Thanks for visiting our site to read about our personal experiences as we focus on bringing hope to the less fortunate in our world.
After studying Spanish full time in Costa Rica for 8 months in 2010/2011, we are thrilled to now be serving in Guatemala. We are working with the people of a small indigenous village located in the highlands northwest of Guatemala City called San Jose el Yalu.
In February 2006 we visited the town of el Yalu on our first ever short term mission trip. We never imagined that just over 5 years later we would be directors of the ministry in the same village! Four trips later, we are now here full time to help battle the problems of malnutrition, poor health, and lack of education and to encourage spiritual development.
In February 2010, we spent over three weeks in Guatemala to learn more about open positions with Mano Con Mano Health Reach (MCM). We were able to meet and work alongside the founding directors of the program, who were visiting from the US, and the interim field directors who were working in el Yalu. We also had the amazing privilege of co-hosting and participating with our home church’s short term mission team experience, which coincided with our visit.
During this visit we realized that God wanted us to apply for the positions. We are excited to now be serving alongside Mano Con Mano Health Reach as directors of Pastoral Care (Gerry) and Finance & Administration (Barb).
Some of our major responsibilities will include:
- Oversight of the finance and operational side of the feeding center which currently is the only means of nutrition for many of the children in Yalu. The center feeds over 225 children and pregnant moms, three times a week.
- Oversight and introduction of health development projects. Currently there are three projects that are running strong (beds, bathrooms & stoves) and we hope to implement more to reduce the risk of illness and death.
- Building relationships and working alongside the local church partner, Los Olivos, and the leaders of the community.
- Liaising with North American supporters, providing regular updates, raising support for the ministry, and coordinating mission team visits.
Our roles are voluntary in nature and we rely on the partnerships of many to help us cover living and transportation costs. For more information on how to support us, please see our ’support us’ page.
At this time, we are not sure what the duration of our stay in Guatemala will be, but to increase our effectiveness, it will likely be for several years. We hope to return home frequently to share stories of how God is working and help you feel more a part of our journey.
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Please note: This website is neither sponsored nor promoted by Mano con Mano Health Reach (MCMHR), Heart Lake Baptist Church (HLBC), Commission To Every Nation (CTEN) or Medair. The content herein does not reflect either of these organization’s views, opinions or philosophy, but rather that of the author. MCMHR, HLBC, CTEN, and Medair can therefore not be considered liable and will not take any responsibility for its content.