Guatemala Team Reports

Hola everyone,

Our team of nine is extremely excited to be returning to Guatemala next month! Four of our team members (Craig, Christie, Tom and Brian) are veterans of previous Hands for Peacemaking mission trips to the Mayan villages of Huehuetenango. And we are thrilled to have five on our team (Greg, Mike, Janet, Lisa and Suzanne) who are going with us for the first time, although the latter four have been on mission trips through other organizations. While we were able to fund a stove project in 2020, this will be our team’s first time back in person since 2019. (See video for a recap of that effort).

First, a bit of housekeeping. If you received this post via our email distribution list, it’s because you have either donated or have otherwise been connected to one of our previous missions or have been added by me or someone on the team, possibly without your express permission. If you wish to not be on this list, my apologies for the intrusion. Please use the link in this email to “unsubscribe.” Those who stay will receive a few more updates prior to our May 12 departure that will provide details about where we are going, what we will be doing and introducing the team. You also will receive dispatches from the field during the nine-day mission itself, which I will try to send as often as possible (cell service and my state of mind permitting) but no more than one each day. These will also be posted to Guaemalateamreports.org under the Marine View 2022 link at top right.

My second item of business is to say THANK YOU to all who have donated to this mission to date. We’ve had to raise more than $55,000 this year to meet our mission budget, and at our team meeting the other night we received the exciting news that, thanks to many of you, we have met this goal! We feel so blessed. I’d like to give a special shoutout to Tacoma’s Marine View Presbyterian Church, which has supported Guatemala mission trips through Hands for Peacemaking since 1989 and provided more than half of this year’s needs for stoves, Eco water filters and assorted supplies. We also appreciate that the Bellevue Rotary was a major (and first-time) donor through its international services committee. Another significant source of funding was many senior employees at Costco, some of whom were able to secure matching funds through that corporation, who are supporting two of their own (Tom and Suzanne on our team). We also received funds from Fauntleroy United Church of Christ. In addition were many donations, from team members and their respective circles of families, friends and business associates. I should note too that team members are asked to each pay their own airfare and participation fee (amounting to about $2,000 each) so that all general donations go directly toward stoves, filters and supplies.

Our fundraising success does not mean we are turning away new donations though, in fact just the opposite, we welcome them. The village we were assigned to work in this year has 150 families, so technically the need is for 150 stove and water filter installations. Initially we signed up to install 80 stoves and filters, and later challenged ourselves to raise funds for 100 stoves and filters. And that is exactly what we’ve done. However, it means 50 families will have to watch other families get new stoves while having to wait indefinitely for theirs. So with additional donations we could add a few more families to our list – Marine View teams have installed as many as 125 in the past. We have also asked Hands for Peacemaking staff to explore what other needs the village school (or village in general) may have as in the past we have been able to fund “extras” like library books, water tanks, new desks for students and teachers and more. If you’d still like to help please use the link on either the Hands for Peacemaking website or via Marine View online (use the Give to Guatemala Mission in the drop-down menu).

That’s about it for now. Again if you don’t want these updates, please use the link. And on behalf of our team, a big thanks to all for your generosity, prayers, good wishes and support.

Warmly,

Brian Dirks
(Team coordinator)