Guatemala: May 27 - June 3, 2023
World Help International
Our team had an incredible week working with World Help International in two different villages: Los Bordos and Corozal.
MissionView Team Members Left to Right: Sheri Collie, Jim Gross, Nikki Mickley, Josh Chandler, Makayla Chandler, Jody Little, and Megan Schwyn.
Why Village Transformation?
The Village Transformation initiative provides hands-on involvement, long-term relationships, and the ability to meet a community's physical and spiritual needs. World Help partners with local ministries to assess the current needs of a community and partners with churches and donors to meet those needs (World Help, 2023).
Our team served to complete the village transformation of Los Bordos and begin a new three-year commitment to transforming Corozal in La Union, Guatemala. They visited old friends, built new relationships, saw how MissionView's contributions are meeting practical needs, and witnessed the power of faith and prayer as they visited with the communities.
Dedicating Los Bordos
Their first two days were spent in the village of Los Bordos. The team made several house visits to pray with families, put on VBS for the kids, dedicated the village's church, and provided food bags to families. It was a a blessing to see firsthand how MissionView Church has been part of the completed work in Los Bordos over the past several years.
Team member Megan Schwyn shared the importance of the consistent relationships built in Los Bordos. A few team members had previously visited Los Bordos, which visibly impacted the trust the villagers had in their team. "(MissionView's) contribution is making an eternal impact, and souls are being saved. They need our help. They are so grateful for the provision" (M. Schwyn, personal communication, June 19, 2023). She emphasized the personal nature of this initiative and how helpful visiting the village is for cultivating these relationships.
Old Friends in Los Bordos
Corozal Village Transformation
Packing food bags for the villagers
On day three, our team met the villagers in Corozal for the first time. Their time was spent dedicating the newly-finished water project, putting on VBS, and visiting the local school. "Day one in Corozal was heartbreaking yet joyful. We walked a very treacherous pathway to do some home visits and see the village. Some of the children (had) never seen an American before, so there was some anxiety and trepidation" (J. Gross, personal communication, June 21, 2023).
Both team members Jim Gross and Megan shared that the villagers in Corozal see our partnership in this transformation as an answer to prayer. The community saw Hope of Life trucks pass their village frequently. (Hope of Life is a local non-profit organization that helped complete the water project.) Three years ago, the villagers began praying for help. Our team was able to see this long-awaited water project completed, providing each home in the village access to clean water. Praise God!
The work in Corozal is just beginning. While massive steps to improve the villagers' situation have been made, the school building needs significant attention. It's foundation has cracks, and with 400 children attending school in the building, many parents are left fearful throughout the school day (M. Schwyn, personal communication, June 19, 2023). Thankfully, the school is one of the needs World Help has identified for this village.
Get Involved
You may be wondering, how can I get involved in this village transformation? All of us can make a difference.
EVERYONE HAS
A MISSION
PRAY
Pray with faith and with conviction for the people in Corozal and Los Bordos. That they would grow strong in their faith in Jesus and live in dependance on him. Pray for more workers to go to these villages, from our church and all over.
GO
You don't HAVE to go to Guatemala to be involved, but you CAN. More teams from MissionView will be going to Corozal. Start praying now about whether to go on one of these trips!
GIVE
Our missions team prayerfully considers how to best support our missionaries. You can give to the mission’s budget on the Church Center app or by clicking here!
Reference
World Help. (2023). Village Transformation. https://worldhelp.net/transformation/.