Guatemala- Day 7

We left on Friday morning to drive back to Guatemala City. Before we left, we went back to the church one last time for a dedication ceremony of the bathrooms. The pastor of the church and several church members came for the dedication. In addition, a few of the Potter’s House founders and directors were able to come for the ceremony. 

The finished product- For such a small mission team, we accomplished a lot in four short days. 

Josue, the Potter’s House director in Chiquimula, spoke first. 

Then one of the local pastors said a few words. We were so thankful that Daniel was there to translate for us!

Church members 

Our team leader John also got to say a few words about how much of a blessing it was to be a part of this project.

The entire group

The covered pavilion on the left is the current church meeting area. The community center that was built the week after we left will replace this meeting area. The yellow building on the right is a medical clinic that is open a couple days a week for the families that live in the dump. The families walk a couple of miles just to be seen in the clinic. The farthest door on the right of the clinic is the one toilet bathroom that serves the church and clinic.

Saying our final goodbyes was so hard. The kids in the community did not have school on Friday due to a teacher training, so many of our VBS kids had walked over for the ceremony. It was so fun to see them and get to give them one last hug before we got on the bus!

Parker and Oscar- Oscar was one of the local boys that came to the work site every day. He helped out when needed and played with Parker, Addison, and Robert the rest of the time. He was one of the sweetest boys we met. On the last day, he arrived with a handwritten letter for each of our three kids. The letters told them that he was going to miss them when they left. I know he must have worked all night on them and it’s something I know Parker will keep forever.

Oscar and Jason

After our last goodbyes, we headed back to Guatemala City. The trip was supposed to take four hours but ended up taking six. We passed volcanoes and several small towns on our way back to the city. 

We went straight to the Potter’s House headquarters in Guatemala City for a tour of their community center. We were hoping to help serve lunch to all the boys and girls but the trip back took longer than expected. Instead we had a very late lunch and then got to meet and play games with some of the sponsored kids. 

Early the next morning, we packed everything up and headed to the airport for our flight home. Parker and I were so excited to see Cory and the girls!

This mission trip was truly a trip of a lifetime. Getting to serve the people and children in Chiquimula was a life changing experience that I’ll never forget. I hope that I’ll be able to take Eden and Lily back when they are older.