join me in praying this verse for our family: Philippians 2:3-5 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset of Christ Jesus.”

Casa Bernabe Video (English)

Hello friends and family!   A couple of months we stepped out in faith and committed to serving with Cornerstone EPC (Brighton, MI) at an orphanage in Guatemala.  We are happy to report that through your support we have raised the $8400 we needed!  We are blown away by the blessing God has provided for us through your donations.   That is a LOT of money!  You may be wondering what the money will be used for...I know I did when I saw that price tag.  First of all, the airline tickets (and luggage) were approximately $1500 per person.  Additionally, it costs about $400 per person for sleeping arrangements and food (important!).  That actually only leaves a few hundred dollars extra per person.  The remaining funds will be used to purchase supplies for construction projects and food for distribution in the local community.   What will we be doing?  Our understanding as of right now (needs may change when we arrive):   Rehab a hous...