In May 2010, a PC3 mission to Guatemala was canceled at the last minute due to a volcano’s eruption, followed by a tropical storm that both hit Central America. The team decided that, although a rescheduled mission to Guatemala was in the works, they would not see the week they were canceled as a missed opportunity. Instead, they stuck together as a team and looked for ways to serve in their own community here in Wilmington: making a meal for hospice, helping feed the homeless downtown, taking prayer requests from strangers, visiting the children’s ward of a hospital, doing home repairs with a local organization, and strengthening their own bonds as a team through intentional team fellowship and worship. Below, one team member tells about the experience from her perspective…

I thought I had been through some emotional roller coasters in my life before.  However, Volcano Pekeya, Hurricane Agatha and finally the sinkhole in Guatemala City stirred up much emotion among my teammates and traumatized Guatemala in only a matter of five days.

At first it was hard to even think about what was happening to the people of Guatemala, because hey! We were supposed to be there helping.  We were crushed, too!  And for me, that’s when the real roller coaster started inside of me… This isn’t about you, young lady.  God quickly brought me to my new journal designated for this mission.  These were the verses that I had started with that Friday morning before I had even heard about the volcano:  Psalm 143:8.  “Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.  Show me where to walk, for I give myself to You.”  Philippians 2:3.  “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

These verses were turning out to have an entirely different meaning, as God typically likes to do!  Though I found peace in knowing that God had saved us from Mother Nature, a whole new hurricane was brewing inside of me as to what this new plan would be…  Yes, that’s right, right here in my hometown!  Someone may find out how much I absolutely do love Jesus.  My one word this year is “words”—imagine that!  I quickly realized that hiding behind the Spanish language in Guatemala just wasn’t going to work here.  God had other plans for our team.  As we got to know one another by sharing and listening to stories about God and life, I became so much more comfortable.  I was able to listen to how they each prayed, and I knew God loved us and saved us so that we may go to Guatemala in His time.

Now, for the matter of seeking God’s will for us in our community.  That Sunday we all went to church together, and one of the verses Mike spoke about was Proverbs 3:5-6.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  This was perfect for our situation.  The key word being “paths”… At first we wanted to stay together; however, it became apparent that this, too, was not God’s will for us.  Some needed to go back to work to be able to go on the rescheduled mission, and some were needed with their friends and family.  So those of us who were able to teamed up with Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry (WARM) to help a local elderly man repair/install windows and other minor repairs needed around his home.  This was an awesome opportunity for work, fellowship and fun!

And on one final, very noteworthy evening as a team we attended a gathering for Spanish worship.  This is held on Wednesday evenings at a fellow PC3 goers’ home in an effort to reach the Spanish community here in Wilmington.  Everyone was so hospitable and kind; they let us sit up front even though we don’t speak Spanish.  I was sitting in front of this one young lady, and her singing was so powerful, it was like her voice carried all of us!  We all desperately wished we knew what they were saying because the room was so full with God’s loving presence.  Luckily one teammate does speak Spanish and was able to translate.  The speaker was preaching on Luke 19, Zacchaeus the Tax Collecter.  I loved this because I knew all of us would have climbed the sycamore tree to go to Guatemala, but God met us right here at home.  Luke 19:5-6.  “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today.’”  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

I know that I learned a very valuable lesson in being happy and making the most of where God has you right now!  Everything is in His timing.  And most importantly, seek God in ALL that you do, no matter where you are and what you do… He will meet you there.

—Submitted by Whitney Lewis

PC3 sends short-term mission teams to Chichicastenango (”Chichi”), Guatemala, for one-weeks missions through an organization based there called Pray America. Teams help Pray America build homes for widows, serve orphans in feeding centers, and work alongside this organization to aid their ministry and discipleship efforts among the nationals in the Chichi area. One team member from our June mission to Guatemala recounts her experience below…

A good friend of mine recently took a trip to Alaska.  After merely 24 hours (and having never been there before), she declared that she found “home.” Shortly after, she and I took a two-and-a-half-week road trip, driving from North Carolina to California.  At every place we stopped, I consciously waited to see if it felt like “home.”  Sadly I boarded a plane in LA to fly back to Wilmington having never felt that pull to one particular place. I was home for five days before boarding another plane, this time on a much-anticipated mission trip to Guatemala, and had no idea that I would find my “home” in Chichicastenango.

It wasn’t an immediate reaction.  The trip was full of surprises and instances that proved God’s divine sovereignty:

• We were supposed to leave in May, but our original trip was delayed, rescheduled, and ultimately canceled due to a volcanic eruption AND a tropical storm that hit Guatemala.
• The trip was thankfully rescheduled a month later, but only seven of the original 13 could go (luckily five others will be going in September with another team!).
• When we got to the airport (at 5 a.m., mind you), five of the team members thought they did not have a seat assignment because it wasn’t listed on their tickets. (Unbeknownst to us at the time, they actually did have seats all along.)
• Coming home the following Saturday, our plane delays in Guatemala caused us to miss our connecting flight in Miami, forcing us to stay the night at a hotel (thankfully paid for by the airlines…), which inevitably made me miss a flight I was scheduled to take the very next morning from Wilmington to Chicago.

But through all of those traveling tribulations, God remained in control, and He impressed that upon our hearts.  We were fortunate to be in Wilmington and out of harm’s way (i.e. mudslides, sinkholes, etc…) during the natural disasters that devastated much of Guatemala in late May/early June. God taught us how to WAIT on Him during that time of uncertainty, and He taught us how to serve Him no matter where we are.  This lesson came in handy because while in Guatemala there were many times when we had to be flexible—whether it be due to the weather (it rains a lot!) or just cultural differences.

And boy! There were many, many cultural differences.  It didn’t help that I learned how to say five Spanish phrases before taking off. Very few people in Chichi even speak Spanish. The civilization is predominantly Mayan, and there was a lot of idol worship and language barriers that I did not anticipate.  The market (google: “Chichicastenango Market”) is the biggest open-air market in Central America, and it is pretty heartbreaking. The children will run around—dirty, shoeless, sad—impressing on the soft hearts of tourists their need for shoes (for school) or lunch money. It’s very sad. And annoying. They put the “pest” in persistence.  But they’re also extremely cute which makes it hard. I tried running—literally—from one child who playfully ran after me!

We ended up having the opportunity to build four houses that week for widows in rural areas surrounding Chichi.  I will never forget what it felt like that first day when we finished and I looked at Ryan and said, “Dude! We just built a house for this family. A HOUSE!” (I proceeded to do this three more times!) What is considered a house is nothing more than 120 square feet of concrete and wood. But hey! It’s more than they had before, and you wouldn’t believe how incredibly grateful the widows are.  After the build is complete (about 4-5 hours depending on how much we play with the kids—which is a LOT), we bless the home in a dedication ceremony for the widow and her children. It was so spiritually moving on the last build day when the widow was praying in her native language along with the team who was praying in English.

We toured the campus of Monte Flor (Pray America’s future community-focused center that will provide care, spiritual guidance, education and resources that facilitate the health and independence of local families and communities) and were able to see some of what’s in the works for Pray America in Guatemala.  Sixty acres has been purchased, and the original dwellings have been refurbished. A shoe factory, which provides shoes for local children, is on site. (Side note: School is free in Guatemala, but you have to have a uniform and shoes…. Basic things most children do not have and cannot afford. Pray America is making great strides to eradicate this problem.) Plans are being set into motion, and the vision for the land will include girls’ dormitories and a school—I told them to let me know when they need a teacher!

The needs in Guatemala are immense, and Pray America is doing very hard work, but they are trusting and following God with hearts and a passion I have only just discovered. The rates of molestation of young girls here and alcoholism among the men are enough to make you sick to your stomach. But in a culture that does not have a word for Heaven, Hell, or Love, it’s hard to be surprised.  However, seeing the joy in a child’s eyes, a little girl I met named Belbita, as we played soccer in the rain, made me believe that ALL things are possible and that hope can be brought to this nation.

Please pray for Guatemala and for Pray America. Pray that God would open the hearts of the nationals and that He would strengthen the hearts of the missionaries there.

—Submitted by Kristen Barriner

On May 30, 2009, our mission team, which consisted of fourteen eager and more than willing individuals, arrived in Chichicastenango (Chichi), Guatemala to work for Pray America, an organization that provides houses for some of the hundreds of Mayan widows and their fatherless children who live there.  The large number of widows in and surrounding Chichi are a result of a civil war that lasted in Guatemala for several decades.  Over the course of our week-long mission, our team built a total of five houses.  We also worked at three different community feeding centers; these are also operated as a ministry of Pray America.  While the entire trip was impressionable for all of us –everything from the bumpy truck rides through the mountains to the building sites each day, to praying and debriefing as a group each night in Jesus de Manos (the mission house where we stayed) – each of us has been left with particular memories in which God’s presence and love was revealed to us.

Despite the language barrier and the limited time we spent with the widows and their children while we were building their homes, we learned as much as possible about the families and their needs.  One of our team members, Jay Hopper was accompanied on the mission by his daughter Kelsey.  Jay – an incredible father whose godly actions spoke louder than his soft-spoken words – displayed immense compassion for the widows.  When asked to describe one of his most memorable moments of the trip, Jay explained “One of the things that impacted me the most was hearing the widow’s story on our last day of building.  This widow’s husband had passed away a couple of years earlier, and she had been left alone to raise her family.  She had to go into town to find work as a maid.  By the time she paid for her transportation, she cleared fifteen “quetzals” (the equivalent of approximately two dollars a day).  She was so thankful and happy to receive a new home and a new Bible.  She told us that she would teach her children from that Bible.  Later, as we were leaving, she came running out to the road to help give us driving directions and she was still clutching that small Bible.”

Like Jay, I too was impacted greatly by the stories of the widows. Although the widows were very appreciative and filled with joy, I could not help but see the pain that was embedded in their eyes under their tears of joy. Even though I was thankful to be a part of providing and building homes for the widows, I wanted the chance to do something more. After exchanging our American dollars for “quetzals” to use in the famous Central American market on Sunday and Thursday, Chichi’s famous market days, I decided to keep 10 quetzals in the bag that I carried with me to the building sites each day. Although I knew I would not need the quetzals while building, I could not avoid the rule of thumb my parents always told me while growing up: “Always carry a little cash on you in case you need it for an emergency.” It wasn’t until the second day of building that my 10 quetzals came into use.  While my team members and I were working on a widow’s house, we noticed that an elderly woman, who appeared to be angry, would not leave the widow’s side and she insisted on taking the gifts that we had brought for the widow and her children. After several minutes of discussion between the elderly woman, the widow, and one of the employees of Pray American who speaks K’iche’, we were told that the widow owed the elderly woman 10 quetzals. We were asked if any of us had any quetzals on us and I realized that I had the 10 quetzal bill in my bag. Once I gave the widow the money and she gave it to the elderly woman, the widow was free of her debt and the elderly woman was satisfied. I was so thankful to have been blessed with the opportunity to help the widow pay her debt and I understood why God had made me make the choice to put that money in my bag.

Not only did God work through us in providing for others, God also worked in us and changed many of our hearts. For Christina Koch, a UNCW student who always has a smile on her face, one of the most impacting experiences for her occurred on the last day of our trip when we visited and delivered school supplies and vitamins to children at a local school. According to Christina, “During one of the debriefings, I had prayed very hard about the Lord breaking my heart for what breaks His and genuinely loving people.  The next day we were out at a local school and I was overwhelmed with empathy.  I was brought to tears and was unable to stop crying.  For the first time in my life, I had felt my heart break like our Father’s does for his people.  I got a glimpse of what God feels for his children.  I am very thankful for the opportunity that God gave me to witness that.”

At the end of our week in Chichi, although I was anxious to return home to see my loved ones and share my experiences with everyone I knew, I was extremely sad to leave the family I had developed there.  As we rode in the hot and dusty bus back to Guatemala City I felt a strong love for the country and its people. Apparently I was not the only one of the team members who felt sad.  Several of us cried as we hugged and said our goodbyes to some of the staff members of Pray America before we left for the airport.  Perhaps Rosemary Smith (better known as Ro) whose nurturing and compassionate character caused her to become a mother figure for all of us during the trip, put it best when she said “The trip to Guatemala for me could be described as being ‘Purposeful’. Not only were we there to do God’s work by building, serving, and ministering, but I know that He put each of us there to build relationships – with the Guatemalan people, the staff of Pray America, and especially within our team itself. My life will be forever richer because of this experience of seeing God’s hand in so many areas, especially in our personal lives. I have been truly blessed!”

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world.”    James 1:27

—Submitted by Danielle Woods