Guatemala Preview Update

We are on day 3 of the preview trip here in Guatemala. It has already been an extremely valuable experience for us as we have developed a great relationship with our host missionaries. The ministries that we have seen here are in great need of short-term teams. I'll try to explain. Above is a picture of the squatters village called "paradise". It is basically built on an old garbage dump. We are told that digging footers for foundations in new construction projects is like doing an archeological dig as each shovel full has mysterious treasures of the past.

Today we were able to visit some of the homes of just a few of the people who GSM has been working with. Below is a picture of from inside a house that is currently under construction. This will replace a tin shack that several people are currently living in.

Here is Drew, pictured with 6 of the 15 people that live in this small house. I can't explain how small it actually is and didn't feel good about doing a photoshoot inside their living area. They were gracious enough to let us take this photo. What we saw was shocking.


Here we are pictured on one of the soon to be soccer fields located behind the Shalom Baptist Church. Some of the guys worked hard today, hacking weeds with macheties in order to clear this ground for a future field. GSM has plans to develop this property with several soccer fields and it will take the work of many to make it happen.


This is just the view east across the valley. It is always amazing to see these homes.


Here we are taking a tour of Hogar de Ninos in Vida Nueva (about an hour from Guatemala city). This is a childrens home/private school that educates about 400 students and is a residential care facility for approximately 40 children. They have amazing facilities with plans to continue improving and developing their ministry to also include a day care.


I cannot say how important this trip has been for Simply Missions. I am extremely excited about what God has in store for us as we continue to partner with these excellent ministries that are on the front lines in a country with tremendous need. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for us as we have lots of traveling ahead of us.
Peace,
joe