Guatemala Team Reports

After four fairly intense work days in our two Mayan villages, today is what one could call a day of rewards. I know some on our team may argue that every minute of our time here was rewarding, that the leg-bending, back-bothering work in enclosed environments on dirt floors was a pleasure, and that this mission trip went like a dream, and with that I would also agree.

But this morning we were all a little overwhelmed by the hugs, the ceremonies, and the genuine gratefulness shown to us in the villages of Puente Alto and San Agustin as we were preparing to depart to our base in Barillas.

We accomplished our mission of installing 125 stoves and water filters in three days, as we arrived early enough on Easter Sunday (following sunrise services in Barillas) to install 15 stoves. We would put in another 48 on Monday, 41 Tuesday and the final 21 Wednesday morning. Then most of us hit the local river for a dip.

We’d learned early on that there was bad blood between the neighboring villages, so much so that Marco, our in-country leader, almost called the project off, telling village leaders that he would find other villages to serve if they couldn’t work things out. Then Wednesday night, a miracle. At a community gathering we hosted at Puente Alto where both villages were invited at first there was no sign of anyone from San Agustin. A fellow named Rafael, one of the village leaders, had already given a few welcoming remarks when in streams two dozen or so San Agustinites and the crew of village leaders who had helped us install stoves there. Then Rafael leaves the stage, walks to the entry door and warmly shakes hands with each rival. Could our presence have sparked a détente of some kind? Peace by kindness, perhaps? We may never know but it is nice to think that our team from Hands for Peacemaking may have kindled some peace.

Judging from the love the villagers showed us today we know we did good. Before breaking in to two teams of six to distribute gifts to the kids and eyeglasses to adults at each village, we stopped into the house neighboring the Puente Alto school compound where we’d stayed to see one of our stoves in action. We were rewarded by the sight of the Mam of the house happily cooking tortillas on her stove, installed just two days before by yours truly and stove team partners Curtis, Alex and Miguel. A kitten content as could be sat on a pile of wood neatly stacked on a board below over its support struts. This scene of a hot stove also warmed our hearts.

Following the ceremonies, one of our teammates, Betsy, recounted how a man who spoke broken English approached her and said: “Thank you for saving our lives.”

The difference we made in these villagers’ lives began almost the moment we settled in. Part of our supplies included a few soccer balls and basketballs. Our school compound featured a bumpy field with basketball hoops at each end. But the far one was covered by limbs and clearly had not been used in years. Seeing the basketballs the villagers quickly retrieved a ladder and went to work. Before long there was a full-press game of, okay, crude but lively roundball going on, with our own teammate, Curtis, who happens to also be our most senior member at 65, in the middle of the scrap while the rest of us lazily looked on. Over the next few days we would see a lot of soccer ball kicking going on too, along with other field sports.

We were rewarded by the scenery, with lush, mountainous forests surrounding us. In the 10 years I’ve made these trips I can’t recall any setting as stunning. Of course the downside was that at times we had to do a lot of hiking across steep terrain to get to the installation sites. At least our village helpers were carrying the heavy and bulky tool bags.

At night the stars would come out and shine brilliantly over the mountains around us, and the flash of fireflies in the trees was something to behold.

We were blessed by good weather and health. The little rain we had fell during non-work hours. Yet we had the perfect mixture of cloud cover and sunshine, keeping the temperatures in the mid-70s for the most part, far preferable to the 100-plus degree days the Marine View team experienced in 2024. No one became seriously sick or injured. Teammate Nancy took a tumble down the trail leading from the upper school house to the field below but was not hurt. Mike was stung by a bee. Tom had some kind of bugs chew up his elbow. We all received bites but none too nasty. It is not unusual on these trips for at least one of the team members to be briefly sidelined by the skitters or other gastrointestinal issues, but with three more days of travel to go that hasn’t hit any of us, least as far as I know.

On that topic one of the biggest challenges our female teammates had this trip was getting to the latrines at night. The trail below the school house where they stayed was fairly steep. Around midnight the first night a group of five of them awoke and made their way over the embankment together, flashlights in hand, without a spill.

This afternoon after our return to Barillas and another splendid meal by Mimi and her crew (which Mimi had gone ahead to prepare), Marco and the rest of the team set off for a tour of the town while I napped and showered. As I was dozing off I heard repeated stanzas of a Hispanic version of Billy Ray Cyrus’s 1992 country hit Achy Breaky Heart playing loudly nearby. When I awoke it was still playing, as it was when I stepped out of the shower.

But I figure that song is especially meaningful for us today, as it signifies how we all felt when we left our dear new friends in the villages. We had come to serve them and we did. We looked into the eyes of the village children and saw great happiness as we jumped rope, gave them toys, colored and just teased them. We saw the joy of many villagers fitted with the new reader glasses we had brought for them as they could read a book or thread a needle for the first time (some used the fine print on chip bags to test for clarity).

We all left with a sense of fulfillment and thankfulness, and maybe a spirit that we were guided by God to do this work. This erstwhile group of mostly strangers all got along, bound by our common mission and spirit-filled companionship. Many have already said they will return next year. Village teachers were ecstatic with the textbooks we bought for their schools and the study book bag we gave to each student.

And yes, our hearts were a little achy breaky as we left. We will remember our time in these villages now through pictures and stories. We will share our experiences individually with friends and family, knowing that the full story is only held tightly within each of us.

The good people of Puente Alto presented a wonderful certificate as a testament of their gratitude, which hopefully will hang somewhere at Tacoma’s Marine View Presbyterian Church, which kindly sponsored our team.

I apologize for not being able to write from the village – my internet service was pretty spotty there and frankly I didn’t want to fight tech battles at night. We will rise early on Friday and head out to Lake Atitlan for a day of R&R. As always we appreciate your prayers and well wishes as we make our way back to Guatemala City via Panajachel, Antigua and finally Guatemala City. Your support is also our great reward. I will try to post more photos and words as we go and time and technology allow.

With peace,

Brian