July 2024 Newsletter – Missions Teams

“I’ve been to Guatemala eight times on missions trips and this was different. Being with Hope of the Pokomchi was a wonderful experience. The organization takes such good care of the group. The people are warm and friendly. That’s before we get to the homes where we are helping. We installed stoves, we built water tanks, we built latrines, and you could see that we were really helping people who have so little. It moved my heart. I think everybody should do this. If you can come to Guatemala and work with ASOSAP and Hope of the Pokomchi, I think you will find it to be a life changing experience and worth every penny.” – Team Member

Having teams in-country is always a highlight for us at Hope of the Pokomchi. It is an opportunity to connect with new people and friends who have been on team trips before. The Pokomchi people get to do this as well. It is a time when all involved share and receive God’s love. Many lives are transformed through receiving a water tank, latrine, or improved cook stove. Within a short period of time, daily struggles are relieved and improved health and well-being results.

 

Through partnering with the Pokomchi people in these projects, working alongside them, and experiencing Pokomchi culture, North American team members are opened to a whole new world. After seeing all of this firsthand, team members go back to their homes with many wonderful memories and with an increased drive to come alongside side others locally and internationally and share this with the people in their lives.

Our first team were coworkers from a corporation called Micron. Their team leader has been a long-time partner of ASOSAP. The second team was from a church, First Congregational Church of Auburn, in California.

Something new this year was that team members taught English to elementary and junior high school students in the villages where we were serving. They also assisted us to teach English at Building My Horizon, our after-school children’s program. It was a huge success, and we look forward to continuing this with future teams! With the help of these two teams, we finished all the projects in the partner villages of Pansimaj and San Lucas. Team members also helped build projects for some chronic patients and Building My Horizon families.

“We came here for a ten-day mission trip. At first it was just going to be building water tanks and latrines and then we heard that we were going to be helping with the children, teaching them English. It was really a heartfelt experience. The children are so open and so like sponges. They want to learn so badly. I’m so happy to give them that opportunity to learn English, so that they may have a better life. Hope of the Pokomchi is a very life-changing organization. If anyone would like to do this kind of work helping people, they should really pursue it. I really appreciate the time I had here.” – Team member

 Keep on reading more testimonies to hear from team members and learn more about the mission trip experience with Hope of the Pokomchi.

“We were able to build a few water tanks and some latrines and really have an amazing experience. I think one of biggest ones for me, was not just the fact that we were building the tanks, but that it was for people that absolutely needed it. We really learned that water is critical and it is so difficult to get. So much of their time is spent trying to get water. You see things on TV from the United States and you hear about it, but you don’t really comprehend it until you get here and see it. Seeing this when we got here was so impactful. The other thing that was so impactful was the generosity and the friendliness of the Pokomchi people. They were out there helping and working so hard. They were generous with everything that they had. I was really impressed. We built a lot of good friendships amongst the other team members and also with the Pokomchi people.” – Team member

“I had the opportunity to practice carrying a child and water at the same time and that was difficult going up the hills. I was able to see some of what the women and men experience in everyday life and everything is hard. They take a long time to prepare to get water every day, for what they need to purify the water and to prepare food for their families. We were able to bond with the people and have an amazing experience. Even though we can’t speak the Pokomchi language, we could still understand their hearts and they knew our hearts. We had an amazing time.” – Team member

“The highlight/ cap on top of the whole week, was the opportunity to visit with the kids. We had an afternoon where we just went and played with the kids. We played games, we had bubbles, we did jump rope, and we played duck duck goose. It was awesome. The kids were so friendly and so nice. Their eyes just lite up. It was a great experience.” – Team member

“We came down to help with Hope of the Pokomchi. It’s been a wonderful experience. I would encourage anyone that has any thoughts about it to come. There’s such a huge need for construction, for making life safer and healthier, and a huge need for education. We were able to do some classes with the children. They are so eager. They are so smart. It was just a real joy. I would just encourage anyone, if you ever think about doing any kind of service for people in other countries, you can really make a difference. I’m really thankful that I had this opportunity.” – Team member

As this team member and others have said, we encourage you to come to Guatemala with us to live and connect with the Pokomchi people. We are welcoming teams for 2025 and would love to hear from you about coming down on a mission trip!

Many blessings to you and we hope to see you in Guatemala soon!