Joel, Seth, Julie, and Chris are going to Guatemala this spring on a missions trip with our church! We will serve with the same missionary Julie served with during her study abroad semester in college. It has been a faith goal that each of our children experience serving the global church with people living in extreme financial poverty (but are often rich in joy, hospitality, and community). These experiences were life changing for us in high school and college.
We'll be working with Servants Hearts Ministries to provide for practical needs of indigenous families in Guatemala through building homes, installing stoves, food distribution, and providing clean water- all in the Name of Jesus. Servants Hearts Ministries have local construction teams and a ministry center to host us.
Here are a few facts about Guatemala that motivate us to partner with this ministry:
- Nationally, between 56-64% of the population lives below the national poverty level or $2/day. That number rises to over 75% in rural areas.
- 21.5 % live in extreme poverty with less than $1/day.
- 50 % of Guatemalans, mostly indigenous, live in inadequate housing.
- Between 1 million and 1.5 million live in houses of corn stalk or scavenged materials.
- Replacing dirt floor with cement results in (according to the Central for Evaluation for Global Action)
- 13% less diarrhea
- 20% reduction in anemia
- Scores 30% higher on language and communication skills for toddlers
- Improvements of 9% on vocabulary.
- Improvements observed were a result of fewer parasites in homes due to cement floors.
We're so excited to be able to make a difference through this work. Your support will help us bless the people of Guatemala with the funding for these projects, as well as cover our ministry, travel, and living expenses for the trip. Thank you for standing with us as we serve together!
