Guatemala Team Reports

As we approach the busy holiday season, I’d like to let you know that it’s also been a busy time for Hands for Peacemaking even though no teams are currently in-country. And, like a delicious slice of pumpkin pie after a hearty Thanksgiving meal, I’ll save the best for last.

First, an invitation. Yes, it’s very much last-minute but if you have not received an email from Jeffrey Hager at Hands for Peacemaking about next Thursday’s “Season of Joy” in-person event I’d like to provide some details and urge you to attend as it should be a lot of fun and we’d appreciate you being there. The event is to celebrate all that’s been done in 2022 and how we’re looking forward to making an even greater impact in 2023. It features a buffet dinner, beverages, and a chance to hear first-hand all that is going on in the organization. Mark Wright, a longtime anchor for KING-5 News, will be our keynote speaker. The event starts at 6 p.m. at a venue in the SODO area of Seattle (near Starbucks headquarters) and costs just $25 to attend. Tickets and more information can be found here. (If you can’t make it but would still like to contribute there is a place for that too).

Second, the Marine View Guatemala team is now ramping up for our 2023 mission trip! We will leave the evening of May 18 and return on May 28. It will take a big team to meet our commitment of 152 stoves and water filters – a new record – for the village of La Capilla, San Ramon. Please consider joining us! Our next team meeting is at 7 p.m. this Wednesday, Nov. 16 via Zoom. Please send me an email if you’d like to get more information about the trip and meet other team members as we plan. I’m also excited to announce that we are planning a return of the popular Guatemala dinner on a Sunday in late March at Marine View Church in Tacoma. More details to come!

Speaking of meals, I was having lunch with Corry McFarland the other day and happened to bring up a story of how Marco, who heads up Hands for Peacemaking operations in Guatemala, had been approached by desperate leaders of the village of Esperancita Yulmacap for assistance. Some of you may know Corry and his wife Donna through Marine View. Corry and his brother did very well with their family business and have been extremely generous toward local and international humanitarian causes in the years since its sale. For example the McFarlands have been the major backers of Mavuno, an organization that works in the east Congo on agribusiness development that has now reached a state of self-sufficiency. They have been generous with Hands for Peacemaking (and other organizations) as well.

Marine View has helped Esperancita Yulmacap before – first with a virtual stove project in 2020 (We raised funds for the pandemic-era project but staff did the work of installing them) then with a feeding project later in the year after their road was inundated. Then just last month the road to the village was washed out again, this time by the deluge of Hurricane Julia, a category one storm which caused major disruptions across Central America, including the area where we work. Once again the Ixcán River had risen well beyond its banks and caused severe flooding across the area. The men in the village had to immediately turn their attentions toward repairing the damage as it had cut off their only road, which also meant they could not work their “normal” jobs to support their families. I told my friend Corry this story more as an example of the widespread devastation of the storm, not as a request for help, but later that afternoon he sent me a text saying he and Donna would like to do something. That “something” led to the rapid deployment by Marco and team of purchasing food supplies and arranging for delivery. Within a few days our team was able to deliver 5,400 pounds of food and supplies to an incredibly grateful village – including a couple of piñatas for the kids! So a big thanks to the McFarlands and the Corry and Donna McFarland Foundation for their quick assistance – it made an enormous difference in the lives of those villagers.

While in the village Marco, his wife Mimi and team learned that some of the villagers are in dire need of some medical assistance. They did what they could for them and offered prayers.

Hands for Peacemaking is also continuing to help villages in other ways and on many fronts. If not already doing so, I would encourage you to follow the organization’s Facebook or Instagram accounts for regular updates. The amount of good that can be done is only limited by funding and imagination!

Thank you for following along. Hope to see you at our event on Thursday, or the team meeting on Wednesday.

Best,

Brian Dirks
Guatemala team coordinator, Marine View
President, Hands for Peacemaking Foundation board